Mark Hoppus Reveals How His Cancer Diagnosis Helped Improve Relationship With Blink-182 Bandmates (Exclusive)

During his cancer battle, Mark Hoppus’ relationship with his Blink-182 bandmates Tom DeLonge and Travis Barker only grew stronger.

“I think that we’re much more honest with each other. The communication is a lot better. We’ve set up boundaries of what we want to do,” Hoppus, 53, exclusively told Us Weekly ahead of the release of his memoir, Fahrenheit-182, which hits shelves on Tuesday, April 8. “We really sat down and we’re like, let’s be the f***ing Beastie Boys and not do the stuff that people want us to do or expect us to do.”

Hoppus added that now the trio are much more open about setting boundaries of the lines their group is and isn’t willing to cross.

“If it’s fun, yes, if it’s not fun, no, no other conversation. If the three of us want to do something, that’s all that matters. If the three of us don’t want to do something, then that’s all that matters,” he said. “We do everything in our own time on our own terms, and that kind of commitment to one another has really helped through these last three years.”

In addition to improving their working dynamic, Hoppus, DeLonge and Barker’s friendship has flourished as well. Hoppus explained that he and Barker, 49, not only text often but the drummer invites him out to his various events. Hoppus also shared that he and DeLonge, 49, talk “all the time” and even “send memes back and forth.”

“That’s how we started and that’s how I want to continue,” Hoppus told Us of his bond with Barker and DeLonge. “It’s just like we’re friends that play in a band. We’re not bandmates who became friends.”

In June 2021, Hoppus revealed that he was undergoing treatment for cancer. Three months later, the bassist announced he was cancer-free but had to undergo screenings every six months to ensure the disease did not return. Before going through with chemotherapy, Hoppus confessed that he and his bandmates were not as close as they are now.

“The day before I started chemotherapy, Tom texted me a photo of him standing in front of a bunch of women in lingerie. It was for a music video that he was filming for Angels and Airwaves, and he said, ‘Hey, just so you know, I’m still creating art over here with Angels and Airwaves.’ And I replied, ‘Ha ha, that’s great. By the way, I need to tell you I have cancer. I start chemotherapy tomorrow,’ and immediately my phone rang and it was Tom,” he recalled. “It was the first time that I’d really spoken to him in years, but we didn’t even talk about that. He’s like, ‘How are you feeling? What’s going on? First of all, you’re going to get through this. I’m going to help you get through this no matter what.’”

After going through treatment, Hoppus shared that he “does a lot less now” and keeps his inner circle “small.”

“I am involved with far fewer people than I’ve ever been in my life. My circle of friends is small,” he reflected. “My circle of people that I work with is small and I cherish every one of them, so that helps a lot. And when things get difficult, I talk to my wife, I talk to my bandmates, and that’s really my support system.”

When Hoppus wrote his memoir, which dives into the musician’s personal life and Blink-182’s glory days, he made sure that DeLonge and Barker got a copy as soon as he could.

“I got my first copy of the book a few days ago, and the first thing I did was called my managers and said, please make sure that we get copies to Tom and Travis as soon as possible so they can read it or ignore it or put it on a shelf and forget about it entirely,” he told Us. “I want them to have it. They’ve been nothing but supportive.”

One of the reasons Hoppus was inspired to write the book was a conversation he had with his therapist after getting diagnosed with cancer.

“My therapist said, you should write how you’re feeling and just write like nobody’s ever going to read it. Just put it all on paper. Just start writing. It doesn’t matter if you write a paragraph or a poem or a blah, whatever, just start writing,” he recalled. “So I did and it was really cathartic and it really helped me through a very difficult time.”

When Hoppus entered remission, his manager mentioned that he should write a book about his time in Blink-182.

“At first I was resistant because I was like, ‘Who cares about me in my life?’ But people love Blink and I love Blink, and I wanted to tell a story of Blink-182,” he said. “Blink is my favorite band. Tom and Travis are my favorite musicians in the world. And so I wanted to share that joy and that love with the world and hopefully people like it and hopefully it’s a cool story. Blink has gotten to do some really awesome things over the years and we’ve done some really cool stuff. So I wanted to tell that story.”

Fahrenheit-182: A Memoir, from Dey Street Books, hits shelves on April 8. Dates for Hoppus’ book tour are available now.

Us Weekly’s full interview with Hoppus about his book will be in the issue on newsstands later this week.