Talinda Bennington Is Chester Bennington's Widow — Who She Is and Her Life after His Death

Talinda Bennington, the widow of the late vocalist of Linkin Park Chester Bennington, founded the campaign 320 Changes Direction following his passing.

Chester, born in March 1976, started his career in music when he was a teenager, joining a band called Sean Dowdell and Friends. He also played in another band called Grey Daze.

[Talinda] and her children talked to Chester through one of his microphones.

CHESTER BENNINGTON'S CAREER

For years, his dream of becoming a famous musician seemed impossible. He once revealed that he had played with everyone in Phoenix, Arizona, and "hated everybody."

Chester then moved to Los Angeles and even worked at Burger King. He was eventually invited to an audition with Linkin Park (known as Xeno at the time) and ended up joining them in 1999. From that point on, his career skyrocketed.

During that period, he was married to Samantha Bennington, his first wife. With her, the late rock star had a son, Draven.

Even though Samantha and Draven spent a lot of time with Chester during the first years of Linkin Park (they would go on tours with him), the former couple ended up getting a divorce in 2005.

CHESTER BENNINGTON'S SECOND WIFE, TALINDA BENNINGTON

One year later, in 2006, he married Talinda Bently (who then changed her name to Talinda Bennington). Together, they had three children: son Tyler and twin daughters Lily and Lila Bennington.

Unfortunately, Chester and Talinda's love story ended in the most tragic way. On July 20, 2017, the former vocalist of Linkin Park was found dead in his California home. His death was ruled a suicide. He was only 41 years old.

Losing her husband was definitely heartbreaking, but it also taught Talinda how challenging it is for a person to deal with a mental sickness, which is why she founded the campaign 320 Changes Direction.

Talinda Bennington explained that in the days following Chester's death, she kept responding to tweets from people who would reach out to her to confess that they felt helpless.

320 CHANGES DIRECTION, TALINDA BENNINGTON'S CAMPAIGN

For that reason, she started asking Twitter users to try to lift each other up. Eventually, she partnered with Change Direction, an initiative focused on changing "the culture about mental health, mental illness, and wellness," and launched 320 Changes Direction.

She explained that the goal of her campaign was to talk about mental sickness and develop tech-based solutions to "streamline" mental health care for people dealing with psychological problems.

Finally, Talinda pointed out that the campaign was essential for her own sanity, and that although it was emotionally difficult and time-consuming, she would never stop as it became part of her life.

In a different interview, Talinda Bennington revealed that she and her children talked to Chester through one of his microphones when they wanted to feel close to him.

Tyler Bennington, who was 12 years old at the time, admitted that he liked to tell his dad how his day was going. The boy would also ask the late singer to visit him in his dreams.

While he was still quite young, Tyler joined her mother in her efforts to raise awareness about mental health, encouraging people to talk about their problems and express their feelings. He added that it's all about finding a person they trust.

TALINDA BENNINGTON REMARRIED

On January 4, 2020, almost three years after Chester's passing, Talinda Bennington remarried. Unfortunately, she received backlash for it.

It was initially reported that her ceremony took place on January 1, which would have been her and Chester's 13th wedding anniversary.

Talinda took to Twitter to set the record straight. After remarking that her wedding was not on January 1, she said that she would never "paint over" the day she married Chester. The tweet has been deleted.

Even after tying the knot, Talinda Bennington has continued to honor Chester Bennington online, and it is improbable for her to stop. She explained in her 2019 engagement announcement that her life mission was to make sure that Chester's passing was not in vain.

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text "help" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or go to suicidepreventionlifeline.org.