Media outlets from The New York Times to Billboard noted that his death marks the end of one of rock’s most volatile love stories — a marriage filled with public fights, reconciliations, and declarations of undying devotion. Sharon’s grief, however, is private in ways the couple’s drama rarely was. “I know everyone wants to talk about the legacy and the music,” she told People. “But right now, all I can think about is those words. How he made sure I wasn’t afraid before he left.”
Friends say Sharon has been leaning on her children for support. Jack Osbourne posted a black-and-white photo of his parents dancing, captioning it simply: “He told her not to be scared. We’re not scared, Dad. We’re proud.” The post, according to The Independent, has since been liked more than a million times.
Jack Osbourne’s tribute to his father is pure heartbreak: “We’re not scared, Dad. We’re proud.” #RIPOzzy— Music World Today (@MusicWorldToday) August 9, 2025
Sharon revealed that in the hours after his death, she sat alone in their bedroom, playing the couple’s favorite Fleetwood Mac album. “I just kept hearing his voice in my head,” she told Variety. “Those last words weren’t just for me. They were him telling everyone — his fans, his family — that he wasn’t afraid.”
In Los Angeles, fans gathered outside the Hollywood Walk of Fame star Ozzy received in 2002, leaving candles, guitar picks, and handwritten notes. As The Los Angeles Times reported, several mourners brought portable speakers and played his biggest hits, from “Crazy Train” to “Mama, I’m Coming Home,” turning the vigil into an impromptu concert.
Music historians are already framing Ozzy’s last words as part of rock’s canon of famous deathbed farewells. Cultural critic Amanda Petrus for Vulture wrote that the phrase “I’m ready, my girl. Don’t be scared for me” reflects “the tenderness that coexisted with the chaos” in Ozzy’s life. Fans on Reddit’s music forums have begun sharing their own interpretations, some even getting the quote tattooed in his signature script.
Tattoo artists are reporting a surge in requests for Ozzy’s final words. “It’s about love, bravery, and facing the end,” one fan posted. #RIPOzzy— CultureBeat (@CultureBeatNews) August 9, 2025
For Sharon, however, those words are not about public legacy but private promise. “He knew I’d be lost without him,” she told Hello! Magazine. “But he wanted me to know that it’s okay to keep going. He was giving me permission to live.”
The Osbourne family plans to hold a private funeral in London next week, with a public memorial to follow in Los Angeles later this month. Sharon has hinted that the service will feature performances by some of Ozzy’s closest collaborators — a final nod to the life he lived on stage. “He wouldn’t want silence,” she told NME. “He’d want guitars.”
As for how she will remember him, Sharon’s answer is simple: “Every time I hear a guitar riff, every time I see our children smile, every time I close my eyes — I’ll hear him say it. And I’ll try not to be scared.”
