Feb. 2, 2006

Actress Heather Locklear has filed for divorce from her rocker husband Richie Sambora, her publicist said Thursday.   Although  Locklear announced Thursday evening that she had filed for divorce, it still seemed to come as a surprise to her husband.

    More than an hour after Locklear’s publicist spread the word that their 11-year-marriage was over,  the Bon Jovi guitarist told ABC News Radio in an exclusive interview that things were fine at home.  "It's completely untrue," he insisted, adding that he had Valentine's Day plans with his wife.

The message was apparently not delivered to the rocker, who has been touring recently, and spoke with ABC shortly before a show at Washington D.C.'s MCI Center.  Even when confronted with the report, which had then hit the news wires, he spoke lovingly of Locklear. "I'm going home," said Sambora, who says that Locklear sometimes joins him when he's touring.  "Heather was just up for our anniversary and that was December 15th … I was home for like two and a half weeks at Christmas and I have a month off in March, so it's going to be good."     Sambora was also asked if there were any more kids in his future.  "I wish," he said. "I mean it just gets to the point where women just go, 'I don't want to go through that again.' For us it's easy -- we point and shoot." While fatherhood is demanding, Sambora said he enjoys it. "At the end of it, it's worth it, yeah, but I mean, really, it's a good two years of your life, you know, for each kid."

Richie Sambora’s former personal assistant has been named as the woman who came between the rocker and his wife.  Stephanie Heaton, a 39-year-old brunette, worked for Sambora for seven years before she was fired last year.

Heaton allegedly emailed the rocker racy photos - one showing her lying on her side, wearing only fishnet stockings and boots, and another one of her wearing "a baby-doll nightie in a provocative pose."

The publication claims Heaton was fired for getting too close to the star and "acting like Richie’s wife, and a mother to his and Heather’s daughter, Ava." Locklear believed the couple had severed all ties with Heaton, but recently found out that her husband and his former assistant were speaking on the phone every day.

Sambora has sinced filed court documents challenging the objectivity of the judge assigned to handle his split from the Spin City star. According to the preemptory challenge filed Friday by Sambora's lawyer, Jacalyn Davis, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Levanas "is prejudiced against" her client, which would prevent him from receiving "a fair and impartial trial or hearing."  It's not known specifically why Sambora has issues with Levanas--if indeed there are any issues at all.

The move follows a recent trend in celebrity divorces, where one party files such documents with the intention of eventually being reassigned to a private judge, who will handle the matter outside of the public realm. Other stars to employ the strategy in order to shield the ins and outs of their high-profile splits from prying eyes include Brad and Jen, Nick and Jessica, and Charlie and Denise. Private judges are usually retired courtroom justices whose expenses are covered by the involved parties in exchange for sealed lips.

Locklear filed for divorce from her rocker hubby of 11 years on Feb. 2, citing irreconcilable differences. The split came after months of denials from the couple that anything was amiss in their union.In her filing, the Melrose Place alum requested that the court enforce a prenuptial agreement the couple signed before tying the knot in December 1994.She is also seeking physical custody of the twosome's 8-year-old daughter, Ava, with visitation rights for Sambora.

The split marks the second divorce for Locklear, who was previously wed to Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee from 1985 to 1992. This was the first marriage--and first divorce--for Sambora.