Chester Bennington’s (Linkin Park) Ex-Wife Samantha Reveals Singer’s Struggles In New Book

Samantha Bennington, ex-wife of the Linkin Park frontman, reflected on her life, before and after her time with her late husband

July 20 became a very sad date for Chester Bennington and Linkin Park fans.

It marks the anniversary of the death of Chester Bennington, lead singer of the of the nu metal giants Linkin Park. Now, in a new memoir released by Samantha Bennington, new details have been shared about the late Linkin Park frontman. "Falling Love Notes: Memories From A Rock Star Wife", was released last month through Around The Way Publishing.

Samantha says the two met in January 1996 after she went to a show featuring Chester’s early band, Grey Daze. The band had a loyal local following, and Samantha purchased one of their CDs at the show. She chatted with the drummer and guitarist, and they invited her to their next show.

Samantha says:

“As we were talking, I saw the singer sitting down on a barstool in the back, so I went up to him to introduce myself,” the excerpt states, adding that Chester, at the time, was under the weather, with a fever of 103 degrees. “His voice was completely captivating, and his energy level was insane. You would never have known that he was sick.”

Samantha currently works as a coach and said she started writing the book almost a decade ago. Her intention was to launch it in 2017, but after her ex-husband committed suicide, she postponed the release of the work.

She told Billboard:

“I began this project of my ‘Memories’ around eight to nine years ago. I had planned for Falling Love Notes to be released in the fall of 2017. Unfortunately, our lives changed dramatically that June.”

“Our son, family, and I needed to grieve and work on major healing. Honestly, my project took a major back seat to my life at that time,” Samantha added. “Now that my ending has changed and I continue to heal. I found a huge amount of purpose and needed to finish what I had started.”

The following excerpt from the book has been shared:

“It’s funny, because I didn’t want to be in a relationship. I wanted a divorce and was in the middle of one. The possibility of starting something new went against everything I thought I wanted. I was more afraid of not trying, though, because it was clear that the universe and God were playing a huge roll in this, and they had gi-normous plans for Chester and me.

In reality, I was more afraid of not seeing him again than I was to call around to try to find him. Thank goodness for my loving and pushy co-workers. Honestly, I wouldn’t have done it without all of them pushing me in the right direction.

It was around three o’clock in the afternoon, or maybe three-thirty, when a woman answered my call. Her voice sounded young and sweet, and she gave me an opportunity to share my story, tell her why I was calling.

“My name is Samantha,” I said, “and I know this is going to sound weird. However, last night at a show I met a guy who might be your brother. He probably meets tons of people all the time, but I want you to know I’m not a crazy stalker chick. So in the event he remembers me, can you please give him my name and number? I promise I will not contact you again. But, if he wants to contact me, the ball is now in his court.”

Turned out the woman’s name was Renee and she was his older sister. She said the man I was searching for was indeed her brother. She continued to explain that while usually she did not reveal any info about her brother, for some odd reason she decided to tell me. If that’s not the universe or God intervening, then I don’t know what is!

I thanked his sister for her understanding, and for passing on my information. It was nice to speak with her and I was at peace because at least I tried. I took action with pure intention and in recognition of the life opportunity that was presented to me. I really just followed my heart, but was, in fact, manifesting the life I wanted.”

About Chester’s struggles, Samantha says:

“Chester replied with a screen shot of the number of days he’d been sober. He was in a rehab, again, but I still did not believe he needed to be there, because he had become so addicted to working out. He was in possibly the best physical shape of his life. I was sure that he was clean. You simply cannot be in that great of shape and be using substances. When he finally called, he asked if we could come visit and do a family weekend. “Yes,” I said, “just tell us when.” Unfortunately, the family weekend never happened.

Then Chester called. “As soon as I get home, can I please take you and Draven out to dinner and explain everything?” he said.

“Of course,” I replied. We decided on an early dinner and met at 5 p.m. at the California Pizza Kitchen in Torrance. When he started to share with us, I became increasingly concerned and empathized with his energy. I then asked the waiter for a glass of wine. I’m a “normie,” someone who can drink and is not an alcoholic, slang for normal. In the past, I sometimes drank in front of Chester. He had been sober for years and had such a grip on his sobriety that it did not bother him. But, hearing what we were hearing from him, I needed to calm down.

Samantha and Chester Bennington’s son, Draven, was born on April 19, 2002. Chester married Talinda Bennington shortly after his divorce from Samantha, and had three children with her.

Read more excerpts from the book on Rolling Stone. You can order the book here via Amazon.

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