Their friendship was “Livin’ on a Prayer.”
Jon Bon Jovi, 62, opened up about Richie Sambora, 64, falling out with the band amid the release of their upcoming docuseries, “Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story.”
“There was never a fight,” Bon Jovi told Entertainment Tonight in a story published Wednesday, referring to Sambora.
“It was never about money, it was never about a girlfriend. He had issues … and he literally didn’t show up. We were playing for 20,000 people and there’s a black hole on the stage.”
Richie Sambora (left) and Jon Bon Jovi perform during Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in 2018. Getty Images For The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The original Bon Jovi members: David Bryan (from left), Alec John Such, Bon Jovi, Sambora and Tico Torres.Explore More
Bon Jovi formed in 1983, fronted by its namesake.
Currently, he’s still the frontman, David Bryan is the keyboardist, Tico Torres is the drummer, Hugh McDonald is the bassist and Phil X is the guitarist.
Sambora was the lead guitarist from 1983 until 2013, when he departed amid substance abuse issues. (Original bassist Alec John Such left earlier, in 1994, and died in 2022 at age 70.)
In March, Bon Jovi said on Ultimate Classic Rock that he and Sambora were “not in contact because he’s not in the organization any longer. [That] doesn’t mean that there’s not love forever, but it’s 11 years ago that he just didn’t show up anymore.”
Sambora (left) and Bon Jovi in 1988. Getty Images “It was never about money, it was never about a girlfriend. He had issues,” Bon Jovi said about Sambora. http://www.BonJovi.com/prints Bon Jovi wasn’t in contact with Sambora for a while. AFP via Getty ImagesThe guitarist is dad to daughter Ava, 26, whom he has with ex-wife Heather Locklear. The pair divorced in 2007 after 13 years of marriage.
Additionally, Sambora has dealt with alcohol issues over the course of his career, having last entered rehab in 2011.
The four-part docuseries features 40 years of personal videos, and it also follows the band in 2022.
Per Hulu, “The series relives the triumphs and setbacks, greatest hits, biggest disappointments and most public moments of friction.”
“Thank You, Goodnight” is an upcoming Hulu docuseries. Bon Jovi getting emotional in “Thank You, Goodnight.” Hulu Sambora in “Thank You, Goodnight.” DisneySince leaving the band in 2013, Sambora has only played with them once, in 2018, at Bon Jovi’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
Bon Jovi further told ET about Sambora: “Substance abuse or anxieties or single parenting, all those things weighed on him, losing his dad. These were all very hard things.
“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?”
“What am I going to do? Shut it down because you don’t want to go to rehab?” Bon Jovi said about Sambora. AFP via Getty Images The docuseries will cover 40 years of Bon Jovi. Getty Images Bon Jovi in “Thank You, Goodnight.” DisneyBon Jovi revealed that he and Sambora watched the first three episodes of “Thank You, Goodnight” together.
He said that was the first time he’d heard Sambora apologize for his departure — and he said that time helped them mend fences.
“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,” he said.
“Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story” premieres Friday, April 26, on Hulu and Disney+.
