What happened with Mark Hoppus and Tom DeLonge? Blink-182 co-founder reveals cancer diagnosis healed friendship with bandmate

The years preceding Mark Hoppus's and Tom DeLonge's reunification seemed like a challenge that was not going to be repaired anytime soon. Mark Hoppus and Tom DeLonge, co-founders of the pop-punk band Blink-182, had a seemingly irreversible relationship that was perpetually strained.

Now, on the eve of the release of Mark Hoppus's book Fahrenheit-182: A Memoir on April 8, 2025, fans are wondering how the band pulled through.

Concerts, public conflicts, hasty departures, and mute spells left fans wondering whether the three ever planned on getting back together. It is, however, quite shocking that the news of Hoppus having cancer brought them together in ways unimaginable.

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Forged Bonds – A Narrative of Muddling and Anger

In 2015, the rock world was set alight when Blink-182 announced that DeLonge had "indefinitely" left the band. He was to be replaced by Alkaline Trio’s Matt Skiba for a Blink-182 performance at the Musink Festival. The news was a shock to fans and to DeLonge himself.

In Blink-182's case, the news was life-ending for DeLonge. In his post on Instagram, he added that he never actually quit the band and referred to the press release as “weird.” This raises the question, what does it mean? DeLonge made it clear he had no knowledge of the band’s actions.

In an exclusive interview with Rolling Stone, however, Hoppus and drummer Travis Barker had painted a very different picture.

“We get an e-mail from Tom’s manager saying that he has no interest in recording and that he’s out indefinitely,” Hoppus recalled. “Direct quote: ‘Tom. Is. Out.’”

As quoted from Hoppus, the group had signed a record deal together just days before. The plan to enter the studio on January 5 was already in action when they were blindsided by the message. To Hoppus’s displeasure, the message they received was “eerily” similar to the one in 2004 that DeLonge had “indefinite hiatus” planned.

Not only had DeLonge planned an indefinite break but, at least according to Hoppus, attempted to communicate through emails. He stated,

“I don’t think either of us have spoken to Tom in person in months,” having reached a breaking point preceded by friction in years of creative differences.

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Drifting Apart: Tom’s Other Interests Took Priority

DeLonge’s interests outside of music, particularly UFO investigations and fiction writing, were becoming a lot more engrossing. This change further strained Blink-182’s attempts at getting into the studio.

“His attitude leading up to that had been not excited and not interested,” Hoppus said.

To add more tension, DeLonge insisted they needed a label before recording everything else.

“There were huge e-mails in all capital letters: ‘WE NEED A LABEL,’” Hoppus recounted.

Eventually, their managers were prepared to fund the sessions themselves, but DeLonge still wasn’t budging.

Hoppus and Barker began sharing a sentiment: that DeLonge had tuned out.

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A Life-Changing Diagnosis and a Healing Phone Call

In 2021, the music world was hit hard when Mark Hoppus disclosed he was in a battle with stage 4 diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. The muscle devastation in the music world was painful, but what followed was a surprise even greater than the news: Tom DeLonge decided to get in touch with him.

"Mark’s cancer really put things in perspective,” DeLonge said in a later interview with Keerang. “We realized life is too short to keep up this dumb feud.”

Hoppus echoed the sentiment during an interview with Apple Music 1:

“The way [Tom] put it to me was, ‘I don’t care about the band, the money, any of it. I just want to be your friend and be there for you.’”

That phone call helped them restore their friendship, which had suffered from ego clashes, business struggles, and miscommunication over the years.

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The Long-Awaited Reunion

Tom DeLonge returned to Blink-182 by late 2022. The new album was named One More Time.

Without Hoppus’s illness forcing them to reevaluate their priorities for the band, they admitted the reunion might not have happened, added DeLonge,

“We always knew we had something special,” Barker said. “But it took nearly losing one of us to remember why we started doing this in the first place.”

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From Chaos to Clarity

Blink-182 shows us why view matters. What began with yet another breakup of a rock band blossomed into a tale of reconciliation, growth, and healing. Bound to the limits of life, Hoppus and DeLonge returned — not just to each other musically, but as friends-turned-brothers for life.

“We’re better now than we’ve ever been,” said Hoppus to Apple Music 1. “Not just as a band—but as people.”

And this, perhaps, is the most impressive “punk rock” aspect of the Blink-182 fandom worldwide.