💔 “‘We Were Lying to the World…’ — Benny Andersson’s Emotional Confession at 78 Unmasks ABBA’s True Story, and It’s Not What Fans Expected 😢🎭”

For decades, ABBA was pop perfection: glossy, untouchable, eternal.

But behind the shimmering lights and sequined outfits, the band’s silent mastermind — Benny Andersson — was writing songs about things no one else dared to say.

And now, he’s finally ready to talk about why.

In a rare, unfiltered sit-down interview for Swedish Legacy Radio, Benny, now 78, reflected on the band’s meteoric rise, explosive relationships, and the secrets they agreed never to reveal.

Until now.

“People thought we were happy.

They saw the smiles, the costumes, the choreography.

But the truth is… we were breaking down — in real time — on stage.

The biggest shock? According to Benny, many of ABBA’s most beloved songs were written in the middle of emotional collapse.

“‘The Winner Takes It All’ — people think that’s just a breakup song.

But I wrote it days after watching Agnetha [Fältskog] sob alone in a dressing room.

That wasn’t fiction.

That was pain.

The song, famously sung by Agnetha, was assumed by fans to be about her real-life divorce from Björn Ulvaeus.

But Benny says it went deeper than that — it was a coded confession about the entire group’s unraveling.

“We were all falling apart.

But we turned that into harmony.

And what about the women?

For years, the world wondered about the complex emotional web between the two couples — Benny and Anni-Frid Lyngstad (Frida), and Björn and Agnetha.

Though both couples eventually divorced, the band continued to perform — smiling through heartbreak.

But Benny reveals now that their public silence wasn’t accidental — it was strategic.

“We made a deal: no one talks.

Not about the fights.

Not about the affairs.

Not about what was said backstage.

He pauses.Then adds:

“But maybe it’s time.

According to Benny, one of the biggest secrets involved a romantic tension that was never spoken aloud — but was felt by everyone.

“There was a fifth person in our world.

Not a band member, but someone close.

Someone we all trusted.

And eventually… they came between us.

He doesn’t name them.

But he hints that this outsider created a split that was “never repaired, only rehearsed over.

Was it a manager? A lover? A confidante?

Benny won’t say.

But the effect, he says, was devastating.

“We stopped trusting each other.

And once the music stopped, so did the connection.

Still, ABBA endured — at least publicly — churning out hits while privately mourning the loss of their real bond.

Even the 2021 “comeback” album, Voyage, which reunited the four after decades apart, was built on distance.

“We recorded separately, most of the time,” Benny admits.

“It wasn’t a reunion.It was a farewell.

He goes on to say that while the group promoted unity, they barely spoke outside of work.

“We still cared for each other.

Deeply.But something was broken.And we never fixed it.

One of the most heartbreaking revelations?

“Frida once told me: ‘We gave the world the soundtrack to our own suffering — and they danced to it.

It was in that moment, Benny says, that he realized ABBA had become a myth — not a band.

“People projected what they wanted.

We gave them glitter and tears, and they called it pop.

But it was always more than that.

When asked if he has regrets, Benny’s eyes flicker with the weight of a man who’s carried silence longer than he ever carried fame.

“I regret not saying ‘I’m sorry’ more.

I regret hiding behind melodies.

And I regret thinking we could write our way through grief.

But amid the sorrow, Benny also acknowledges what ABBA meant — and still means — to millions.

“We gave people music for weddings, for funerals, for heartbreak and joy.

That means something.Still, he says, he’s tired of pretending it was all easy.

Or even real.“We were four hearts — not two couples, not four legends.

Just people.Trying.Failing.Forgiving.

So why speak now?

“Because I’m 78.

Because silence becomes regret.

And because the truth — even decades late — still matters.

”

The interview ends quietly.

No piano.

No fanfare.

Just a man finally unburdening himself of what the world was never supposed to hear.

And in that moment, you realize:
The biggest ABBA song never released…
Was the one they lived behind closed doors.