Heather Locklear and Richie Sambora reunite for daughter Ava’s gorgeous coastal California wedding

Heather Locklear and her ex-husband Richie Sambora put aside their differences over the weekend to support their daughter at her wedding.

Ava Sambora, 28, was joined by her divorced parents and their partners as she celebrated her love with her fiancé Tyler Farrar in Montecito, California, on Saturday, according to People.

Joining Locklear, 64, at the sun-drenched seaside ceremony was her boyfriend, 68-year-old actor Lorenzo Lamas.

Despite divorcing back in 2007, Locklear and Sambora, 66, appeared to maintain a cordial relationship. 

The exes were spotted posing on the verdant lawn as they linked arms with Ava, and they also sat in the same row during the ceremony, though a woman accompanying Sambora kept them separated.

On Instagram, Sambora shared some sweet moments from the reception, including what appeared to be the father–daughter dance.

Just before the Bon Jovi guitarist took to the dance floor with his daughter and the DJ started playing his tune I’ll Always Walk Beside You, Ava shouted to the audience, ‘My dad wrote this song.’

The rocker doted on his daughter both in person at the ceremony and on social media.

On Sunday, he posted a slideshow with cute photos of himself and Ava posing together that was soundtracked with the same song that they danced to at the wedding.

Sambora also shared another Instagram video of his daughter and her new husband singing along with the crowd to Bon Jovi’s Livin’ On A Prayer.

The rocker, who co-wrote the song and played lead guitar and used the instantly recognizable talk box effect on the original recording, sang along with the professional wedding singers on the bandstand as Ava and Tyler danced and sang.

The bride wore a lovely white lace off-the-shoulder wedding gown with a voluminous skirt and a modest train, along with a veil for the outdoor ceremony.

Tyler looked elegant in a classic black tuxedo and matching bow tie, and Sambora toned down his usually rockstar ensembles in favor of a matching tux.

Locklear looked svelte and years younger than her age in a sleek black halter dress with triangular cutouts exposing her arms and shoulders.

Sambora was seen sitting next to a beaming woman in a blue dress at the wedding ceremony, but their relationship was unclear.

In April of last year, the guitarist raved that he had been in a ‘wonderful relationship’ over the previous two years, though he didn’t share his girlfriend’s name at the time and he doesn’t appear to have confirmed if they are still dating.

Ava works as an actress, though she has primarily been credited while using her mother’s last name. 

She had small parts in Judd Apatow’s This Is 40 (2012) and shows, including Good Luck Charlie (2013) and Fresh Off The Boat (2018), but her most recent credited on-screen appearance was in 2020, according to IMDb. 

More recently, she appears to have focused on mental health, as she earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Loyola Marymount University, followed by a master’s degree in marriage and family therapy from the University of Southern California (USC), according to People.

The publication noted that her husband currently works as an investment associate for LA’s Pacific Partners Real Estate.

While Ava and Tyler haven’t clarified exactly when they began dating, she appears to have shown up on his Instagram account back in 2018, when she was attending Los Angeles’s Loyal Marymount University. 

However, they only appeared to make their relationship Instagram official in March 2019, when Ava posted a photo of herself sitting on Tyler’s lap while decked out in green to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.

Tyler went on to ask Ava to marry him on one knee in February 2024, and they subsequently shared photos of the lovely sunset proposal by the sea.

‘Hard launch!’ the lovebirds wrote in their caption. 

It wasn’t until October of that year that Ava and Tyler celebrated their engagement with a party limited to 50 family members and friends, according to People.

Saturday’s wedding marked one of the earlier public appearances as a couple for Locklear and her boyfriend, Lamas.

The ’80s icons made their first public appearance as a couple late last month when they attended a horror and sci-fi convention in New Jersey together.

Locklear was formerly married to Sambora from 1994 to 2007, and Ava, their only child, was born in 1997.

The Melrose Place star’s first marriage was to Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee, which lasted from 1986 to 1993. 

Locklear later dated her former Melrose Place colleague Jack Wagner and even got engaged in the summer of 2011, though they had called things off by later that year. 

In April 2020, the former motocross race Chris Heisser proposed to her. 

The two had dated way back in high school before reconnecting years later, but they were reported to have split up last year.