The Tragedy Of Steven Tyler Gets Sadder & Sadder

This article contains references to sexual assault, domestic violence, and addiction issues.

Where hard rock frontmen are concerned, Steven Tyler is in a class all his own. Alongside guitarists Joe Perry and Brad Whitford, bassist Tom Hamilton, and drummer Joey Kramer, Tyler released 32 albums (including live and compilation releases) that charted in the Billboard 200 as part of the iconic Boston-based band Aerosmith. In doing so, he and his bandmates produced legendary anthems like "Sweet Emotion," "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing," and dozens of other hits. All the while, Tyler built a sizable following with his over-the-top performance style, personality, and penchant for "Livin' on the Edge."

However, there have been times over the course of Tyler's life and career when he went over that edge, matching his incredible highs as a veritable rock god with tragic lows as he navigated health issues, complicated family relationships, and the effects of long-term substance use. Going beyond the scarves and screams, here are the moments that marked the sadder side of Tyler's life in the limelight.

Music has been part of Steven Tyler's life since the moment he was born. His father, Victor Tallarico, was a lifelong musician and music teacher in the northeastern U.S. (and Tallarico's parents had also been musicians). However, music isn't the only thing that Tyler has lived with for most of his life. Long before his multiple attempts to cement his sobriety became fodder for tabloid headlines, the New York native encountered complications due to his relationship with substance use.

Tyler was expelled from Roosevelt High School in Yonkers prior to his graduation, according to The Journal News (via the Daily Voice), after getting caught with marijuana in the late 1960s. Around that time, he was also arrested for marijuana possession. Tyler described the event, in which his house was reportedly searched, in his memoir, "Does the Noise in My Head Bother You?" (via Archive.org). "They found my stash so cunningly concealed in a copy of 'The Hardy Boys and the Disappearing Floor,'" Tyler wrote, explaining that he had received a frantic call from his mother, who informed him of the police presence and ordered him to return home. "I pulled into the driveway and saw a black unmarked car approaching from around the corner. My heart fell out of my ass. The cops handcuffed me and walked me to the car."

While Tyler avoided serious consequences, the incident served as a preamble to substance-related issues to come.

Led by Steven Tyler and lead guitarist Joe Perry, Aerosmith first broke out as a major band with the 1973 release of their self-titled debut album, which included one of their signature songs and a career-defining hit in "Dream On." The band continued to dominate the rock scene throughout the decade, too, dropping an additional five platinum albums. However, by the time Aerosmith released its 1982 album "Rock in a Hard Place," the bloom was very much off the rose, and Perry was no longer part of the band.

Although an evolving scene and changing tastes undoubtedly accounted for some of the drop-off in popularity, so, too, did Tyler's ongoing substance misuse. Behind the glitz, the glamour, and the sold-out arenas, Tyler and Perry, who had left the band in 1979 only to rejoin in 1984, were indulging in the use of various substances, earning the nickname "Toxic Twins" in the process. "Aerosmith made it from '72 to '79 not necessarily stoned, but beautiful ... then we all became very f****d up. There were no such things as rehabs; there were mental institutions," Tyler told Haute Living in 2019.

Tyler explained to GQ in 2019 that numerous substances were in the mix for him and his bandmates, explaining, "[W]e would do cocaine to go up, quaaludes to come down. We would drink and then snort some coke until we thought we were straight. But that's not true — you're just drunk and coked out."

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

Steven Tyler isn't just part of a legendary rock band; he's famously the father of "Lord of the Rings" actress Liv Tyler, too. However, the Aerosmith frontman didn't actually have a relationship with Liv for much of her early life. Instead, she believed that another iconic rocker, Todd Rundgren, was her father, and she was raised by her mother, grandmother, and aunt. In fact, Liv didn't learn the truth about her parentage until she was a tween in 1988, when her mother brought her to an Aerosmith concert.

"I looked at my mom, and she just started crying," Liv recalled on Kate and Oliver Hudson's "Sibling Revelry" (via Fox News). "My mom was bawling, and I was like, 'Is Steven my dad?' and she just burst [into tears]." From there, Liv's mother — former Playboy playmate Bebe Buell — took her daughter aside at the concert venue and revealed the truth. As Tyler explained in his memoir about how things had played out (via Archive.org), "She'd gotten pregnant in Germany and we'd somehow broken up after the tour. I guess I was in denial about it being my child, and she'd had just about enough of me and decided Todd Rundgren would be a better father."

After Liv found out the truth at the concert, she and Steven set about building their relationship. And while they're reportedly very close now, many years were lost beforehand.

