Talinda Bennington, Chester Bennington’s widow, has broken her grief-stricken silence and issued her first emotional statement following the death of the Linkin Park frontman. Bennington’s late wife penned this heartbreaking message to her husband’s fans eight days after the beloved Linkin Park singer committed suicide on July 20. In the tragic open letter that she shared with Rolling Stone, she wonders what the future holds for her family’s future, reminisced about Chester, thanked the fans for their love, and asked, “How do I move on?”
“One week ago, I lost my soulmate and my children lost their hero – their Daddy. We had a fairytale life and now it has turned into some sick Shakespearean tragedy. How do I move on? How do I pick up my shattered soul? The only answer I know is to raise our babies with every ounce of love I have left. I want to let my community and the fans worldwide know that we feel your love. We feel your loss as well. My babies are so young to have lost their daddy. And I know that all of you will help keep his memory alive.
He was a bright, loving soul with an angel’s voice. And now he is pain-free singing his songs in all of our hearts. May God bless us all and help us turn to one another when we are in pain. Chester would’ve wanted us to do so. Rest In Peace, my love.”
Three days ago, Mike Shinoda, the co-founder of Linkin Park, posted the first photo of him and Chester from 1997 or 1998. Shinoda said of the throwback photo: “I think this was the first photo we ever took together. We had just told Chester that we wanted him to join the band. He said he was ready to move out from Arizona to L.A. We went to a pizza place near UCLA to hang out and talk about what to do next. The band was called Xero at the time, and we probably had less than a half a dozen songs. No flame tattoos yet, no red hair yet, most of us were still in college.”