Substance Abuse Problems Lead to Bon Jovi Split with Richie Sambora

It’s a sad time for Bon Jovi fans, after news that band guitarist Richie Sambora has effectively been fired from the band because of substance abuse problems. How very tragically rock n roll.

Richie and Jon have a well-documented stormy relationship, but after issuing the guitarist an ultimatum (i.e. the band or the drugs) it looks like things have all gone wrong and it’s pretty obvious which one of the two Richie Sambora chose.

A source told Radaronline that Jon “has no intention of taking him back without Richie attending a serious rehab program” and that “Six weeks ago, he and Richie had a two-hour call to patch things up, but when Jon made it clear that he would not take him back before he went into rehab, it was a deal-breaker. Richie had his heart set on being back for the tour dates in New Jersey — the talk did not end well.”

That being said, other people are claiming that Richie isn’t an alcoholic or anything, and rather that this is, for want of a better word, personal.

Another source told Radaronline that Jon wanted Richie out of the picture and that it was likely to happen regardless of substance abuse:

“It’s disheartening that it has come to this. Richie is healthy. He is not drinking. He is sober. Indeed, he is the one who helped Jon’s daughter after she was arrested in November and Jon clearly wanted his daughter to get the same help that worked for Richie. For someone to suggest that Richie needs to leave Hollywood in order to preserve his health, it’s absurd.”

Well, while it’s difficult to know why it happened, we do know one thing: it’s happened. Well, that and it’s a sad state of affairs indeed.