It’s been reported that Metallica frontman James Hatfield has filed for divorce from his wife Francesca of 25 years. TMZ first reported the news, which cited it was Hetfield that filed the papers in California earlier this year.
The couple, who met in 1992, married on August 17th, 1997 and share three adult children — 24-year-old Cali, 22-year-old Castor — the drummer for Bastardane, and 20-year-old Marcella.
In 2019, the long-sober Hetfield relapsed and went back into rehab. A while back, he recalled how his wife played a major part in leading him to sobriety in the early-2000’s: “My wife threw me out of the house and I went to rehearsal, and she could not believe that I had done that, and said, ‘You’ve got to check yourself in somewhere,’ and I said, ‘Nah, no way, I’m the singer for Metallica, I can’t get help. I don’t need help.’ A lot of denial. She was very adamant about me seeking the help and I went in, I think, for her and for my family.”
Metallica next performs on September 24th in New York City at the Global Citizen Festival at Central Park.