Ashley Purdy is an American singer-songwriter and musician famously known as the bassist and vocalist for the rock band Black Veil Brides (BVB) until his departure in 2019. The news of his departure came after the bassist spent some time in the psychiatric hospital for counseling and grief. In November 2019, BVB issued a statement stating that the decision was mutual between Purdy and the band.
Before BVB, Ashley Purdy was also a member of other bands, such as Children of the Beast, Orgasm, and Stolen Hearts. Beyond his music career, he is a graphics designer and was credited for designing most of the costumes won by the Black Veil Brides crew. He also owns a fashion line called Ashley Purdy Fashion Inc.
Summary of Ashley Purdy’s Biography
- Full name: Ashley Abrocket Purdy
- Nickname: Ashley Purdy
- Gender: Male
- Date of birth: January 28, 1984
- Ashley Purdy’s Age: 40 years old
- Ethnicity: White
- Nationality: American
- Zodiac Sign: Aquarius
- Sexual Orientation: Straight
- Religion: Christianity
- Marital Status: Single
- Ashley Purdy’s Height in Inches: 5 feet 11 inches
- Ashley Purdy’s Height in Centimetres: 180 cm
- Ashley Purdy’s Weight: 75 kg
- Ashley Purdy’s Net worth: $4 million
- Famous for: being the former bassist and vocalist of the Black Veil Brides (BVB)
- Ashley Purdy’s Instagram: @ashleypurdyinc
- Twitter: @AshleyPurdy
- Facebook: OfficialASHLEYPURDY
Who is Ashley Purdy from Black Veil Brides, and How Old is He?
Ashley Purdy is a native of Missouri, United States. He was born in the city as Ashley Abrocket Purdy on January 28, 1984. He is currently 40 years old. The bassist developed a passion for rock and roll music when he was very young. He had a rough childhood as his parents died at a very young age.
Although nothing much is known about his parents, Purdy was raised by his grandparents. He had a passing interest in music during his high school days but had a strong passion for fashion and arts. When he turned 18, he left his grandparent’s house and moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career as a graphic designer.
Upon his arrival in Los Angeles, Purdy applied to join the Academy of Art in San Francisco and was accepted. Later, he was transferred to Otis College of Art and Design, Los Angeles. There, he studied and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communication Design, with interests in Marketing and Advertising. Although he graduated with good grades, his love for Rock and Roll music led him to become a member of Black Veil Brides.
He Joined the Black Veil Brides in 2009 and Left in 2019
Ashley Purdy joined the Black Veil Brides rock band in 2009. Before joining the band, he formed and was part of three bands, namely “Orgasm (1999-2001),” “Children of the Beast (2003-2006),” and “Stolen Hearts (2007-2009),” where he found like minds but couldn’t fit into their music style and fashion sense. However, when he saw an advert on craigslist from Black Veil Brides frontman Andy Biersack, looking for a bass player, he jumped right in.
Since the BVB shared similar influences and interests, Ashley had wanted to steal members from the group to form his own band. However, he fell in love with the environment and later settled with the Black Veil Brides. Joining the BVB, the group released their first album, We Stitch These Wounds, in July 2010.
The album became critically acclaimed and commercially successful, selling over 10,000 copies the first week after its release and reaching No 1 on Billboard Independent Chart and No. 36 on Billboard Top 200 Chart. The group further released their second album, Set the World on Fire, in 2011, after which they were voted MTV’s Favorite Breakthrough Band of 2011.
The following year, they released another album, Wretched and Divine, which received massive airplay and critical acclaim. In 2014, the group dropped their self-titled album. It is imperative that Ashley Purdy worked as a bassist and vocalist for the group throughout his stay with the Black Veil Brides. The group’s popularity has continued to increase, and they are now dubbed as one of the most influential rock bands.
