Ace Frehley’s Heart-Wrenching Final Whisper: The 10 Words That Left His Wife in Tears Forever

In a quiet New Jersey hospital room, the Spaceman of KISS traded his last guitar solo for a final declaration of love — one that will echo through eternity.

The hum of life-support machines faded into silence on October 16, 2025, but for Jeanette Trerotola, the sound that lingers is something else entirely — the fragile voice of her husband, Ace Frehley, whispering his last words.

“I love you more than music, Jeanette — keep rocking our stars,” he said, barely audible, as he squeezed her hand for the final time.

Just ten words, yet they carried the weight of decades: of stadium lights, smoky stages, backstage chaos, and a love that weathered all of it.

“I couldn’t stop crying,” Jeanette recalled days later, her voice cracking in a tearful interview. “Those words… they were his goodbye and his thank you. It was like he was telling me, ‘You’ve been my song all along.’”

From Bronx Streets to the Stars

Before the world knew him as the silver-painted “Spaceman” of KISS, Paul Daniel Frehley was a kid from the Bronx who loved two things — music and mischief.

Born April 27, 1951, to a working-class family, Ace grew up surrounded by rhythm. His father, Carl, played jazz; his mother, Esther, filled their home with warmth and melody. By 13, Ace had already found his muse — a cheap electric guitar, a Christmas gift meant to keep him out of trouble. It did the opposite: it launched him into legend.

Inspired by Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones, he taught himself to play with reckless precision — raw, bluesy, and utterly his own. By 21, a classified ad in The Village Voice — “lead guitarist wanted” — connected him with Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, and Peter Criss.

In 1973, KISS was born.

With his cosmic makeup and his Les Paul guitar literally shooting smoke, Ace became rock’s intergalactic outlaw — part guitarist, part pyrotechnic showman. Hits like “Cold Gin,” “Shock Me,” and “Rocket Ride” cemented his place in rock’s pantheon. His riffs weren’t just notes; they were liftoffs.

KISS sold over 100 million albums worldwide, redefined live performance, and created a fan army that still marches to the beat of their boots. Ace’s lightning-bolt logo, hand-drawn in his notebook, became as recognizable as the Rolling Stones’ tongue or Zeppelin’s blimp.

“He was the spirit of rebellion in that band,” Gene Simmons said in a statement after his passing. “Ace made KISS dangerous. He made it fun.”

A Love That Outlasted the Spotlight

In 1976, just as KISS was conquering the world, Ace married Jeanette Trerotola, an Italian-American actress whose poise balanced his wild streak.

“She was my calm in the chaos,” Ace wrote in his 2011 memoir No Regrets. “Every time I thought I was losing myself, Jeanette reminded me where home was.”

Their relationship was as rock ’n’ roll as his music — passionate, messy, but enduring. The couple’s daughter, Monique, was born in 1980, a bright spark during the band’s wildest decade.

Ace’s struggles with fame and excess eventually strained the marriage, and they separated in the mid-1980s. Yet, they never truly drifted apart. Friends say they remained emotionally tethered, co-parenting Monique and speaking frequently even when they lived miles apart.

“They were never really done,” said one family friend. “No matter where life took him — through fame, fortune, or failure — Jeanette was always there somewhere in his orbit.”

The Fall That Ended the Ride

In late September 2025, Ace was in his Morristown, New Jersey home studio, working on Origins Vol. 3, a covers album paying homage to his heroes — from Hendrix to The Beatles.

Then, tragedy struck. A simple misstep led to a severe fall, causing a brain hemorrhage.

He was rushed to Morristown Medical Center, placed on life support, and never regained full consciousness.

By early October, his 2025 tour had been canceled — first a California show, then the rest of the slate. His team called it “a temporary medical pause,” but fans feared worse.

Those fears were confirmed two weeks later. Surrounded by Jeanette, Monique, and his siblings, Ace’s doctors delivered the heartbreaking prognosis.

Jeanette made the agonizing decision to remove life support.

“Letting go of him was the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” she said. “But he looked peaceful. And when he whispered those words, I knew he was already halfway to heaven.”

The Spaceman’s Final Words

Ace’s last whisper, Jeanette revealed, came just minutes before his passing. “He looked straight at me,” she said. “And then he said it: ‘I love you more than music, Jeanette — keep rocking our stars.’”

