Gracie Abrams wrote every song on her second studio album, The Secret of Us (2024), with help from Aaron Dessner and Audrey Hobert on certain tracks.

[3] "I Love You, I'm Sorry" was recorded by Bella Blasko at Dessner's Long Pond Studio in the Hudson Valley, by James McAlister in Los Angeles, and at Smilo Sound in Brooklyn by Rob Moose.

Her vocals mix between sounding guilty and nonchalant, and she is written as the song's villain; though, her use of self-awareness keeps the listener "on her side".

[7] Clash's Igor Bannikov observed similarities between the song and the music of the American musician Phoebe Bridgers.

He also believed the lyric "I push my luck, it shows / Thankful you don't send someone to kill me" showcases Abrams's talent for storytelling due to the influence of her father.

[11][12] She performed "I Love You, I'm Sorry" and the album song "Free Now" at a rally for then-United States presidential candidate Kamala Harris on October 30, in Madison, Wisconsin.

[14] On December 14, Abrams made her Saturday Night Live debut, performing "I Love You, I'm Sorry" alongside "That's So True" (2024).

[5][18][19] In a review of The Secret of Us for The Sydney Morning Herald, Tom W. Clarke deemed it the album's best song; he called it "a gorgeously constructed masterclass in pop storytelling" and lauded Abrams's vocals and lyricism.

[5] In North America, it debuted at number 83 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending August 17, 2024, marking Abrams's fifth entry to the chart.

[31] The video depicts Abrams riding a bicycle on the beach, drinking with friends, leaning out of a car's window with wind blowing through her hair, and reading a book in bed.

[31][32] Writing for Dazed, Habi Diallo opined the video shows "a new playful side of Abrams", calling it "satirical and cinematic".