"You never say never" — Jon Bon Jovi on the possibility of Richie Sambora returning to the band after leaving over 11 years ago

In a recent interview, Jon Bon Jovi spoke about the possibility of Richie Sambora rejoining his band, Bon Jovi, and assured fans that "there’s no animosity." Sambora is one of the founding members of his band along with David Bryan, Tico Torres, and Alec John Such, and he left the group in 2013.

He mentioned last month during The Allison Hagendorf Show interview that he would return to the group when its frontman recovered from vocal cord surgery. Jon Bon Jovi then opened up about the prospects of Sambora rejoining in an interview with Entertainment Weekly published on June 7, 2024.

"You never say never. I mean, he quit the band 11-plus years ago, and he’s had to deal with a lot of things in his life. But there’s no animosity," he said.

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Why did Richie Sambora leave Jon Bon Jovi's band?

Richie Sambora opened up about his abrupt departure in the 2024 Hulu docuseries Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story. He mentioned that he left due to an "amalgamation" of things, including "deep family problems."

"I spent so much time being on the road, and at that time unfortunately, my ex-wife (Heather Locklear) was having some mental health issues, and my daughter coming to an age where she could understand. She needed me and I needed her, truthfully, we didn't have enough time," he said.

The artist then apologized for his decision to leave the band hours before the group was scheduled to perform in Calgary for their 2013 Because We Can tour. He said, "My feet and my spirit were just not letting me walk out the door," and added:

"I guess if you’re in the mafia, the only thing you possibly do is disappear. And I did."

Speaking to Entertainment Tonight about Sambora's departure, Jon Bon Jovi mentioned that there was "never a fight."

“There was never a fight. It was never about money, it was never about a girlfriend. He had issues, and he literally didn’t show up. We were playing for 20,000 people and there’s a black hole on the stage,” he said.

Sambora returned in 2018 to play with the band at Bon Jovi's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. However, this was just a one-time event.

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Richie Sambora mentioned that he would rejoin Bon Jovi on one condition

In an episode of The Allison Hagendorf Show last month, Richie Sambora spoke about rejoining the band.

“The fans will just love it. It’s not finance, it has nothing to do with [that]. The world could use it," the 64-year-old said.

He revealed that he would only return if lead singer Jon Bon Jovi's voice came back and he recovered from his vocal cord surgery.

"As Jon said, he’s been having problems with his voice, and now he had that operation, It’s an iffy thing at best. I don’t know if there’s anybody that has ever had that be successful. I’m not really sure about that. And I went to his house, and we talked about it," explained Sambora.

Jon Bon Jovi underwent a vocal fold medialization surgery in 2022 to help him regain the strength of his voice. As per People, the legendary singer shed light on his recovery while at a Q+A event for the docuseries and said:

"I'm well back on the road to recovery, not a day of it's easy. Every day is a struggle, but I'm more than capable of doing it again."

In a June 2024 interview with The Guardian, the singer mentioned that "there's no miracle."

“The bar is now: can I do two and a half hours a night, four nights a week? The answer is no,” explained Bon Jovi.

Bon Jovi's sixteenth studio album, Forever released on June 7, 2024, with 12 songs.