As of early 2026, Steven Tyler was still in a long-term relationship with his girlfriend and former personal assistant, Aimee Preston, who is 39 years younger than the iconic rocker. But over the course of his many decades in the limelight, he has been involved in several romantic relationships, including two marriages that ultimately ended in divorce.

Tyler met and married actress/model Cyrinda Foxe in 1978, following the dissolution of the latter's marriage to New York Dolls frontman David Johansen. Their partnership resulted in the birth of Tyler's middle daughter, Mia Tyler, and their marriage endured until 1987 (though they had reportedly separated four years earlier). However, their relationship was marked by bad behavior, including infidelity, substance misuse, and allegations of physical abuse. "[H]e was always having temper tantrums and pounding the s*** out of me," she wrote in her memoir "Dream On" (via Archive.org). Although Foxe and Tyler ultimately made amends, she died of a brain tumor at age 50 in 2002.

In 1988, Tyler wed clothing designer Teresa Barrick, with whom he added another daughter and a son to his brood. The two remained married for many years, weathering some of the same strains Tyler experienced during his first marriage, but they ultimately divorced in 2006. Prior to the divorce, Barrick was reportedly "spending a lot of time with a new friend, the contractor who had been doing repairs on the family's suburban Boston home," according to Fox News.

If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.

While Steven Tyler's saga of substance misuse throughout his life and career has been well documented, he has also had a history of other health problems. One of the more pervasive issues for a long time was his hepatitis C diagnosis. Tyler first spoke publicly about having lived with the disease in 2006, revealing that he had received his diagnosis three years earlier after having had it for a long time. He went public when the condition reached the point that he was forced to undergo treatment.

"I've been pretty quiet about this. The band took a break about three years ago, and I've had hepatitis C for a long time, asymptomatic. And I talked to my doctor ... and he said now is the time and it's 11 months of chemotherapy. So, I went on that and it about killed me," Tyler told Access Hollywood at the time (via Today). To add to his anxiety, Tyler's treatment also coincided with the end of his second marriage. Tyler went on to report that the disease was "nonexistent in [his] bloodstream," calling it a "miracle" and expressing hope that his story would raise awareness of hepatitis C.

"[I]t's one of those things people don't speak about it, but it is treatable," he added.

Steven Tyler ignited concerns about his physical state during an Aerosmith concert at the 2009 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota. Tyler, who was 61 at the time of the incident, was reportedly dancing to entertain the crowd as the sound crew worked to replace a fuse that had blown during the band's performance when he suddenly fell backward off of the stage. The fall followed the postponement of several shows earlier that year when Tyler suffered a hamstring injury during a performance, as Rock Daily (via Rolling Stone) had reported. The fall resulted in an early end to the concert and a trip to a local hospital for Tyler, who was airlifted from the venue.

"He was in good spirits when he got in the helicopter. He was talking and joking with the physician," a spokesperson from the venue later told The Associated Press (via Rolling Stone). Tyler suffered minor head and neck injuries in the fall; he also injured his shoulder, which was later confirmed broken. "I was doing the Tyler shuffle and then I zigged when I should have zagged ... AND I slipped, and as I live on the edge ... I fell off the edge!" Tyler later said in a statement (via Rolling Stone). While Tyler was good natured about the incident, it ultimately resulted in the cancellation of the band's tour.

Shortly thereafter, the band entered an era of contentiousness, and Tyler's future as its lead singer was in doubt.

At various junctures over the years, Steven Tyler sought creative outlets beyond the confines of his role as the lead singer and face of Aerosmith. Perhaps the most prominent example of this was when he became a judge on "American Idol" in 2010. And while Tyler only remained a part of the series for two seasons, his short-lived foray into reality television nonetheless managed to damage his relationship with the band.

When rumblings of Tyler's "American Idol" move reached the mainstream press, Joe Perry was caught completely off guard by the news, and he wasn't happy about the secrecy involved in the process. Upon catching wind of Tyler's intentions to join the show, Perry confronted his bandmate before an Aerosmith show at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. While Tyler was reportedly told to keep things under wraps by the show's producers, Perry wasn't buying that as an excuse. "I mean, after working with me for 40 years, he couldn't tell me about this?" Perry told the Boston Herald (via Entertainment Weekly) at the time. "Why so secretive? We're told it's a done deal. If Steven is committed to a TV show, that kind of affects the rest of us. We'd like to plan our lives, ya know?"

In addition to causing friction within his band, Tyler's stint on the show yielded some questionable moments for the rocker.

