Eagles’ Don Henley ‘Regrets’ Cocaine-Fueled Night with 16-Year-Old

Eagles co-founder Don Henley on Monday candidly recounted the cocaine-fueled night when he was busted with a 16-year-old prostitute at his Los Angeles home — calling it a “regret” he still lives with more than four decades later as he took the stand in Manhattan court.

Henley, 76, was asked about his 1980 arrest as he testified in the criminal trial surrounding a scheme involving allegedly stolen handwritten draft lyrics of “Hotel California” — saying the rock band’s breakup that fall made him depressed, prompting him to call a “madam” to provide him with “some company.”

Dressed in a sharp blue suit, white shirt and black tie, the musician told the court about the Nov. 20, 1980, night when he invited roadies to his home to announce the news of the band’s breakup, which at that point was known only by the Eagles’ inner circle.

Once the groupies left his home, Henley said, a young woman — whom he believed to be “20, 21 years old” — arrived and the two shared intimate details about themselves, including him telling her about the Eagles’ split, he said.

The pair also shared cocaine, which Henley, speaking in a low, raspy tone, admitted that he used “intermittently” at the time.

Henley pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor in 1981 — for which he received a sentence of probation and a $2,500 fine.

The media coverage surrounding the incident at the time was reportedly the inspiration for Henley’s song “Dirty Laundry” off his 1982 solo album, and he also discussed it in a 1991 GQ Magazine interview in which he also said he didn’t know the girl was underage until after he was arrested.