Evan Dando Says Kurt Cobain Believed He Was Having An Affair With Courtney Love

Evan Dando has revisited one of grunge’s longest running rumours, revealing that Kurt Cobain believed he was having an affair with Courtney Love right up until his death.

In a new interview with NME, the Lemonheads frontman addressed claims that Love told Cobain she was sleeping with Dando while the bands toured together in 1993, according to Dando, the situation was less about reality and more about perception.

“She was treating me like her boyfriend, and she was on me the whole time, where it looked like we were doing something,” Dando said, recalling the tour with Hole.

Dando also covers the allegation in his recently released autobiography Rumors of My Demise, where he firmly denies the affair ever took place, despite that, he claims Cobain never stopped believing it.

“My first spiritual experience was when Kurt died [in 1994], because I felt that he knew the truth – because he went to his death not knowing,” Dando told NME.

He added that the belief was reinforced by someone close to Cobain.

“[Nirvana’s] Pat Smear told me Kurt really thought I was having an affair with Courtney.”

While reflecting on Love’s role in the situation, Dando said he tried to remain fair in his book, but couldn’t ignore some unsettling moments from that era.

“I hope I’m balanced in the book about her, but I couldn’t help saying that the first thing she said to me when grunge broke and everybody had money was: ‘Evan, this is great! We can put hits out on people now!’”

Closure

Dando went on to describe a strange sense of posthumous closure with Cobain, suggesting their similarities created a distance while he was alive.

“Me and him had this weird barrier. We were doppelgängers in a way,” he said, noting their shared musical influences and vocal similarities.

“This sounds like a podcast and it’s so boring and who-gives-a-sh*t,” he added, “but we could have been friends and it’s a bummer. And I think we are friends now ‘cause he knows the truth.”

When asked whether Love has read his book, Dando laughed before replying: “[Laughs] F*ck, I hope not! I think I might not be alive [if she had].”