Breakups
What Happened to Lena Dunham & Jack Antonoff? Why They Split and More
Lena Dunham‘s new Netflix show Too Much, which stars Megan Stalter and Will Sharpe, comes out next month, and many fans are wondering how much of it is based on her real life. The show is about a woman who moves to London “after a disastrous breakup” and finds a connection with someone new.
From the trailer alone, fans are drawing parallels to Dunham’s own life, which has many revisiting her relationship with Jack Antonoff. They were together for more than five years before their December 2017.
Now, both stars have gone on to marry other people: She wed Luis Felber in 2021, while Antonoff tied the knot with Margaret Qualley in 2023. Scroll down for a refresh on what happened between Dunham and Antonoff before their breakup.
Why did Lena Dunham and Jack Antonoff split?
News of the couple’s breakup was confirmed in January 2018, with a rep confirming the news and a source telling E!, “Jack and Lena were growing apart and it just made sense for them to end their relationship where it was.”
The following month, Dunham penned an essay for Vogue about her endometriosis and decision to get a hysterectomy. She briefly referenced Antonoff in the piece and said her health issues contributed to their split.
“My beautiful partner, who has seen me through so much pain with compassion and care, has to be away for work, and I can feel us growing slowly apart, since life is so determined to display its full complexity right now,” Dunham wrote. “I am surly and distant. I offer nothing. He reminds me again and again that I am still a woman and still alive, but I also know that soon—for so many reasons that have nothing to do with my uterus—we’ll slip away from each other and I will face everything I am losing in impossibly tiny steps.”
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In 2019, she also spoke about Antonoff in a piece for Domino magazine where she opened up about her new home. She referenced the space they previously shared together and shed light on their differences in design preference.
“He wanted a Restoration Hardware couch and a giant watch to hang on the wall,” Dunham shared.”I felt sick every time I made a design concession or covered up pink with dove gray. Love can only survive so much.” She added, “The last time I saw that apartment was when we agreed, with love, that someone had to go. ‘You can finally eat in the bed without anyone getting mad at you,’ he said through tears.” Antonoff stayed in their home after the split.
In a 2020 interview with Cosmopolitan UK, Dunham also cited timing as the reason for things not working out. “We fell in love when I was really young. I was 25,” she shared. “I look back and we had a great ride, we cared for each other, but you know what? We were both starting our careers and that was our true passion.”
Are Jack Antonoff and Lena Dunham still friends?
The pair remained on amicable terms after their breakup. “I love him so much. He is a dear, dear friend of mine,” Dunham said in the Cosmo interview. “Has it been easy every second? No, it’s not easy to divide life with someone.”
They also share a familiar mutual friend: Taylor Swift. Swift has collaborated with Antonoff on music in the years since his split from Dunham, and she also served as a bridesmaid in Dunham’s 2021 wedding to Felber.
What Taylor Swift song is about Lena Dunham and Jack Antonoff?
Before Dunham and Antonoff broke up, Swift penned the track “You Are in Love” about their relationship. The song was included on the deluxe version of 1989, which was released in October 2014.
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“I wrote that song about things that Lena has told me about her and Jack,” Swift told Elle. “That’s just basically stuff she’s told me. And I think that kind of relationship … God, it sounds like it would be so beautiful … would also be hard. It would also be mundane at times.”
Too Much, Season 1, Thursday, July 10, 2025, Netflix
