Richie Sambora Discusses Sudden 2013 Bon Jovi Exit, Says He ‘Didn’t Receive a Lot of Compassion’

“It’s really, really hard to be married to four guys,” Sambora said in footage he posted that was filmed for Hulu’s Bon Jovi docuseries, ‘Thank You, Goodnight’

Richie Sambora attends the 149th Kentucky Derby Barnstable Brown Gala at Barnstable-Brown Mansion in May 2023 in Louisville. PHOTO: STEPHEN J. COHEN/GETTY

Richie Sambora is opening up about his decision to leave Bon Jovi.

In an Instagram clip of “cutting room floor” footage from the new docuseries Thank You, Goodnight, the guitarist, 64, apologized for how he handled leaving the band.

“From the cutting room floor of #thankyougoodnight – Livin’ Alone out tomorrow!” Sambora captioned the video, which features him talking to the camera in a red button-down shirt and his signature rocker hat.

Richie Sambora and Jon Bon Jovi perform at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in March 2011 in Las Vegas.ETHAN MILLER/GETTY

“I heard everything and I was the guy that really fought for this to be a band,” he says in the post.

“It’s really hard to be married to four guys,” Sambora says with a laugh in the clip, “and be in close quarters the way we were. That coupled with my daughter coming of age, my wife’s mental health stuff was really acting up, and she needed me — and I needed her.”

Sambora continues: “I don’t regret leaving the situation, but I regret how I did it. So, I would like to apologize fully right now to the fans, especially also to the guys because my feet and my spirit were just not letting me walk out the door.”

He recalls not receiving “a lot of compassion” when he was making the decision to leave.

Richie Sambora, Jon Bon Jovi and Alec John Such performing early in Bon Jovi’s career.KE.MAZUR/WIREIMAGE

“I was in this organization for 31 ½ years, and everybody has their personal tragedies and things like that, but I didn’t receive a lot of compassion coming back for what I was going through,” Sambora says. “I believe everybody had their own perspective on how fame and fortune. Everybody experiences that at different speeds. That’s how life can get whacked from one guy from the next and blah blah blah. But I was essential because I spent more time with Jon than even his wife and was more honest.”

The “It’s My Life” performer says his relationship with Jon Bon Jovi was unique because he could give his perspective to him as a fan.

“We spent a lot of time in a room with no windows even for the beginning stages of writing the material,” he recalls. “I could be a fan of Jon and be like, ‘I don’t want to hear you sing that.’ I think that was one of my primary roles beside being his right hand and an accurate mirror.”

Jon Bon Jovi Says He & Richie Sambora Watched New Docuseries Together at His Home: ‘There’s Never Animosity’ (Exclusive)

Richie Sambora and Jon Bon Jovi of Bon Jovi perform during the 33rd Annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at Public Auditorium in April 2018 in Cleveland.KEVIN MAZUR/GETTY

Thank You, Goodnight, which premiered on Hulu on April 26, features interviews with former and current Bon Jovi band members, as well as conversations with Bruce Springsteen, John Shanks, Obie O’Brien, Everett Bradley, Doc McGee, Dorothea Bongiovi, Matt Bongiovi, Paul Korsilius and Dean Grillo.

The four-part series, directed and executive produced by Gotham Chopra, features behind-the-scenes insights into the band’s rise to fame.

It also gives viewers a snapshot of the band’s formation and tumult throughout the years.

Bon Jovi opened up about Sambora’s exit in last week’s PEOPLE cover story exploring the band’s 40-year legacy.

“I’ve been waiting at the door for 10 years,” Bon Jovi told PEOPLE of Sambora, who has said he left to focus on raising his daughter amid his divorce from Heather Locklear. “But just to be clear, there was nothing but love. There was never a fight. Ultimately being in a rock band is not a life sentence. He had to deal with his other issues.”

The frontman also revealed to PEOPLE that he invited Sambora over to his home to watch three-fourths of the docuseries together, adding: “There’s never animosity.”