Perhaps we will know more with the 2016 release. Jon has said that a lot happened to him and that the new music will be very "pointed." Given his obsession with loyalty (i.e. the BB track), I never bought his statement that he wasn't mad at Richie..."being in the band isn't a life sentence." I doubt that he will ever trust Richie again or forgive him.

While I hated that Richie left the tour especially since by all accounts he was "on fire" the first leg of the tour while Jon was getting flak for his static delivery and not moving around on stage, it's done and we need to all move on. Richie has all the fame and money he needs; if he is seeking artistic freedom and being able to lead his own band, more power to him. I personally think another factor in his leaving was not being able to sing a song off his solo cd while Jon took a stage break. I understand Jon wanting it to be a purely Bon Jovi concert but I still think it was part of Richie's breaking point.