Chester Bennington’s Widow Talinda Announces Engagement 2 Years After His Suicide

Musician Chester Bennington of Linkin Park (R) and wife Talinda Ann Bentley (L) arrive at the 2012 Billboard Music Awards held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on May 20, 2012. Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for ABC

Chester Bennington’s widow, Talinda, has announced she is engaged just over two years after the Linkin Park frontman died.

The 42-year-old made the announcement on social media on Sept. 6, describing her fiancé “Michael F.” as her “angel on earth.”

“Dear #Family, I am overjoyed to announce my engagement to my angel on earth, Michael F. I am here to tell you that you can find love after tragedy,” she wrote in an Instagram post. “That a death of a soulmate does not mean the death of you.”

The announcement came a little over two years after the Linkin Park frontman took his own life in 2017, at the age of 41. The pair were married for 12 years and he had long struggled with depression, drug, and alcohol addiction.

Talinda added that her family and Bennington’s former bandmates Brad Delson, Joe Hahn, Mike Shinoda and Dave Farrell, have all welcomed her new fiancé “with open arms.”

Since his death, Talinda has dedicated her life to raising awareness about mental health, and helped launch the organization 320 Changes Direction in honor of her late husband. The group aims to address the needs of those who are battling mental health issues and addiction, according to its official website.

“I will continue to honor Chester and continue my life’s mission to make his passing not in vein [sic],” she wrote.

“To all suicide loss survivors, you CAN be happy again. You CAN have space in your heart for grief, joy, happiness, sadness, and love. Thank you ALL for your continued love and support.”

On the same day, Talinda announced in a video on social media that she would be meeting with the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva to do some work ahead of World Suicide Prevention Day on Tuesday, Sept. 10.

“They’ve asked me to collaborate with them to help spread awareness on their social media campaign and talk about what we do… our mental awareness family.”

“We will begin our efforts to raise awareness of the scale of suicide around the world and the role that each of us can play to help prevent it on Sept. 10, #WorldSuicidePreventionDay and continue throughout the month,” she wrote on Twitter.

Her post included the hashtag “Make Chester Proud” which she started using following his death to encourage others to share positive messages and happy memories of her late husband.

Talinda’s fiancé is reportedly a firefighter from Los Angeles, sources told TMZ, and is involved with the three children she had with her late husband—13-year-old Tyler, and 8-year-old twins Lilly and Lila.

Suicide Statistics and Prevention

According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States and in 2017, 47,173 Americans died by suicide while 1.3 million people attempted suicide.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report Vital Signs: Trends in State Suicide Rates on June 8, 2018, revealing that suicide rates have increased by 30 percent since 1999. However, the report points out that there were a variety of factors other than mental health conditions that lead to suicide.

“Suicide rates increased significantly across most states during 1999–2016. Various circumstances contributed to suicides among persons with and without known mental health conditions,” the report stated.

For a suicide prevention number within the United States call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. You can also text the Crisis Text Line at 741741.

For those living anywhere else the International Association for Suicide Prevention and Befrienders Worldwide can provide contact details for suicide help.

Epoch Times reporter Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.