Talinda Bennington/Instagram
Chester Bennington’s widow Talinda Bennington remembers her late husband on his 46th birthday.
On Sunday, Talinda posted an old photo of Chester on her Instagram page, in which he is holding a birthday present and smiling broadly.
“Happy birthday, my darling!” she began her heartfelt letter. “We miss you so much. The pain doesn’t get any easier, but you get used to it, they say. I’m not sure I even believe that. You don’t get used to this kind of grief.”
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“I’m doing my best to raise our babies the way we always talked about,” Talinda continued. “You were my other half and it’s so hard to get by without you. I love you and we celebrate you today.”
Gregg DeGuire/WireImage
Chester committed suicide in July 2017 at the age of 41. After his death, Talinda founded the nonprofit organization 320 Changes Direction to “change the culture around mental health, mental illness and wellness,” the organization’s website states.
Talinda and Chester have three children together – son Tyler Lee and twin daughters Lily and Lila. The Linkin Park singer was also the father of three other children from previous relationships, including one who was adopted.
In a 2019 episode of the ABC News podcast “Life After Suicide,” Talinda spoke candidly about her late husband, telling the network’s chief correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton that she believed he had reached a “good place” after years of struggling with substance abuse and depression.
“We just thought he was OK,” she said. “I can’t stress this enough. If you knew Chester, you would know he was OK, in such a good place.”
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Instead of “getting stuck in despair,” Talinda added that interacting with Linkin Park fans on social media helped her through the early stages of grief.
RELATED: Chester Bennington’s widow shares video of him being happy before his suicide
“They reached out and said how sad they were and that they didn’t think they could carry on because Chester couldn’t,” she said. “And I knew that was the last thing Chester would have wanted.”
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 741-741, or go to www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org.
