Scott Weiland’s Ex-Wife Opens Up on His Substance Abuse: ‘Don’t Glorify This Tragedy'’

Scott Weiland's ex-wife Mary Forsberg is opening up on her family's struggles after his unexpected death last week.

Forsberg wrote an open letter detailing his issues with substance abuse, which could have been a factor in his death. Cocaine was found on Weiland's tour bus, where he was found dead, but an official cause of death is still pending.

Forsberg writes in an essay in Rolling Stone, "December 3rd, 2015 is not the day Scott Weiland died. It is the official day the public will use to mourn him, and it was the last day he could be propped up in front of a microphone for the financial benefit or enjoyment of others.”

The two were married from 2000-2007 and share two kids — Noah and Lucy — who are still coming to terms with their dad's death. "The outpouring of condolences and prayers offered to our children, Noah and Lucy, has been overwhelming, appreciated, and even comforting. But the truth is, like so many other kids, they lost their father years ago. What they truly lost on December 3rd was hope.”

She added about life after their marriage, "Even after Scott and I split up, I spent countless hours trying to calm his paranoid fits, pushing him into the shower and filling him with coffee, just so that I could drop him into the audience at Noah's talent show, or Lucy's musical. Those short encounters were my attempts at giving the kids a feeling of normalcy with their dad.”

The Stone Temple Pilots singer's rock-star lifestyle and sudden death was not what Mary envisioned. "I won't say he can rest now, or that he's in a better place. He belongs with his children barbecuing in the backyard and waiting for a Notre Dame game to come on. We are angry and sad about this loss, but we are most devastated that he chose to give up… 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, but the way, don't have to come with it."