Jack White explained why it took the White Stripes so long to confirm their split.

The duo, completed by ex-wife Meg, announced in 2011 that they’d gone their separate ways. But fans had been concerned for some time that it was over. With their final album having been released in 2007, and only sporadic appearances since then – while White concerned himself with other bands – it seemed to some that occasional discussions about a new LP weren’t going to be concluded.

“Maybe about 2010, I got the feeling, ‘Yeah, I don't think we're going to be making any more White Stripes records,’” he told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe in a recent interview. “Just when me and Meg would hang out or talk, it seemed like, ‘Yeah, this isn't going to be happening anymore.’”

At the time, however, he felt there was “no point in telling people that.” “You never know, in five years from now, things might change. But then I had a feeling, maybe it'd be healthier for me and her and for the fans ... Because I'm about to release a solo record and if I hear someone say, ‘Well, why didn't you just make a White Stripes record?’ I don't want to hear that. So that was one of the reasons – for the health part of it.”

White went on to reflect on the band’s legacy, saying: “I'm very lucky to have been part of something that connected with people in that way, and it's such a strange connection that people have with this band too. I still don't fully understand… there was a lot of bands interesting, more interesting, more talented.”

The rocker further admitted that the White Stripes worldwide success was not something he ever envisioned. “We didn't think anyone would care in the mainstream about what we did. So it’s still a mystery to me," White confessed. “I’m surprised people still get something out of it. It surprised me then, and it surprises me now. There's never been a moment where I felt like, ‘Yeah, that's a good song, people should like that.’ I never have felt that. I was like, ‘Well, that felt good to me; we’ll see. We’ll see.”