Speculation about Steven Tyler's health and sobriety abounded in 2011 after the singer was injured in a hotel room incident. Tyler, who was in Paraguay for an Aerosmith concert at the time, suffered a serious fall while showering in his room at the Bourbon Hotel in Asuncion. "I passed out. I was in the shower and I got nauseous, and I started to get sick and I fell on my face. I just passed out," Tyler later explained on "Today" (via NME). As a result of the spill, Tyler broke two teeth and received stitches to the face during a nearly four-hour hospital stay. Meanwhile, the concert was postponed for a day.

It was later declared that Tyler was dehydrated and suffering gastrointestinal problems at the time of the fall. Given his history with substances, though, the "Cryin'" singer found himself having to clarify that he wasn't under the influence of anything when he fell. "We flew last night from Paraguay to Argentina for two hours and if anyone knew anyone who used substances, they wouldn't be up the hour after having a chat with Matt Lauer and the rest of America," Tyler said (via The New York Post).

While Steven Tyler's tales of substance misuse and the injuries he has suffered while performing or on tour have made headlines, some of the rocker's ailments have managed to fly under the radar. For years, Tyler suffered from a debilitating foot condition, which may have been exacerbated by his wild and woolly performance style on stage and the wear and tear of life on the road. Photos of Tyler's feet have cropped up over the years, revealing some seriously tangled toes. Turns out the singer was suffering from Morton's neuroma.

According to Cleveland Clinic, Morton's neuroma is essentially the inflammation of one of the nerves of the feet, which "causes pain and can make it feel like you're stepping on a marble." According to a 2012 NBC News report, Tyler had gone through several foot surgeries to eliminate the problem but still found himself experiencing significant pain, which was reportedly one of the reasons he opted to lighten his performing load and join the cast of "American Idol" from 2010 to 2012.

Throughout his career — and especially during Aerosmith's 1970s heyday and rocky transition into the '80s — Steven Tyler has engaged in behavior that some may label as self-destructive or controversial. However, the biggest controversy to emerge from that period was arguably his relationship with Julia Holcomb. In 2022, Tyler was named in a 2022 lawsuit in which Holcomb accused Tyler of sexual assault, sexual battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress, as Rolling Stone reported. The suit alleged that the "Walk This Way" singer convinced Holcomb's mother to grant him guardianship of the then-16-year-old girl, after which Holcomb alleges they engaged in a sexual relationship beginning in 1973 and lasting for three years.

The lawsuit quoted Tyler's memoir, in which he wrote, "I was so in love I almost took a teen bride. I went and slept at her parents' house for a couple of nights and her parents fell in love with me, signed papers over for me to have custody, so I wouldn't get arrested if I took her out of state." Nevertheless, Tyler has pushed back against the abuse claims, noting that the two lived together in Boston for the majority of their relationship, where the age of consent is 16.

In 2026, a judge in California, where the lawsuit was filed, dismissed the claims related to out-of-state occurrences but deemed that the lawsuit could proceed relative to alleged offenses occurring within the state.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

Steven Tyler has been through a lot over the years with his health and substance misuse, and his efforts to keep himself in a good place have continued into his later life. As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Tyler suffered a relapse in 2022 after having foot surgery in preparation for Aerosmith's planned Las Vegas residency. He later entered a treatment program "to concentrate on his health and recovery," per a statement from the band (via The Hollywood Reporter).

Over the years, Tyler — who has experienced several rehab stints throughout his life — has reaffirmed his desire to remain sober, making it clear that he stands to lose a lot should his substance misuse spin out of control. "I don't want to push it again," he told Joe Rogan in 2018. "Because when I get that way, my kids don't talk to me, I get a divorce, I'm thrown out of my own band. What else? I lose everything. I mean, it's happened enough times for me to finally realize: You know what? It's not worth it."

Their early '80s downturn and other periods of inactivity notwithstanding, Aerosmith nonetheless managed to carve out a legacy as one of the longest-running acts in rock history, thrilling fans worldwide for more than five decades. However, the band's incredible touring run reached a sudden endpoint in 2023 when Tyler suffered a throat injury, causing what was described as permanent damage. The injury was eventually revealed to be a fractured larynx, according to a statement from the band, which left open the possibility that Tyler and Co. would be able to resume their "Peace Out" tour sometime during the following year. In the end, though, the situation proved more serious.

In 2024, Aerosmith ultimately announced via its social media channels, including X, that it would retire as a touring band because a full recovery for Tyler was reportedly not possible. "We have made a heartbreaking and difficult, but necessary, decision — as a band of brothers — to retire from the touring stage," the statement read. Tyler has performed since the band's retirement, famously taking the stage at the 2025 VMAs. The band also collaborated with the young British rocker Yungblud on the EP "One More Time," but only time will tell if they'll perform onstage together again.