Richie Sambora on why he left Bon Jovi in 2013: 'Family had to come first'

Richie Sambora has opened up about why he made the difficult decision to leave the rock band, Bon Jovi, in 2013.

The 61-year-old guitarist admitted it was because his now 23-year-old daughter, Ava, needed him and he has "no regrets" about putting family first. 

Sambora joined the band when it formed in 1983. "It wasn't a popular decision by any means, obviously, but there was really almost no choice about it. I had a lot of conscious work to do around [my personal life]," Sambora told People magazine.

"We've been through a lot of things together. That was a time of psychological maintenance for the family," he explained. "You know, I ain't no angel. But I realized, Ava needed me to be around at that point in time. Family had to come first, and that's what happened."

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Sambora, who shares Ava with ex-wife and actress Heather Locklear, 59, said because of the band's intense tour schedule he would only be able to go back home to Los Angeles for just a few days here and there.

"Luckily I was making enough money to be able to have a private plane, get my ass home and see my kid even if it was only for one day. If it was Halloween, it was boom, home," he recalled. 

Sambora confessed it wasn't a sustainable lifestyle in the long run. "When I look back and start to list the tours... 18-and-a-half months of being on the road, 52 countries... It's like, wow. It was really time for a break. We did that 14 times over a 31-year period," he said.

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The rocker says now his bond with Ava has "deepened" because of the time they get to spend together and what he actually loved most over the years was driving her to high school every day.

"That's where the conversation went down. She was captive in my car for those 30 minutes. She couldn't get out," he joked. "You can find out what you needed to find out and see how she's feeling and all that kind of stuff. We've always had a very open, conversational relationship. I just said, 'Hey, you can tell me anything. I'm going to be on your side.'"

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Sambora gushed about how proud he is of Ava. "She's an amazing young woman with a bright future. She's just dedicated to being a good person," he said.