Richie Sambora Reportedly Not Happy With Bon Jovi Docuseries

Richie Sambora is reportedly not happy about the new Bon Jovi docuseries, Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story.

According to PEOPLE, Jon Bon Jovi said he invited the guitarist to his home to screen the four-part docuseries. However, a source close to Sambora told the outlet, "Richie flew out to see Jon and brought him a birthday present — a really nice guitar — but they screened Jon's documentary instead."

Apparently, Sambora left this screening early and only made it through three episodes. This source tells PEOPLE, "He disagrees with how they framed his departure from the band and to him, the currency of happiness is more important than the currency of money."

PEOPLE also reports that in the docuseries, Sambora expresses regret for how he left the band in 2013 and specifically apologizes to the fans.

Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story premieres on Hulu tomorrow (April 26).

The buzz around the Bon Jovi docuseries undoubtedly has given fans some hope that maybe Sambora could return, especially since he participated in it. Unfortunately, it seems like that reunion is just not in the cards, which is likely very disappointing to the band's legions of fans.

Last month, JBJ basically crushed any hope fans had about Sambora returning in an interview with Ultimate Classic Rock. The singer told the outlet that he and Sambora haven't been in contact, despite both participating in Thank You, Goodnight. Bon Jovi shared that Sambora's interview portions were filmed in London, and he wasn't there. The frontman also noted at that time that he hadn't seen the complete docuseries.

"We're not in contact because he's not in the organization any longer," said JBJ. "Doesn't mean that there's not love forever, but it's 11 years ago that he just didn't show up anymore."

The last time Sambora spoke on the potential of rejoining Bon Jovi was in September 2023 on an episode of Shred with Shifty, a podcast hosted by Foo Fighters guitarist Chris Shiflett. Sambora said he and Jon Bon Jovi have spoken on the phone about it. He added, "There's a demand out there for it, you know -- especially outside of the USA."

Bon Jovi has been active for over four decades, and they aren't showing signs of slowing down.

Their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame career has netted them over 130 million albums sold worldwide and legions of fans spanning generations.

Narrowing down their catalog to a select number of songs and ranking them is a daunting task, but here are Bon Jovi's 35 best songs, ranked.

A new docuseries about Bon Jovi is set to premiere on Hulu on April 26. The docuseries is titled Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story.

The docuseries also has the cooperation of all Bon Jovi members, both past and present. A teaser trailer of the docuseries offers a supercut of the band's wild career, including the exit of guitarist Richie Sambora.

Additionally, the teaser trailer shows Jon Bon Jovi in a hospital bed. He's holding a dry-erase board that simply says, "I'm good." Meanwhile, an unidentified voiceover says, "Jon's going through his challenges." It then cuts to JBJ saying, "It almost killed us."

The "challenges" appear to be about Bon Jovi's recent vocal issues, which he discussed during the Pollstar Live! conference in February 2024.

Per Ultimate Classic Rock, Bon Jovi said, "It's become public knowledge now, but I've had major reconstructive surgery in my vocal cords, and I never had anything like this, ever. So it's been a difficult road, but I found a doctor in Philadelphia who did something called a medialization, because one of my cords was literally atrophied."

A description of Thank You, Goodnight from Hulu also promises it will delve into the band's "most public moments of friction." Of course, this is likely a reference to the 2013 exit of Sambora, who has often talked about the potential of rejoining the band.