Chester Bennington's Wife Shares Video Of Him Laughing Hours Before He Took His Own Life

Talinda Bennington shares video of husband before suicide

Depression kills. And many times, those who are suffering the most are surrounded by loved ones who have no idea how bad it is. That was certainly the case with Chester Bennington, the 41-year-old lead singer of the band Linkin Park, who died by suicide in July. Now, a 40-second video shared on Twitter by his wife, Talinda, shows Bennington laughing and joking with his family a little over a day before he died.

In a tweet on Saturday, Talinda wrote: “My next tweet is the most personal tweet I have ever done. I’m showing this so that you know that depression doesn’t have a face or a mood.”

The following video was posted next:

“This is what depression looked like to us just 36 hrs b4 his death. He loved us SO much & we loved him,” she tweeted. She also included the hashtags #fuckdepression and #MakeChesterProud.

In the video, Bennington is playing a game involving trick jelly beans with his kids and a friend. Chester tries a “rotten egg-flavored” jelly bean and proceeds to bang the table and groan after quickly spitting it out, while his wife and kids giggle in the background.

Since Bennington’s death, Talinda has been on a mission to educate people about depression. So many times, when someone takes their own life as a result of their depression, those around them are blamed indirectly for the death. They are asked how they couldn’t have known that their loved one was on the brink of suicide, or why they didn’t do anything to prevent the death of someone who was so depressed. The truth, as Talinda has shown both through this video and a photo of a smiling Bennington just days before his death, is that depression takes many forms. Sometimes, the worst pain can hide behind the happiest of faces.

According to Rolling Stone, Bennington had been on vacation with his wife and kids in Arizona, but returned home to California early, saying he had to work. The morning his body was found, he was supposed to have a photo shoot with his band. They were scheduled to go out on tour the next week. Those who talked to him before his death described him as being “on top of the world,” sending out texts that were “loving, positive, looking-forward-to-the-future, growing-old kinds of things.”

Bennington’s 15-year-old son, Draven, was shocked by his father’s death. In an interview promoting World Suicide Prevention Day, Draven talked about how he really didn’t see any “signs.”

“I saw him a week before, and I would not even be able to tell one thing was different. I thought everything was going great,” Draven said.

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).