Ten words that summed up a life of devotion — to music, to family, to the universe he helped soundtrack.

In the family’s official statement, Jeanette and Monique wrote:

“We surrounded him with love, peace, and prayers. Ace lived his life loud and left us in grace. His music, his laughter, and his light will live on forever.”

Bandmates Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons echoed that sentiment in their joint tribute:

“We’ve lost a brother. Ace was a rock warrior — fearless, funny, irreplaceable.”

Former drummer Peter Criss added simply: “My brother has gone to the stars.”

Behind the Music: The Man Who Fell to Earth

Frehley’s career was as unpredictable as one of his solos — fast, fiery, and full of detours.

After leaving KISS in 1982 amid creative clashes and burnout, he launched Frehley’s Comet, scoring a 1987 hit with “Rock Soldiers” and selling over half a million albums. His solo debut Ace Frehley (1978) remains a cult classic, thanks to “New York Groove.”

Though he rejoined KISS for their 1996 reunion tour — earning a reported $30,000 per night — his later years were marked by personal battles and money troubles.

Still, he never stopped creating. His 2024 album 10,000 Volts was hailed by critics as “vintage Ace — raw, rebellious, radiant.”

And yet, despite decades of platinum records and sold-out tours, his net worth at death was estimated at just $1 million. Years of financial strain — from a 2013 foreclosure to a 2016 bankruptcy — had taken their toll.

“Ace lived for art, not for assets,” said one longtime manager. “If he had a dollar, he spent it on gear or guitars. He wasn’t counting money; he was chasing magic.”

Monique’s Inheritance: Music and Debt

Now, that modest $1 million estate falls primarily to Monique, his only child — along with the responsibility for settling what insiders say are lingering debts totaling hundreds of thousands.

The liabilities include unpaid taxes, legal fees, and remnants of mortgage losses. No will has yet surfaced publicly, but New Jersey law favors her and Jeanette as primary beneficiaries.

It’s not the glamorous inheritance one might expect from rock royalty, but Monique isn’t in it for the money. “She’s his legacy,” says a family friend. “She’s carrying the torch — not the tab.”

Houses That Rock Built — and Lost

Ace’s real estate portfolio mirrored his life — bold, beautiful, and at times, chaotic.

His Wilton, Connecticut mansion, purchased in 1979, was pure rock fantasy: a glass-walled modernist masterpiece with a koi pond, waterfall, and recording studio dubbed “Ace in the Hole.” It was here that parts of Music from ‘The Elder’ were recorded.

Sold in 1986, the home has since become a pilgrimage site for fans, now operating as an Airbnb at nearly $800 a night.

But later properties — including a Yorktown Heights estate lost to foreclosure and an Ossining residence repurposed as storage — tell a humbler story. His final home, in Morristown, was both his creative haven and, ultimately, his last stage.

A Legacy Written in Fire

In the end, Ace Frehley’s true wealth isn’t measured in dollars but decibels.

He revolutionized how rock guitar could look and sound — turning solos into theater and riffs into mythology. His influence ripples through artists from Slash to Tom Morello, from garage bands to Grammy winners.

Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014, Ace remained humble. “I never wanted to be famous,” he once said. “I just wanted to make noise that meant something.”

Love Beyond the Limelight

For Jeanette, those ten words — “I love you more than music, Jeanette — keep rocking our stars” — are now both heartbreak and hymn.

“They were his last song,” she said softly. “And every time I look at the night sky, I hear him again.”

Monique, too, carries the melody forward. She plans to help oversee his unreleased catalog and complete Origins Vol. 3, the album Ace was working on before his fall.

“There’s more music in him,” she told a friend. “And I’ll make sure the world hears it.”

The Eternal Encore

From the Bronx basement where a teenage boy first strummed a guitar to the sold-out arenas where he played under showers of sparks, Ace Frehley’s story has always been one of defiance — of reaching for the stars even when the ground threatened to give way.

And now, in the quiet after the amps have dimmed, his legacy continues — not in the roar of crowds, but in a whisper of love that refuses to fade.

As Jeanette said through tears, “He wasn’t just my husband. He was my melody. And now he’s part of the music of heaven.”

For fans everywhere, that final whisper — ten words long, infinite in meaning — is the encore we’ll never forget.