Jon Bon Jovi Shuts Out Richie Sambora from 2026 Tour: Ex Bandmates Are ‘Water and Oil’

Jon Bon Jovi is hitting the road again – but without one of his most famous bandmates.

The rocker recently announced Bon Jovi’s Forever Tour 2026, a run that notably excludes founding guitarist Richie Sambora, who left the band in 2013. While fans have long hoped for a reunion, sources claim that tensions between the former bandmates have gone on for years.

“Sambora has tried to re-join many times, but Jon has made it impossible,” one source told the Daily Mail in a report published Tuesday, October 28.

According to the outlet, the feud between the two musicians traces back to the mid-2000s, when producer John Shanks was brought in as a songwriter, effectively “icing out” Sambora, despite his role in co-writing Bon Jovi’s biggest hits like “Livin’ on a Prayer,” “You Give Love a Bad Name” and “Wanted Dead or Alive.”

Sambora left the group in 2013 amid personal struggles, later telling People that his daughter Ava “needed me to be around at that point in time,” and that “family had to come first.” He shares Ava with ex-wife Heather Locklear.

Despite past efforts to reconcile, including a visit to Bon Jovi’s New Jersey home on his birthday in March 2024, the relationship reportedly soured again. The source claimed Sambora brought a vintage guitar as a peace offering only for Bon Jovi to sit him down to watch his Hulu docuseries Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story.

The documentary’s portrayal of Sambora was “pure hogwash,” according to the source.

“Everyone knew Richie left the band to raise his daughter and the whole documentary falsely implied he went to rehab and they were waiting for his return,” the source said. “It’s admirable to stop a career that’s killing you and hurting your family, it takes courage. Richie could have taken millions and watched his daughter and ex-wife fail, but he didn’t.”

According to the source, the final straw came when Bon Jovi allegedly offered Sambora a pay cut if he ever returned.

“I am really excited that you are back and so are Dave [Bryan] and Tico [Torres]. Oh, by the way, your old cut of 25 percent will now be ten percent,” Bon Jovi allegedly told him, per the insider.

The source claimed Sambora was “speechless” and “felt stabbed in the back again.”

A second source close to Bon Jovi suggested the lead singer has no desire to reopen old wounds.

“As much as Richie would like to come back, Jon doesn’t want to deal with the trouble it will likely bring,” the second source told the Daily Mail. “They are oil and water. It would take an act of God for Richie to be reunited with the band.”

Bon Jovi’s Forever Tour kicks off next July with shows at Madison Square Garden in New York City, before heading overseas for a few stops in the United Kingdom.