Corinne Bailey Rae Opens Up About Husband's Tragic Death: 'My Life Was Divided Between the Before and After'

Corinne Bailey Rae is giving fans a rare and candid look back at the 2008 death of her first husband, Jason Rae, and how the loss has shaped her life and music.

The “Put Your Records On” singer, 46, spoke with Billboard about how the tragic passing of Jason—who died from an accidental overdose at 31—directly influenced her second studio album, The Sea.

Released two years after his death, the album documented her path through grief and eventual healing.

Keep reading to find out more…

“When I look back at [debut LP Corinne Bailey Rae], it’s on the other side of… not a wall, but a divide between my two adult lives. That moment [Jason’s death] felt like the end of what that first album term was. I felt like my life was divided between the before and after of that,” she explained.

“As well as changing my life, it also changed my career in a really big way,” Corinne told the outlet. “I knew that I wasn’t really robust enough to be in an industry ‘capitalizing’ on the big industry success of the first record, and setting up sessions with all these big names anyway. I just wasn’t in that place, and the label really knew that and I think that they really left me to it.”

When pressed about her reaction to the press around the time of Jason‘s death and her response, the songwriter shed light on how “it was a very aggressive time journalistically” and she felt “really lucky” to have good people around her.

The star is now channeling that renewed inspiration into her work, sharing with Billboard that she is working on new music.

Florence Welch also recently opened up about a personal tragedy she experienced.