Jon Bon Jovi is shining a light on where things stand with Richie Sambora more than 10 years after he stepped away from the band.
During a Q&A at a screening of the band’s docuseries, Thank You Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story, Jon, 62, assured music fans there are no hard feelings about Richie’s decision.
“There was never a fight,” he told the audience on April 10 via PEOPLE. “There was substance abuse, there was anxiety, there was being a single parent, there was a lot of personal issues he was going through. But never to this day did any of us, me or him or David [Bryan] or Tico [Torres], ever have a fight.”
Richie, 64, who previously struggled with painkillers and alcohol, decided to leave the group in the middle of the band’s 2013 Because We Can tour.
At the time, he expressed a desire to spend more time with his family. He shares 26-year-old daughter Ava Sambora with his ex-wife Heather Locklear.
“I ain’t no angel,” Richie told PEOPLE in December 2020. “But I realized, Ava needed me to be around at that point in time. Family had to come first, and that’s what happened.”
Jon agreed that Richie wanted to be home more than he wanted to be on the road. But at the same time, he admitted there was an adjustment after losing his longtime music partner.
Jon Bon Jovi is talking about what happened with Richie Sambora after he left the band over 10 years ago.
During a Q&A at a screening of the band’s docuseries, Thank You Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story, Jon, who is 62 years old, said there are no hard feelings about Richie’s decision.
“He had personal problems like substance abuse and anxiety. He also had to raise his child alone. But there was never any fighting between us,” Jon said.
Richie, who is now 64, left the band in the middle of their 2013 tour Because We Can because he wanted to spend more time with his family. He has a 26-year-old daughter named Ava with his ex-wife Heather Locklear.
Richie explained in a interview in December 2020 that he realized his daughter needed him at that time, and family had to come first.
Jon agreed that Richie wanted to be home more than he wanted to be on tour, but he also admitted that it was hard to adjust to not having his music partner by his side.
