Gene Simmons Shares 1 Regret Following Ace Frehley's Death

One month after the death of his longtime friend and former KISS bandmate Ace Frehley, Gene Simmons revealed the one regret he has about his relationship with the late guitarist.

Frehley died on Oct. 16 at the age of 74, two weeks after suffering a severe head injury in a fall. At the time, Frehley had been in the middle of a solo tour, but was forced to cancel the remaining dates because of health issues.

“I am devastated by the passing of Ace Frehley. He was an essential and irreplaceable rock soldier during some of the most formative foundational chapters of the band and its history. He is and will always be a part of KISS’s legacy,” Stanley and Simmons said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. “My thoughts are with Jeanette, Monique and all those who loved him, including our fans around the world.”

One major regret

Speaking at the KISS Kruise in Las Vegas this past Sunday, Simmons, who co-founded the legendary band with Frehley, Paul Stanley and Peter Criss in 1973, said there was one thing he wishes he could go back and change.

"If I have any regrets, my hand to God, it's that I sometimes — and I think we all go through this sometimes — wish we were smarter and better at trying to help Ace [Frehley] and Peter [Criss] have better lives," Simmons said, via PEOPLE.

Needed 'more tough love'

Simmons, 76, said sometimes the band members would avoid confronting each other on issues simply to prevent arguments.

"Let's just continue doing the tour because you want to get through it for selfish reasons because it's working, and the chicks, and the money, and you don't want to ruin anything," he explained. "Meantime, somebody who might be your brother is ruining their life by bad decisions."

In retrospect, Simmons says he "would've practiced more tough love" if he had to do it all over again.

"Tough love is a good idea in my opinion, with your children, with the people you love, with the people you care about, with the people you work with," said Simmons. "It's not going to be a popular thing or you're going to argue about it, but in the long run you're going to be helping that person hopefully change their life."

Frehley left the band in 1982 before rejoining in 1996 and staying on until 2002. Criss, 79, who has also endured health issues over the years, departed KISS in 1980 but came back for additional runs from 1995 to 2000 and 2003-04.

Frehley not the only recent loss for KISS

Days after Frehley's tragic passing, Danny Francis, KISS' longtime security guard, died following a battle with liver cancer.

“Danny Francis, my dear friend, assistant and so much more for 30 years of tours and life has died after a brutal fight with liver cancer,” Stanley wrote at the time. “He was loved by Erin and all my children and his kindness was given to everyone he came in contact with. My condolences to his entire family.”