Chester Bennington's Ex-Wife Pays Tribute to Late Linkin Park Singer
Samantha Marie Olit, the ex-wife of Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington, penned a moving tribute to her former husband on social media on Sunday, July 30. The singer was found dead in his California home on July 20 of an apparent suicide.
Samantha, who was married to Chester Bennington from 1996 until their divorce in 2005, took to social media to express her loss. In her Facebook post on Sunday, she hoped that her former husband is now "at peace and no longer suffering."
The former wife of the Linkin Park singer thanked him for everything he brought into her life, as well as their son's, as Samantha called Chester her long-time best friend. "Chester, as one of my best friends of the age of 19, a husband, father to my son, business partner, and all we created together," she started.
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"I'm truly honored to have completed our soul contracts together, build all we did together, & thank you for giving me the greatest gift ever, our beautiful son Draven," Samantha added.
Chester Bennington has left behind six children, including Draven, whom he had with Samantha, according to the International Business Times. They got married on Oct. 31, 1996 after they first met, while Chester was still with an Arizona-based band called Grey Daze.
They were a married couple when Bennington first got accepted into Linkin Park when he auditioned for the alternative band in 1999. They welcomed Draven Sebastien Bennington, their first child, on April 19, 2002.
Things went downhill from there for their relationship, however. In the middle of Chester's career with Linkin Park, the couple decided to part ways and has made their split formal with a divorce in 2005.
At the end of her public tribute, Olit thanked their family and friends before leaving a final word for her departed former husband. "We also want to thank our family and friend who traveled close & far for their support & continuous love," she wrote.
"We will always love you Chester," Samantha added at the end.
