One of the most successful American rock bands in history, Bon Jovi is a household name around
the globe.
But the members of the group have suffered their fair share of setbacks.
Here are some of the darker and more challenging moments in the lives of the famous bandmates.
According to Rolling Stone, when Bon Jovi taped its 2007 episode of Unplugged, there
were rumors flying around the set that guitarist Richie Sambora was too drunk to play.
His team denied that there were any problems.
Nevertheless, a few days after the June 5th session, a band representative told Us Weekly
that Sambora had checked into a Los Angeles drug treatment facility to address his issues
with alcohol.
A source also told Us Weekly that Sambora was "going through a hard time" following
a rapid chain of stressful events that included the death of his father, the finalization
of his divorce from Heather Locklear, and relationship problems with girlfriend Denise
Richards.
A few months later, Sambora spent an additional week in rehab at Utah's Cirque Lodge facility.
Addiction recovery is a journey, and sometimes that road is rocky.
In March 2008, while driving in California, Sambora was pulled over for weaving across
lanes.
After failing field sobriety tests, he was arrested, booked, and released about five
hours later.
The guitarist faced as many as six months in prison.
He ultimately pleaded no contest to a charge of drunk driving and received probation, charged
fines, and ordered to take an alcohol education class.
In 2011, Sambora decided to admit himself to a drug treatment center once again to seek
help.
Sambora explained to Extra that his 14 year-old daughter motivated him to stop drinking when
she told him to clean up his act.
"We were going through that as a family together, you know what I mean?
Her saying that to me was kinda like 'Okay, that's it.
That's it, man.'"
While Bon Jovi was on a hiatus in the early '90s and before recording its fifth studio
album Keep the Faith, the band's members pursued various projects.
Jon Bon Jovi recorded his solo debut Blaze of Glory, and Richie Sambora made his record,
Stranger in This Town.
Bon Jovi keyboardist David Bryan played all over Sambora's album, while also recording
the score for the movie Netherworld.
Unfortunately, he also spent a large portion of his Bon Jovi hiatus recovering from parasites
he believes he acquired when the band toured through South America.
These dangerous little creatures absolutely ravaged Bryan's body.
He lost 40 pounds and could have died.
Bryan told Keyboard magazine in 1993…
"They ate out my intestines and my stomach and put me out of commission for about six
months."
Bryan went on to make a full recovery and, to this day, he continues to enjoy a very
long, successful career with Bon Jovi.
In 1989, Jon Bon Jovi married Dorothea Hurley, his longtime love who he met in high school.
They've raised four kids together, starting off with eldest daughter Stephanie.
Sadly, the family has had some ups and downs.
In November 2012, police and paramedics were summoned to a dormitory at Hamilton College
in upstate New York in response to a call that Stephanie was unresponsive, possibly
due to a drug overdose.
It was a traumatic moment for the family but, luckily, she was treated and quickly released
from a local hospital.
In an interview with Katie Couric, Bon Jovi said...
"That problem is much more prevalent than [...] I knew.
[...] It happens to all kinds of families all over."
He added that Stephanie was doing great and gave a positive update on the situation.
"You know, I'm just blessed that she's healthy and whole.
And we're getting through it.
We've gotten through it."
Despite being the drummer in an incredibly successful band for nearly 40 years, Tico
Torres has kept his personal life relatively quiet.
It wasn't until 2009, with the Bon Jovi documentary When We Were Beautiful, that he opened up
about his struggles with addiction.
He explained in the documentary…
"I was killing myself with drinking years ago.
I was the kind of person who wouldn't drink for months and then just load off two bottles."
His bandmate, Jon Bon Jovi, confirmed it.
"He had a lot of demons.
He was a really bad drunk [...] He'd get in a lot of trouble with a lot of people."
As of the making of that documentary, Torres considered himself a sober, recovering alcoholic.
After 30 years with the band, guitarist Richie Sambora abruptly quit Bon Jovi in 2013.
Sambora said that there was no bad blood between him and his bandmates and he made the decision
quickly between legs of a tour.
He elaborated on The Today Show Australia…
"I just started spending time with my kid, between legs, and my spirit wouldn't pull
myself out the door.
I just needed to be home."
Sambora's sudden departure blindsided the other members of the band.
According to The Mirror, Jon Bon Jovi said...
"Everything was great, and we were just coming off a break, but he never came to work again.
[...] It was a shock."
A couple of years after the split with Sambora, Bon Jovi released Burning Bridges, the band's
final album on Mercury Records.
That title was a not-so-thinly veiled announcement that Bon Jovi was frustrated and ready to
break free from Mercury.
Losing Sambora and leaving his record label left Jon Bon Jovi in a very low place that
lasted for years.
He told The Mirror…
"There was a lot of darkness really.
[...] I was going through a difficult period and it felt like the weight of the world was
on my shoulders."
Bon Jovi worked hard to make it big, and the band finally did when back-to-back singles
"You Give Love a Bad Name" and "Livin' on a Prayer" from the 1986 album Slippery When
Wet topped the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.
The support tour for the album took up most of 1986 and 1987.
Then, they had to head back into the studio to record the 1988 album New Jersey.
Achieving and maintaining that kind of success - and fulfilling all the duties it requires
- can leave a person physically, mentally, and emotionally drained.
According to The Mirror, that's how Jon Bon Jovi was feeling in the early '90s when he
suffered a "breakdown."
In fact, those feelings were so awful and strong that he almost made a devastating decision.
While on his way to see a psychologist, Bon Jovi was driving along the Pacific Coast Highway
in California, and he considered jumping out of the moving car and ending it all.
Fortunately for everyone, that didn't happen, and he went on to create decades of great
music, be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - and consistently inspire his
fans all around the world.
If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call or chat online with
the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).