Michelle Branch.Photo: courtesy Michelle Branch
Last month, Branchposted — then deleted — a tweetaccusing her husband,the Black Keys musician Patrick Carney, of cheating on tour while she was home with their 7-month-old daughter,Willie. After sharing the post, the singer-songwriter, 39, was arrested on asince-dismissed domestic assault chargefor allegedly slapping Carney, 42. She filed for divorce days later and wrote in a statement at the time, “With such small children, I ask for privacy and kindness.”
“I definitely shouldn’t have taken to Twitter to say anything. Here I am saying, ‘Please respect our privacy,’ but I’m the one who said it to the world,” Branch tells PEOPLE, over Zoom from her Nashville home, in this week’s issue. She then heeded theFleetwood Macfrontwoman’s guidance: “Where was patron saint Stevie in the ether duringthatto be like, ‘You don’t need to share this?'”
Patrick Carney of the Black Keys and Michelle Branch.Jeff Kravitz/Getty
Initially unsure of how to proceed with its release, she sought advice from close friendKacey Musgraves, who endured her own public divorce in 2020. The country star encouraged her to keep busy. “I feel like it’s going to be exactly what my heart needs right now,” says Branch of her upcoming shows. “It will be very, very cathartic. I don’t know what I would be doing if I didn’t have that distraction.”
In her lowest moments, Branch finds strength in therapy. “I can’t speak more highly about reaching out and talking to somebody if you need to,” she says. “That — and my girlfriends — have helped me immensely.”
“Especially given that I’m a mom and have so many things going on, making the time to talk to somebody is really important,” continues Branch, who has three children: 17-year-old Owen (who uses they/them pronouns) from her previous marriage to bassistTeddy Landau, as well as Rhys, 4, and Willie, both co-parented with Carney. “Because things just start to build up, and you think you’re going to get to them one day, until something happens, and you wish you would’ve done it sooner.”
Recorded in their home studio over the pandemic, Branch’s latest body of work features passionate love songs about Carney (“Beating on the Outside”) written prior to recent events.The Trouble with Feveralso includes lyrics on tracks like “Not My Lover” and “I’m Sorry” that nod toward relationship turbulence and infidelity, written over the past decade, drawing from friends’ experiences and artistic ideas — not Branch’s own life. Still, the irony isn’t lost on her. “It’s bizarre that this has all happened in my life as I’m releasing this record that has some of those themes to it,” says Branch.
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Michelle Branch.Rmv/Shutterstock
Although her own recent experiences didn’t influence her new songs about heartbreak, she’s already thinking about writing through her current feelings for a future project. “I had someone tell me they’re like, ‘You know what? You have a gift. Just put this into the music and help other people going through similar s—,'” says Branch. “I think having this new record come out clears the path for that.”
However, she’s also aware that the attention drawn to her personal life as of late will likely bring more listeners and, in turn, success toThe Trouble with Fever. “If anything, [this situation has] weirdly shined the spotlight on my record more than it probably would’ve gotten,” laughs Branch. “It’s not ideal, but I’m making lemonade out of lemons.”
For more from Michelle Branch, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands everywhere Friday.
source: people.com
