Richie Sambora Hits The Beach As Bon Jovi Tours

Richie Sambora is making the most of his early retirement from Bon Jovi. While the band selling out arenas on its current US tour, former lead guitarist Richie looks fit and happy on the beach in Hawaii with girlfriend Orianthi Panagaris, and reports no regrets over his amicable split from the band.

"I wanted to go out and sing," he recently told a reporter from News Corp in Australia. "There’s no malice. Jon and I talked just a week ago. Everything is cool. They’re on a different trajectory, I’m on a different path."

Richie left the band in 2013 after 30 years that included co-authoring a string of hits with the band's namesake front-man, Jon Bon Jovi. Concert reviews of this first full tour since his departure commonly compare the band's performance with new guitarist Phil X against the earlier line-up. Phil X joined the band as an emergency replacement when Richie abruptly quit the band during its 2013 tour.

Now Richie or Orianthi are recording music of their own, The National ENQUIRER has learned, with plans to tour her native Australia. The duo took a break from laying down tracks in their home studio in California to visit Kona, Hawaii, where they hiked, golfed and took long romantic walks on the beach. even wearing fitness watches to monitor their exercise regiments. Quite a life change for Richie, a legendary partier who fellow rocker Lita Ford once described as "the king of swing," and who was forced to take time away from Bon Jovi's 2011 tour to deal with sobriety issues.

So, with Bon Jovi's latest tour wowing fans and his new career with Orianthi heating up, will he and Bon Jovi never work together again? Says Richie: “Never say never.” He can also enjoy the budding career of Ava, his daughter with ex-wife Heather Locklear, a model who recently became the face and body of the swimwear label Baes and Bikinis.