Chris Cornell’s Wife Tears up in First TV Interview Since His Death

Vicky Cornell, the widow of Soundgarden front man Chris Cornell, opened up about life after her husband’s death in a recent interview on Good Morning America.

This was Cornell’s first big public appearance since losing her husband in May of 2017. Chris was found inside his room at the MGM Grand Hotel in Detroit, after reportedly completing suicide by hanging. The singer’s body reportedly contained traces of drugs. Although it was ruled that the toxicology didn’t contribute to his death, Chris was recovering from addiction to prescription drugs and alcohol.

In her interview, which premieres on Wednesday, Feb. 21, Cornell says that she thinks she missed warnings of her husband’s depression and mental state.

“I know that people say, you know, you can’t blame yourself and, you know, I’m trying not to,” she told Robin Roberts, “but there were signs.”

Cornell also said that the perception of addiction in the U.S. is badly skewed.

“People think that addiction is like ‘Oh you were an addict,’ and people don’t recognize it as a disease,” she said. “I feel guilty of the same thing. You think addiction is a choice, and it’s not.”

Cornell wants to change that stigma, and tried to explain to the world that her husband didn’t take his own life due to anything missing from his life, but because of an imbalance in brain chemistry caused by years of addiction.

“He was the best husband, the greatest father. I lost my soul mate and the love of my life. He wanted to be there for his family, for his children. He loved his life. He never would have ever left this world,” she said.

Chris passed away in the same year as his friend and musical contemporary Chester Bennington. Bennington was the lead singer of Linkin Park, the rap-rock group that popularized a genre known as nu-metal. Bennington committed suicide by hanging in July of 2017, just a few months after Cornell. He passed on what would have been Cornell’s 53rd birthday, having also relapsed into drinking after years of sobriety.

Many fans have speculated that there is a connection between the musicians’ deaths. They were close friends, and both were credited with having a hand in shaping the musical landscape of the 90s and early 2000s. Bennington was also the godfather of Cornell’s son.

Vicky Cornell’s interview airs on Wednesday, Feb. 21 on Good Morning America.