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Mark Hoppus, bassist and co-founder of Blink-182, has opened up about the emotional toll of the band's breakups and his battle with cancer in his memoir, Fahrenheit-182.
Reflecting on the band's 2005 split, triggered by guitarist Tom DeLonge's departure, Hoppus writes, "When Blink fell apart, I lost everything. I lost my direction, I lost my confidence, I lost my sense of self." The breakup plunged him into a deep depression, and he began to experience suicidal thoughts. "I sank lower and lower. I could tell I was near the bottom when I started finding comfort in the thought of suicide: If it gets bad enough, I can always just kill myself," he confessed.
The rift between Hoppus and DeLonge had been building for years. Tensions intensified when DeLonge requested a break from touring. Hoppus and drummer Travis Barker feared this would derail their momentum, leading to frequent clashes. When the tour ended, DeLonge cut ties and changed his number. "I didn't know what I was supposed to do or who I was supposed to be. I'd hear one of our songs playing in a store and have to walk out."
In his memoir, Hoppus also discusses seeking psychiatric help. "I started talking to a psychiatrist who put me on medications, which helped a lot. It let me take a breath. It allowed me the space in my own head to say, 'You're being a dick, Mark. Knock it off.'"
Despite DeLonge's subsequent return in 2009 and another exit in 2015, the band reunited again in 2023. One of the pivotal moments in rekindling their bond was Hoppus's 2021 cancer diagnosis. He was diagnosed with stage 4 lymphoma and endured grueling chemotherapy. "I really thought I was going to die," he told The Guardian. "And, in a way, it absolutely was so freeing."
He credits his wife, Skye, for helping him through suicidal thoughts during treatment. "I was in our living room crying and telling my wife, 'I don't know if I can do this.' She was like, 'Well, what are you going to do, kill yourself?' And that's exactly what I was thinking."
Today, Hoppus is cancer-free. "In that friendship and the love and support of people around me, I thought, you know what? I've had a pretty awesome life."
