Richie Sambora left Bon Jovi in 2013,and Jon Bon Jovi is still not over it.
While visiting the Dumb Blonde podcast this week for a conversation with Bunnie Xo, the Bon Jovi frontman made this admission about his former bandmate.
“The great thing that I have said about him throughout our lives was you would be lucky to call him your friend, and I mean that — talented beyond, beyond as a guitar player, as a singer, as a collaborator, wonderful, right-hand man, awesome. Couldn’t ask for more,” Bon Jovi said.
He continued, “My heartbreak with him is the way he walked out on us, compounded by the fact that it took him years to come back in the room just to have a meal with Tico and David and I and say, ‘I’m sorry.'”
When Sambora left the band, it was just five years after his divorce from Heather Locklear. He cited a need to be present for their daughter, Ava Sambora, who is now 27 years old. Sambora also said he was burnt out from constant touring and “needed a break.“
It turns out that Bon Jovi was not pleased with the way Sambora made his exit, and not because he decided to go.
He explained to Bunnie Xo, “It’s unfortunate. It’s heartbreaking … but if what he wanted was to be just Richie Sambora, not a member of Bon Jovi, do it right? I always encourage all of my guys, because my attitude was, ‘Bring the information back that you learn outside. It’ll only help us.’ “
He continued, “So for whatever reason, he walked out, and then that was that. But I can’t defend or accuse in any … and it’s just not worth it anymore. After so many years, I just … if you can’t figure [it out] or get it together, then it’s not on us, right? I love the man, heartbroken that he walked out on us.”
Jon Bon Jovi Says Being A Grandfather Is ‘Crazy But Great’
Jon Bon Jovi and Bunnie Xo discussed many things during their lengthy chat on the Dumb Blonde podcast, but perhaps the most exciting was the news that he’d just become a grandfather.
Bon Jovi’s son, Jake Bon Jovi, is married to Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown. The young couple just announced that they are parents to a baby girl whom they adopted.
“It’s crazy, but great. Wonderful,” Bon Jovi raved. “They adopted a girl, we met the baby obviously, and immediately that becomes your grandchild, you know what I mean? Your baby. It’s beautiful. I want to see pictures, like, every other day. I’m that pain in the butt guy already and, yeah, it’s cool.”
Legendary Rock Singer Shares The Advice He Gave Jelly Roll
During the podcast, Jon Bon Jovi also opened up about some advice he gave Bunnie Xo’s husband, Jelly Roll. Based on her reaction, it sounds like Jelly Roll needs to take that advice too.
After explaining how he interviewed the “Save Me” singer for Interview Magazine, he told Bunnie Xo, “In the magazine, I said to him, ‘Don’t do too much. Don’t go chasing every rainbow because you’re gonna burn out and not even know you’re burned out.’ And in my youth, I was doing that.”
He continued, “That is my fear for him still today: Jelly, don’t do too much. He’s established. He’s a big star. He’s done it, he’s proved it, and he’s an inspiration for millions of people. You don’t have to chase every feature. You don’t have to do every show. Go and chill for two years. I have absolutely learned how to do that.”
This story was originally reported by Parade on Sep 22, 2025, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com ’
