Journey Guitarist Neal Schon's Ex-Wife Blasts His Hookup With Michaele Salahi: "It's Been Hard and Hurtful"

Rocker's former spouse says that she is just trying to protect her children from the Michaele Salahi scandal

By Marianne Garvey, Sharareh Drury Sep 19, 2011 7:52 PMTags
Michaele Salahi, TwitterTwitter

While Journey guitarist Neal Schon is getting busy with ex-Real Housewife Michaele Salahi, one of his ex-wives is exclusively speaking out to E! News about the shocking affair.

The newly minted couple made headlines after Michaele's soon-to-be ex husband, Tareq, claimed she was kidnapped and sought help looking for her. Instead, it turned out she was really off making sweet music with Schon.

So what did Schon's former missus have to say about the scandal?

Amber Kozan was married to the rocker for seven years and they divorced in 2008. They share a 9-year-old daughter together.

After learning of her ex's affair with the still-married Salahi, Kozan said she's been trying to protect her kids from all the negativity.

"I'm shielding the children," she says. "It's been hard and hurtful. I can say that Neal has clarified to me that he loves me and our kids and that he always will."

A second source close to the rocker tells E! News that his affair with Michaele is nothing new and that the duo's flirtation has long been known within their inner circle.

"This did not start in 2009," the source insists. "This has been going on before [Neal] and [Amber] were married. If you snoop around the D.C. socialite ring from the [Real Housewives of D.C.] castmembers to their friends who are maybe not on the show, they'll tell you. It's a small world."

The source tells E! News that Neal swapped vows with former Playmate Ava Fabian in a "commitment ceremony" in Paris in July. His union with Fabian will leave him 0-for-4 in the matrimony department, including a quickie marriage from his youth.

"Another former wife has problems and another is hidden out in L.A. It's all very touchy," the source explains.

Tareq tells E! News in an exclusive interview that his marriage had been "happy" and "perfect" and that he was blindsided by the affair that he says has been going on behind his back for two years.

"Michaele used to always tell me that she would never want to date a rock star like Neal Schon, because of that lifestyle…the lifestyle of, there's always cheating…There's guys who are always doing these things backstage. She always told me, she never wanted to be associated with that," he says.

"I mean, Neal really should be ashamed of himself for doing this, this was a beautiful marriage we had, and I was just blindsided that it was going on for two years. I just had no idea."

So far neither Michaele nor Schon have publicly commented on their fling.

For more from Amber and an exclusive interview with Tareq, tune to E! News tonight at 7 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. ET/PT.

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