Richie Sambora still struggles "all the time" to stay sober.
The former Bon Jovi rocker, who has reportedly been to rehab at least three times, opened up about his addiction to drugs and alcohol before performing his new song, ‘Lighthouse,’ at an anti-drug forum at the Pine Belt Arena in Toms River, New Jersey.
He said: "For me, it was not only a mental thing, but a physical thing. And it’s also ongoing — I still work at it all the time. I don’t think that you stop."
The 54-year-old guitarist feels very lucky to be alive as "nine or 10 guys" he performed with in the past have died of heroin overdoses, but insisted he has never sampled the class-A drug, according to The Asbury Park Press.
He said: "The music business has its pitfalls, and I was lucky enough to survive, and be alive."
He added: "But obviously I did a lot of other stuff, and now I’m cleared up and all is good."
Richie, who says he has "had a charmed life," hopes his new track will serve as a "beacon of light" for anyone else struggling with an addiction.
He said: "I want to do something optimistic that was a beacon of light, a beacon of hope.
"People get to a point where they get overwhelmed and they drown in their doubt and that’s when they’re most vulnerable and that’s when you let your faith shine like a lighthouse."
Richie Sambora struggles to stay sober
