Scott Weiland’s ex-wife has shared a poignant and, at times, dark essay on the late Stone Temple Pilots frontman, which lifts the lid on the spiraling nature of his “multiple illnesses” in the years prior to his death.
Weiland, who fronted STP and Velvet Revolver, died Friday in his tour bus at the age of 48. He long suffered from substance-abuse issues.
Writing in Rolling Stone, Mary Forsberg Weiland tells of the singer’s troubled life, of love and disappointment, and of the damaged family members he left behind.
It’s not a rock ‘n’ roll story to celebrate, she explains.
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“December 3rd, 2015, is not the day Scott Weiland died. It is the official day the public will use to mourn him, and it was the last day he could be propped up in front of a microphone for the financial benefit or enjoyment of others,” she writes.
“The outpouring of condolences and prayers offered to our children, Noah and Lucy, has been overwhelming, appreciated and even comforting. But the truth is, like so many other kids, they lost their father years ago. What they truly lost on December 3rd was hope.”
Mary explains that, spending so many years “immersed in Scott’s multiple illnesses led to my own depression.” At one point, she notes, “I was misdiagnosed as bipolar. I feared the same would happen to the children.” Scott and Mary’s children, Noah, 15, and Lucy, 13 helped pen the essay.
The message concludes with a warning to others to choose a different path: “Our hope for Scott has died, but there is still hope for others. Let’s choose to make this the first time we don’t glorify this tragedy with talk of rock and roll and the demons that, by the way, don’t have to come with it. Skip the depressing T-shirt with 1967-2015 on it — use the money to take a kid to a ballgame or out for ice cream.”
Read the article here.
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This article originally appeared on Billboard.com.
