Jon Bon Jovi Sends A Heartbreaking Message To Richie Sambora

In a new interview with Record Collector magazine, Jon Bon Jovi talked about how much he misses Richie Sambora.

For more than 30 years, Sambora played with Bon Jovi and helped write many hit songs. But in 2013, he didn’t join the band for their tour. Sambora said he left to spend more time with his family. Bon Jovi reflected on this over a decade later:

“It’s heartbreaking that Richie left and that he did it in that way. We were shocked. I miss him personally and creatively, in the studio and as an integral part of the band onstage.”

Jon couldn’t change Richie’s decision to leave. The frontman added:

“If you don’t show up for work, your boss is going to say, ‘What the f*ck?’ Get help. And if you don’t want to get help…It’s 11 years now. David and Tico have seen Richie once and I’ve seen him twice. It’s not like we haven’t tried.”

Jon’s Earlier Statements On Reuniting With Sambora

Still, Bon Jovi’s comments on Sambora and their band dashed hopes of a reunion. In a chat with Classic Rock magazine following the documentary ‘Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story’ last month, the singer disclosed that he has spoken to Sambora only twice since he left the band:

“I’ve talked to him twice. He. Quit. The. Band. I swear to Christ there was never a fight, nothing… He wasn’t kicked out, he quit. And he hasn’t made any great overtures about coming back.”

Sambora also later said he left because he thought the band was getting boring. Bon Jovi didn’t agree with this:

“I didn’t think so, and the collective, we didn’t think so. I personally thought that everything was going incredibly f*cking well. And it was never brought up in the room, or in the writing, or in the recording, or during the first 20 shows of that tour.”

After leaving the band, Sambora returned to perform with them at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction. However, since then, there has been no further contact.