It will be a big, massive kind of undertaking,” the founding Bon Jovi member told PEOPLE of a potential reunion

 

Bailey Richards is a writer-reporter at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2023 and interned with the brand in 2022. Her work has previously appeared in digital publications like Paper Magazine and TV Insider.

Richie Sambora spoke exclusively with PEOPLE about a Bon Jovi reunion at the Breeders’ Cup. PHOTO: GILBERT FLORES/VARIETY VIA GETTY

 

A reunion may be on the horizon for the “Livin’ on a Prayer” rockers, founding member Richie Sambora exclusively told PEOPLE at the Breeders’ Cup on Saturday.

When asked about a reunion for the group at the Arcadia, California, horse racing event, Sambora, 64, said that “there’s talking” taking place.

“There’s a documentary that’s being done about the band and stuff that I’ve participated in, and people want to come see us play, and it’s going to make everybody happy,” the guitarist said. “I mean, essentially, that’s why you do it at this point.”

Richie Sambora (left) with fellow Bon Jovi members Jon Bon Jovi and Alec John Such.KE.MAZUR/WIREIMAGE

 

Sambora continued, “I think that we wrote a lot of songs that changed a lot of people’s lives just by letting them have a good time. I know that’s what music did to me … kept me company. And I hope that I can reflect that in what I do.”

“So yeah, it definitely could happen,” he added of a reunion. “It’s just a question of when everybody’s ready to go do it. It will be a big, massive kind of undertaking.”

As for timing? “I’m not sure. It’s up to peoples, it’s got to be right. That’s all,” Sambora told PEOPLE.

“It’s time to do it, though,” he added. “This is our 40th anniversary, but I feel younger than ever. I’m having a ball.”

Sambora also said that the amount of love people have for Bon Jovi four decades after it was founded is “unbelievable.”

“That goes to show you, music is the international language,” he explained. “And it lasts a lifetime.”

“People love to go back and hear the scrapbook of their lives. And somehow I’ve been a conduit to that very, very luckily and a lot of hard work too,” the rocker continued.

 

Jon Bon Jovi of Bon Jovi performing in 2019.SHLOMI PINTO/GETTY

Sambora was a founding member of Bon Jovi — along with Jon Bon Jovi, Tico Torres, David Bryan and Alec John Such. He penned some of its biggest hits, including “You Give Love a Bad Name” and “Livin’ on a Prayer.”

 

The legendary rocker left the band in 2013 to prioritize his relationship with his daughter Ava, now 26, whom he shares with ex Heather Locklear.

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In 2020, Sambora opened up to PEOPLE about this difficult choice — and why he had no regrets.

“It wasn’t a popular decision by any means, obviously, but there was really almost no choice about it,” the rocker said at the time. “I had a lot of conscious work to do around [my personal life].”

He continued, “We’ve been through a lot of things together. That was a time of psychological maintenance for the family. You know, I ain’t no angel. But I realized Ava needed me to be around at that point in time.”

 

 

“Family had to come first, and that’s what happened,” Sambora added.

 

 

Sambora, who overcame an addiction to painkillers and an over-reliance on alcohol after stints in rehab in 2007 and 2011, also told PEOPLE that the touring lifestyle eventually took its toll on him.

“My lord, when I look back and start to list the tours … 18-and-a-half months of being on the road, 52 countries,” he said. “It’s like, wow. It was really time for a break. We did that 14 times over a 31-year period.”