Courtney Love discussed Kurt Cobain wanting to quit Nirvana in a new GQ interview.
“[Nirvana] started to dissipate with the whole ‘Kurt and Courtney’ post-Vanity Fair phenomenon, which really affected me, Kurt and Frances,” Love continues. In 1992, the writer Lynn Hirschberg wrote a blistering exposé on a then-pregnant Love and Cobain, with sources calling the pair “the new Sid and Nancy”. The aftermath was incredibly painful for Love. “Kurt became more reclusive [after] and didn’t rehearse as much and talked about ending the band, which was just Kurt being reactive. Dave split for a while to skate with his old DC friends in LA and the Valley because me and Kurt’s life turned into a clusterfuck of scary lawyers, doctors for his stomach, some drugs. We weren’t watching Nirvana or Hole’s [Love’s band at the time] fates. We had to save our kid.”
“I think Dave was sensitive to that and just took a break. Dave and Krist knew the inner workings of Kurt and never pointed fingers at me, which I am grateful for.”
“There’s this myth,” she explains candidly, “that Kurt didn’t want success. That is such bullshit. He worked his ass off to form the right band. Kurt loved that they had made it and moved [Michael] Jackson off the charts, but he never really got to enjoy it because the circus came to town to take our kid.“I don’t think the band had a discord about success,” she continues. “Dave was welcoming of it, as was Kurt. Success is a nice warm bath of love from the outside world, but also one hell of a harsh teacher.”