They further released mega-hits such as Knives and Pens, In The End, The Legacy, and Vale. They also bagged numerous awards, including WGRD’s 2011 Favorite Listener Band of the Year and Revolver’s Golden God Awards for Best New Band in 2011.
Why Ashley Purdy Left BVB
After spending close to a decade with the Black Veil Brides, Ashley Purdy parted ways with the group in 2019. The band took to Twitter on November 15, 2019, to announce Purdy’s departure, saying his departure was mutually agreed upon between Purdy and the band.
Black Veil Brides and Ashley Purdy have mutually agreed to part ways. We have enjoyed a wonderful run together and both parties wish one another continued success moving forward.
— Black Veil Brides (@blackveilbrides) November 15, 2019
The news of Ashley’s exit from BVB came after the bassist came out after spending some time in the psychiatric hospital for counseling and grief. According to Ashley, the timing of his departure disappointed him the most because his health issues and career with BVB had nothing to do with each other.
During an interview, the bassist disclosed that, although he wasn’t part of the group anymore, he “technically” didn’t leave. He also added that since BVB wanted his departure, they had to compensate him. His insinuations might also mean that since BVB wanted him to leave, they are yet to compensate him, and their negotiation is still ongoing.
Since his departure, Ashley Purdy has continued making music and has released a song titled Nowhere. His initial BVB co-members were Andy Biersack, Christian “CC” Coma, Jake Pitts, and Jinxx. However, after his departure, Ashley was replaced by Lonny Eagleton in November 2019.
Purdy Also Owns a Fashion Line
Music is not the only thing Ashley Purdy is good at. As we earlier stated, the bassist also has a high taste for fashion. He once disclosed that he is the brain behind BVB’s fashion style. As a result, he founded a fashion line called Asley Purdy Fashion Inc. in 2013. According to him, he handcrafted every item sold by the brand.
Being a goal-getter, Ashley has also focused more on his fashion designing career since he left BVB. He shares updates about his fashion line and also promotes them on his Instagram, where he has over 419k followers and more than 356k Twitter followers.
Ashley Purdy’s Sexual Assault Allegations
While Ashley Purdy’s departure was said to be based on mutual agreement, there is more to his departure than meets the eye. The bassist was embroiled in sexual assault allegations. In 2020, the news about Ashley’s sexual assault allegations surfaced online. Several women accused the bassist of rape, sex with underage girls, providing minors with drugs, and verbal, sexual, and psychological abuse.
The news of his sexual assault allegations emerged on June 20, 2020, when a Twitter user named Pearl Carolina shared, in a now-deleted tweet, the story of how Ashley verbally abused and criticized her before engaging in unprotected sex with her when she was intoxicated. She ended her tweet by saying,
After Carolina’s story, many other women, including Aleena Avery and a Twitter user by the username @throwupbarbie, spoke up about their encounter with the former BVB bassist, giving credence and a similar narrative to Carolina’s story.
On his part, Ashley Purdy responded to the allegations via a statement, saying that he is aware of several derogatory comments people make on social media about his character. He also believed every woman has a right to be heard, respected, and trusted. In his words,
His former band, Black Veils Bride, also issued a statement, saying,
Where is Ashley Purdy Now?
Since the allegations, which came from multiple women, nothing much has been heard about Ashley Purdy and what he is currently up to. However, he has been focused on building his career as a solo artist. He started by releasing a song, King for a Day, in mid-February 2020. After the allegations, Purdy found solace in music and, once again, released Nashvillain in 2020.
In 2021, Ashley was determined to release new songs, which ultimately led to his latest song, Nowhere. Since then, the solo artist has become focused on finding his foot in the American music industry. According to the singer, Nowhere was part of the beginning of his long healing process, allowing him to let things flow.
On the relationship front, Ashley Purdy is currently single and not in any known relationship. However, he had previously dated model Kina Tavarozi. He was also rumored to be dating adult actress Nikki Benz, but the singer quashed the rumor, saying they are just friends.
