The Sex Pistols star John Lydon has admitted to drinking “non-stop” for three months after the death of his beloved wife Nora Forster.
Nora passed away three months ago at the age of 80 after a two-year battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
Punk legend John, 67, – known by his former stage name Johnny Rotten – became his wife’s full-time caregiver after she was diagnosed with the degenerative condition in 2021.
In a new podcast this week, he candidly talked about how he deals with his grief.
He told how he tried to ‘push away his sadness’ with alcohol, but now the tide is trying to turn.
Tough: The Sex Pistols star John Lydon has admitted to drinking ‘non-stop’ for three months following the death of his beloved wife Nora Forster
Sad news: Nora passed away three months ago at the age of 80 after a two-year battle with Alzheimer’s (pictured together)
He told the XS Noize podcast: ‘I’m getting fit. There was a three month period of non-stop drinking there. Pushing the sadness away didn’t help and I stopped.
‘That was hell. When Nora is around and looking at me, the last thing she wants to see is me crying into a bottle of whiskey.
“I have given life as a gift and I certainly do not intend to take my own life. I am usually alone.
‘On weekends my brother, his wife and children and noisy dogs come over. I have to get mentally fit, because my family consisted not only of Nora, but also of the audience that comes to see PiL.’
John is preparing to tour with his band following the release of new album End of World.
He added, “My baby will be with me, that’s all I need to know.”
Speaking of caring for Nora, he also said, “I loved taking care of her and making her days better. It was the most fun we’ve ever had and it kept her alert.’
It comes after John revealed last month that he sleeps next to his late wife Nora’s ashes.
Love: Punk legend John, 67, – known by his former stage name Johnny Rotten – became his wife’s full-time caregiver after she was diagnosed with the degenerative condition in 2021 (seen in 2017)
Tough times: He openly talked about how he coped with his grief in a new podcast this week (photo 2011)
And he admitted that it was “much harder than he thought” to deal with the loss of his wife after spending nearly five decades together.
He told The Times about the loss: ‘I thought I could handle this side of it, but it’s worse. I like to sleep with Nora’s ashes in the closet next to the bed because there is no expectation of meeting her again in this lifetime. And if there is an afterlife…”
He added: “Some of the rules I didn’t follow could be a problem. It doesn’t bode well!’
The couple married in 1979 and recently admitted that life without the former model would be “unbearable.”
Born Nora Maier, she was an heiress to a German publishing house with a passion for music, who later became a promoter.
She had a daughter, Ariane, from her previous marriage to German singer Frank Forster. The late singer, better known as Ari Up, became the frontwoman of The Slits as a teenager and a punk icon in her own right.
Nora moved to West London with Ari in the 1960s, where bands and rock stars such as The Clash, Yes and Jimi Hendrix were guests at her Shepherd’s Bush home.
In 1975, Nora met Lydon, who was fourteen years her junior, in Vivienne Westwood’s famous King’s Road clothing store, Sex.
The pair were initially warned against each other by friends, but despite this, Lydon said they had an instant and explosive bond – one that would last a lifetime.
“It’s love, you know. I’ve always loved that woman. And she knows. When we met, we didn’t expect to get along. We had both been told the other was a bad guy. But delicious. Sparks flew. It was an instant attraction,” he told The Guardian last year.
And that has never gone away. I never expected to feel this way. I never thought I was attractive in any way. Or someone’s idea of a good date.”
The former Sex Pistol remained very faithful to his wife, despite the rock and roll lifestyle he led. He told Yahoo that as the star of one of the world’s biggest bands, “sex was thrown at you, left, right, and center.”
“No, it wasn’t for me… I don’t like that lightheartedness. I grew up with teething problems, and somehow it made me feel like there was something wrong with me,” Lydon said, referring to his ordeal with meningitis when he was just seven.
Lydon spent a year in the hospital suffering serious side effects, including memory loss for four years after the illness, an experience he says helped him understand his wife’s recent illness and needs.
‘I know that fear of isolation. I know what it’s like to feel completely scared and not know where you are.’
The years since Nora’s diagnosis in 2018 were made more bearable, he said, as the two continued to dance together, watch television and reflect on vacation memories.
Sadness: He talked about how he “pushed away his sadness” with booze, but is now trying to turn things around
He added that his beloved wife had not left despite her worsening illness and memory loss.
“For me, the real person is still there. That person I love is still there every minute of every day, and that’s my life,” he said.
In her final years, Lydon added that Alzheimer’s experts were amazed at how much Nora remembered him, saying, “A little love goes a long way.”
He and his wife’s devotion to each other was evident – and after decades together, he said there would be “no one else” for either of them when the other died.