Remembering Chester Bennington on his 46th birthday. Image Source: iHeart Happy Birthday, Chester. We Miss You!
On March 20th, 2022, along with Talinda Bennington, the entire world remembered the late musician Chester Bennington on what would have been his 46th birthday with a special tribute.
Talinda Bennington took to her social media to share a picture of Chester Bennington holding up a birthday present with a big smile on his face with the world. She captioned the post, Happy Birthday my love. She added that everyone misses him so much and reminded everyone about the philosophy that states the pain does not go away, but people somehow just get used to living with it. Talinda mentioned that she does not believe in that philosophy at all, as there is no way to deal with grief, like losing someone you love, and there is no way to get used to this.
The widow of the late musician added that she is doing her best to raise their kids exactly the way they talked about and called Chester her other half. Talinda added that it’s really hard for her to walk down this path of life without him, and lastly, she added that she loves him and everyone is celebrating him today.
Linkin Park shared a heartwarming video of Chester Bennington smiling, hanging out with fans during a meet and greet on his birthday, and can be heard playing Happy Birthday on a mouth organ. Grey Daze also remembered their band member and friend and shared a post on social media as they wished him and added that they think about him and miss him every day. Chester Bennington was part of Grey Daze before he joined Linkin Park.
Chester Bennington struggled with depression and substance abuse, and after several years of battling with substance abuse, followed by an intervention from Linkin Park bandmates in 2011, Chester Bennington shared that he had quit drinking because he did not want to be that person anymore. He passed away via suicide on July 20th, 2017 in his home in Palos Verdes Estates, California. Chester passed away on what would have been Chris Cornell’s 53rd birthday and both of them were really good friends.
Chris Cornell’s passing away definitely had an impact on Chester Bennington, as his bandmate and friend Mike Shinoda shared that Chester was very emotional when the band decided to perform a song in the honor of Chris Cornell on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Mike mentioned that Chester could not finish the rehearsals without choking up while singing the song ‘One More Light’. Chester Bennington sang Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’ at Chris Cornell’s funeral in Los Angeles in May 26th 2017.
After Chester’s passing away, his widow, Talinda Bennington, started a mental health non-profit organization ‘320 Changes Direction’, for everyone who is seeking answers about mental health and finding a way to change the way people see mental health, mental illness, and wellness. She started advocating about mental health after she understood that her husband who looked in a good place was dealing with a lot of things internally.
Talinda Bennington spoke to the ABC News podcast, Life After Suicide, in 2019, where she mentioned that she believed that Chester Bennington was in a good place in his battle with depression and addiction. She also mentioned that she often finds it comforting when she speaks to Chester’s fans who tell her how sad they were and how they mentioned that they couldn’t go on because Chester couldn't, and she started helping them to get better because she knows that this is the last thing that Chester would have wanted. His fans felt like they couldn’t go on, so Talinda sort of took it upon herself to help them in whatever way she could.
Chester Bennington is survived by Talinda Bennington and their three kids, Tyler Lee, Lily, and Lila. From previous relationships, the late singer fathered three children, Jamie, Isaiah, and Draven Sebastian.
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text 'STRENGTH'to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741or go to suicidepreventionlifeline.org.
