Yeah, I know, it's just it's been discussed to death. Jon promised the guys some time off after quite some time on the road, later changed his plans and made that horrific WAN album almost on his own. Then got the guys into that mammoth of a tour whether they liked it or not. Some say R could say no before the tour started but who knows, maybe he thought he'd make it again but then it turned out it was simply too much and he had to quit? I don't blame R for leaving, this circus was literally never-ending.
J slowed down only when he was no longer capable of abusing his vocal chords night after night. Speaking of, his own words about dying on stage every night somehow took a U-turn and hit him instead bc he's close to death in all those recent vids, out of breath and lifeless, stuck behind a mike and raising his arms from time to time as a substitute for his usual energy on stage.
And I know people want to see R back, just as a lot of them want to see J live no matter how poor his vocals are. Does it mean it's a good wish? The fans have little idea what's going on behind closed doors, maybe as sb pointed out a few posts earlier, they're better off on their own now? The RHOF performance was definitely emotional but you can tell there was so much tension and no so subtle digs in their speeches as well.

BTW. ”He's gone. No hard feelings. Being in a band isn't a life sentence.”

I wish he meant what he said here.