Pete Wentz Says Ashlee Simpson Divorce & Fall Out Boy Break Felt Like a ‘Bomb Had Gone Off’

Pete Wentz delved into a reflection on the ups and downs of his life in the newest issue of Nylon published this week, and how he’s grown from it.

One particular turning point in his life was in 2010, when he was in the process of splitting from then-wife Ashlee Simpson, raising their son Bronx and dealing with the reality that Fall Out Boy was going on a break. “My life was just like… a bomb had gone off in it,” he said of that time period, noting that he then had a crucial realization. “You’ve atrophied all of these life skills. I was like, ‘Oh. You have to figure out how to be happy as an adult.’”

Since then, the bomb has settled. The rocker has been with his longtime partner, Megan Camper, since 2011 and the couple shares Together, they share eight-year-old son Saint and four-year-old daughter Marvel.

Fall Out Boy has also found their way back together. They’ve released a number of albums since their break, including 2013’s Save Rock and Roll, 2015’s American Beauty/American Psycho and 2018’s Mania. Now, the band is just days away from unveiling their eighth studio album, So Much (for) Stardust on March 24.

“Why don’t you just do the s— you want to do?” Wentz says is his current life philosophy. “Life is so short, and it’s so long, that maybe you should try crazy s— because it will break you out of the feeling of nihilism.”

Read the full interview here.