Machine Gun Kelly is turning his pain into art.
With the "Cliché" musician releasing his new album lost americana, his lyrics share insight into the darkest times of his life. In fact, his song, "treading water," reveals that it was his and Megan Fox's 4-month-old daughter Saga Blade that motivated him to enter rehab.
"I'm lookin' at the kids' faces," MGK—real name Colson Barker—sings, "Sittin' in the driveway while I pack up suitcases / I just ruined their holiday, and lies don't die, they grow / Everything you try to hide eventually shows."
While it's difficult to leave, he admits, "I broke this home, but I'll change for our daughter, so she's not alone."
"I wrote this in Room Three, spending Christmas in rehabilitation," he recalls, "I got no phone, just a cell that I'm trapped in while my home's vacant / I'm an inpatient, but I lost patience / I just broke somethin', but I'm fixated on the gossip that I know is happenin' / While I'm just being left out of the conversation / It's a complicated relationship, that's nobody's business."
For the "My Ex's Best Friend" singer—who split from Megan in December—his lyrics paint a clearer picture of his emotional experience than he could explain.
"That's probably the closest," he said of the song on the Aug. 7 episode of The New York Times' podcast Popcast, "it's almost like the music speaks better than how I would be able to articulate it."
Now, with his album out, MGK—who also shares 15-year-old daughter Casie Colson with his ex Emma Cannon—is reclaiming his story.
"Here's the real truth," the 35-year-old told hosts Jon Caramanica and Joe Coscarelli, "I spent Christmas and New Year's—the whole month of December and late November—in a rehab facility."
"I came out, the world was very loud about me and my personal business," he explained. "Ironically, neither me nor Megan have said anything. Still to this day, there could have been zero drama, and you would never know, because none of us has said one thing."
For the musician, in many ways, lost americana was his message to the public.
"It's acknowledging the presence of the gossip and the chatter," he reflected, "but choosing simplicity, choosing things that make me feel more connected with a version of myself that was more connected with happiness."
He also recruited a very special person for the album, which dropped Aug. 8. After all, Megan, 39, was credited as a writer and composer on the next track, "orpheus."
Although he and the Jennifer's Body actress—who also shares three kids with ex-husband Brian Austin Green—are no longer together, they've been focused on being the best both personally and professionally. For a look back at their relationship, keep reading.
July 2020: How They Met
The couple did their first podcast together and detailed how they met on the set of the movie Midnight in the Switchglass. They also became Instagram official in July when MGK posted a selfie of the couple with the caption, "Waited for eternity to find you again..."
August 2020: Megan Professes Her Love
The actress shared the first photo of herself with her new man captioning it, "Achingly Beautiful Boy... My heart is yours."
November 2020: Red Carpet Official
The couple made their first red carpet appearance at the American Music Awards. The same month, the actress files for divorce from estranged husband Brian Austin Green, with whom she shares three sons.
April 2021: Double Birthday Date
Double date! The duo celebrates MGK's birthday with friends Kourtney Kardashian and boyfriend Travis Barker.
May 2021: iHeartRadio Music Awards
Pretty in pink! Megan supports Machine Gun Kelly as they attend the iHeartRadio Music Awards in Los Angeles.
May 2021: Billboard Music Awards
The lovebirds arrive at the 2021 Billboard Music Awards in Los Angeles.
May 2021: Onstage Love
The two appear onstage during the rocker's show at the Barstool Sports Indy 500 party at Grand Park in Westfield, Indiana.
January 2022: We're Engaged
New year, new relationship status! On Jan. 12, 2022, Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly announced on Instagram that they were engaged. "Yes, in this life and every life," the musician wrote on Instagram.
October 2022: Pam & Tommy
The two dressed up as Pamela Anderson and ex-husband Tommy Lee at the annual Casamigos Halloween party.
February 2023: Grammys Date Night
The two embraced on the red carpet on music's biggest night.
May 2023: London Date Night
Megan supported MGK at the unveiling of The 8th Deadly Sin - GOSSIP, a limited-edition ring collection collab by the musician and Stephen Webster in London.
October 2023: Happy Halloween
The two also partied at Vas Morgan and Michael Braun's Halloween party.
October 2023: Kill Bill Couple
The two appeared at the annual Casamigos Halloween party.
March 2024: Megan Gives Relationship Update
The actress confirmed that she and MGK had at one point called off their engagement.
"What I've learned from being in this relationship is that it's not for public consumption," she said on the Call Her Daddy podcast. "So I think as of now, I don't have a comment on like the status of the relationship."
She continued, "What I can say is, that is what I refer to as being my 'twin soul', and there will always be a tether to him no matter what."
November 2024: Baby on Board
The couple shared that they were expecting a baby together with Megan writing on Instagram, "Nothing is ever really lost. Welcome back," alongside a photo posing naked covered in black paint and holding her baby bump.
She also included a picture of a pregnancy test with the word, "Yes."
November-December 2024: Breakup
In late November, shortly after confirming Megan's pregnancy, the duo called it quits, multiple outlets reported Dec. 10.
March 2025: It's a Girl!
The duo welcomed daughter on March 27, 2025. According to MGK, Megan gave birth while listening to a score composed by himself and pal Travis Barker.
The rocker said he named their baby girl Saga Blade Fox-Baker because she's the five-year culmination of "coming, disappearing, coming back again, disappearing, coming back again."
“She is an epic story," he told Today. "That's what saga means.”