EP 55: Mary Weiland and Scott Weiland

Mary Forsberg was only 16 years old when she first met Scott Weiland. Seven years her senior, Scott had been hired to chauffeur Mary around to her modelling gigs. While their attraction was immediate, their careers were taking them in different directions. As Mary was jet-setting from Milan to Tokyo to Paris for exciting fashion shoots, Scott and his band, Stone Temple Pilots were beginning to dominate the airwaves. But great success doesn’t automatically equal great happiness. Both Scott and Mary were trying to find ways to deal with their depression and mental health issues. By the time their paths collided and they became a couple they each were also fighting with addiction. In no time at all they found themselves living in a rock n roll cliche. As Scott said, “It’s Bonnie & Clyde, rock n roll, hell on wheels. We know were gonna crash, but we keep on going. But what goes up has to come down, and it does. Hard.”

For Mary, “The days run together, the drugs run together & the rehabs run together too.” But with motherhood came another reason to keep fighting the battle. While Mary focused on the children Scott would continue the never ending cycle of addiction for the rest of his life. Not wanting to give up on her soulmate, Mary often paid the price of her own mental stability to try and keep their family together. They officially divorced in 2007 after 7 years of marriage.

When Scott passed away in 2015 Mary and their children wrote a piece for Rolling Stone saying “Let’s choose to make this the first time we don’t glorify this tragedy with talk of rock and roll and the demons that, by the way, don’t have to come with it.”

We highly recommend reading Mary’s book, Fall to Pieces: A Memoir of Drugs, Rock ‘n’ Roll, and Mental Illness. She goes into great detail about her experiences with addiction, her journeys through detox & rehabilitation as well as her struggles with mental illness. It was incredibly informative and relatable for anyone who has struggled through these things. Scott also wrote a memoir called Not Dead & Not For Sale. For those who are interested in his music, Scott goes over all his most personal songs, his time in Velvet.Revolver, and his passion for Mary. “I know that my songs are hopelessly entangled with my obsession with Mary. I see my passion for her as a force that never stops. I’m forever chasing her.”

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