To passersby, the Benningtons looked like just another happy family snapping a selfie at the beach. There’s a good chance someone spotted the smiling bunch and thought: They must have it all.
Days later, Chester Bennington took his own life in their L.A. home. Now the Linkin Park frontman’s widow, Talinda Bennington, is sharing the picture as a warning.
“Suicidal thoughts were there,but you’d never know,” she tweeted on Thursday, September 7. “Never kmow. #f—depression.”
This was days b4 my husband took his own life.Suicidal thoughts were there,but you'd. Never kmow. #fuckdepression pic.twitter.com/2IPXxXJxmT
— Talinda Bennington (@TalindaB) September 7, 2017
The 41-year-old musician was found in his L.A. home on July. He left behind six children from two marriages. Since his death, Talinda has been using Twitter to update followers on her life without her partner. “Another night & I can’t sleep,” she wrote on September 7. “The empty space in my bed too light now & throws off my balance. I tend to roll to the side.”
She first shared her heartbreak in a statement to Us Weekly on July 28. “One week ago, I lost my soulmate and my children lost their hero — their daddy. We had a fairy-tale life and now it has turned into some sick Shakespearean tragedy,” she wrote. “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.”
The entire music community was rocked by Chester’s death. Rihanna, Bryan Adams, Avril Lavigne, Run The Jewels and Paramore’s Hayley Williams are among a diverse list of stars who has paid tribute. Jared Leto took the stage at the MTV Video Music Awards in August to honor his late friend. “When I think about him, Chester, I see his face, which was always smiling,” Leto said. “I think about his heart, which he wore on his sleeve. I think about his family, I think about his band, who were really his brothers. I think about his voice: at one ferocious and delicate. That voice will live forever.”
If you or anyone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 to be connected to a local crisis center for confidential emotional support.
