Billy Corgan says the nearly 26-year age gap between him and his wife is an “advantage” since she “hadn’t been wounded.”
The 59-year-old Smashing Pumpkins vocalist/guitarist made the comments during an interview on the most recent episode of The New York Times’ Popcast.
Billy Corgan Doesn’t ‘Want to Make All the Feminists Mad’
Corgan’s sit-down interview with Popcast hosts Jon Caramanica and Joe Coscarelli touched on a variety of topics, including music, his friendship with Marilyn Manson and his suburban Chicago tea shop.
Eventually, the conversation turned to family life. Corgan described a tumultuous childhood that affected how he moved through life as an adult. That further complicated how he sought out relationships as The Smashing Pumpkins rose to fame.
READ MORE: Billy Corgan Defends 30-Year Friendship With Marilyn Manson Despite Abuse Allegations
But Corgan said he finally started to get more comfortable with who he was and the idea of being in a functioning family after meeting his current wife, 33-year-old Chloe Mendel. According to People, the two started dating around 2012.
Corgan was then asked if he finds it helpful that he and Mendel are from “different generations.”
“Uh, well, I don’t want to make all the feminists mad,” Corgan began before the hosts gave him the option to abandon the topic. He then went on to say that women born in the ’90s, like Mendel, were given a chance to “balance properly” because of the rise of feminism.
“But because so many women of our generation were going through that without a lot of help and coming out of a lot of abuse, it was harder to put those pieces together if you’re broken and they’re broken.”
Why Billy Corgan Says Age-Gap Marriage is an ‘Advantage’
While he wouldn’t go into detail, Corgan said he “met a lot of broken women along the way” before he started dating Mendel.
“When I met my wife, and having that gap, she just wasn’t affected by those same politics. She just had a different version.”
Corgan credited this with giving his wife a “different sense of self-confidence” than women he had dated from his own generation.
“And then, you know, her youth was an advantage because she hadn’t been wounded like so many people are because you go through life and you get wounded. So, I had the advantage of somebody who was really open to love and the possibility, and for whatever reason just decided not to judge me for who I was, particularly in that moment.”
The Popcast hosts responded by calling Corgan’s comments about his wife’s age “beautiful.”
WATCH: Billy Corgan Interview on ‘Popcast’
Musicians Respond to Billy Corgan’s Comments About Age-Gap Marriage
A clip from the interview showing Corgan talking about his age-gap marriage is quickly approaching a million views after being shared on Instagram two days ago. It’s also amassed thousands of comments, including some from fellow rock musicians.
Faith No More keyboardist Roddy Bottum simply commented, “NO.”
Skunk Anansie’s Skin was a little more direct with her comments. The 59-year-old vocalist took a moment to speak up for her generation.
“Oooooo love you Billy (I really do) but this ain’t it! We’re not broken; we are strong and wiser, currently living our best lives due to the people we choose to spend our lives with now. Intelligent, grown and equal.”
Corgan and Mendel are, of course, far from the only celebrity couple who made headlines due to their age gap. Keep reading to learn about others from different generations who married each other.
Celebrity Couples Who Had Huge Age Gaps
These famous pairs drew scrutiny for their large age gaps.