“He wasn’t kicked out, he quit”: Jon Bon Jovi says a reunion with Richie Sambora isn’t happening any time soon

Jon Bon Jovi has once again discussed the possibility of Richie Sambora rejoining Bon Jovi – and it doesn’t sound likely.

Sambora departed the band in 2013 and rumors of his return have been circulating ever since. Speculation intensified in November 2022, when Sambora hinted a reunion at Glastonbury Festival was on the cards.

Then, rumors came to the fore in February last year, when the group’s former electric guitar player claimed he was in discussions about returning to the outfit.

However, in a new interview with Classic Rock, Bon Jovi himself has seemingly refuted such claims, stating that Sambora “hasn’t made any great overtures about coming back” – and that any potential reunion is highly unlikely.

“I’ve talked to him twice,” Bon Jovi responds when asked about a Sambora comeback. “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.”

To further dismiss rumors of a potential fight leading to the split, Bon Jovi went on to recall the circumstances surrounding Sambora’s surprise departure.

“Nobody anticipated it, no-one saw it coming,” Bon Jovi reflected of Sambora’s exit. “I talked to him the day before, I remember it so well.

“It was Easter Sunday, 2013, and I was driving through the Lincoln Tunnel as I was talking to him, because I was living in New York, and I was like: ‘Yeah, I’m feeling great, the album [2013’s What About Now] is gonna come in at Number One, see you up there.’

“He said: ‘Can I stay home one more day?’ ‘Of course. You want to fly private tomorrow? Sure. Do it. I don’t care. See you up there.’ And then the next day the phone rings at three in the afternoon, and, you know… ‘I can’t go on.’”

Despite not agreeing on a formal reunion since then, Bon Jovi and Sambora did briefly reunite in 2018 to perform at the band’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

In other Bon Jovi news, the band recently shared Living Proof, the latest single from their upcoming album, Forever.

That album will also feature a song titled My First Guitar. That track was written using Jon Bon Jovi's actual first guitar, which he recently recovered 45 years after initially selling it.