Diehard Bon Jovi fans have cried a thousand rivers since Richie Sambora left the band in 2013. Despite popular belief, lead singer Jon Bon Jovi insisted that there was “never a fight” that led to the guitarist’s sudden departure.
While promoting the new Hulu docuseries Thank You Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story, Bon Jovi opened up to Entertainment Tonight about Sambora’s exit from the band more than a decade ago.
“There was never a fight,” he said. “It was never about money, it was never about a girlfriend. He had issues. He had a lot of issues that he had to deal with and he literally didn’t show up. We were playing for 20,000 people and there’s a black hole on the stage.”
Sambora, who co-wrote many of the band’s biggest hits, struggled with alcohol abuse that reportedly landed him in rehab several times throughout his career. He is also the father to Ava Sambora, whom he shares with his ex-wife Heather Locklear.
“Substance abuse or anxieties or single parenting, all those things weighed on him, losing his dad. These were all very hard things,” Bon Jovi said. “But in fairness, why would I take away the livelihoods of not only the band, but the 120 guys in the crew? Or the millions of people that bought a ticket? What am I going to do? Shut it down because you don’t want to go to rehab?”
However, their relationship seems to be healing these days. Bon Jovi revealed that Sambora came over to his house last year to watch the first three episodes of the docuseries, noting that Sambora’s onscreen apology was the first time he heard his former bandmate say he was sorry for the way he left.
“You read, you talk to professionals, you sit with yourself, you learn to understand from a different perspective that his choices weren’t made out of animosity either,” Bon Jovi said.
The rockstar also added that he had “no creative control” over the docuseries’ edit, telling ET that he did not want a “puff piece.”
“When I view some of the things that were said — and I might not agree with them — I was never gonna dispute them,” he said. “Because that’s your truth.”
The frontman formed Bon Jovi in 1983 alongside Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres and bassist Alec John Such, who left the band in 1994 and died in 2020 of a heart attack. Since then, Hugh McDonald took over on bass, while Phil X replaced Sambora on guitar.
Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story premieres on Hulu on Friday, April 26.
