Reports have emerged that Metallica frontman James Hetfield and his wife of more than two decades have decided to part ways. A photo of Hetfield and his wife in swimsuits can be seen below. TMZ reported that the sources close to the former couple noted that James filed for divorce from Francesca Hetfield in their home state of Colorado earlier this year.
James Hetfield and Francesca Hetfield are reportedly going separate ways
Hetfield had met Francesca in 1992 and they have been married since 1997. The two are said to still be in touch as they co-parent their daughters Cali, 20, and Marcella, 16, and son Castor, 18.
This past May, Hetfield got emotional during a Metallica concert in Brazil, admitting to the audience that he was “feeling a little bit insecure” prior to taking the stage.
James has been open about his battles with addiction, anxiety and low self-esteem in the past, most recently last fall while discussing the transformation he had to undergo in order to successfully front Metallica during the touring cycle for the band’s 1991 self-titled album, which stands as one of the top-selling records of all time.
He told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe in October 2021: “There was such an expectation already on myself to not let the team down and be the best as possible. But then you add 60,000 people out there… You need to be what they need you to be, ’cause this is what you’ve evolved to be. And it is a little bit of Oz,” referencing the classic 1900 children’s book “The Wizard Of Oz” by L. Frank Baum which was then adapted into the two-time Oscar-winning film in 1939. “Like, the man behind the curtain, pay no attention, but this guy behind the curtain is just dying and struggling and freaking out and not knowing who he is.”
He continued: “The word ‘unraveling’ is a great word, like unlearning, unlearning all of what happened before. That was a part of me, for sure, but it dominated all of me. And the parts that weren’t happy about me — there’s a huge codependence and insecurity, a lot of that — that… Gosh, I can’t… I’m no good without these guys. Who am I? Off tour, it’s, like, ‘Who am I?’ Like any first responder or football player or even a soldier, you take your uniform off and you’re a civilian again. [And you start asking yourself] ‘Who am I? I don’t know who I am.’ There was a lot of fear in that.”
