TARJA TURUNEN has revisited one of the most publicized breakups in metal history — her 2005 dismissal from NIGHTWISH — reflecting on both the circumstances of her exit and her own restrained response to it.
Turunen was fired at the end of the band's 2005 tour through an open letter posted simultaneously to NIGHTWISH's website, which accused her of letting "business, money, and things that have nothing to do with emotions" take priority over the band. Looking back, Turunen suggested she went easier on her former bandmates than she was entitled to. "I probably should have put them through hell," she said, referencing contractual leverage she held at the time that could have caused the band serious complications had she chosen to use it.
She described the band's handling of the split in blunter terms, characterizing what followed as a calculated effort — a "really great planning, how they wanted to destroy me publicly" — that caught her off guard. The fallout played out in Finnish tabloids for roughly three weeks, coverage intense enough that Turunen left the country entirely, relocating to Buenos Aires to escape it.
The strain extended well beyond the professional fallout, affecting her family and friendships and taking years to fully repair — trust, she said, that she rebuilt gradually, crediting her marriage and close relationships with getting her through the period. Asked in the past about a possible reunion, Turunen has called it "very hypothetically possible" but unlikely, leaving the door open just enough without suggesting it's something she's actively pursuing two decades on.