U2 has kept going strong for 40 years without breaking up – at least not in public.

But Bono says the band has split up plenty of times, only to get back together in the end.

He made that revelation on the SmartLess podcast stating, “The band breaks up all the time. It’s the truth. Then we get back together and I’m grateful we do.”

“I’m amazed we’re still going,” Bono explained, “Being in a band is tricky. The older you get, it gets even trickier, because when you grow up together, you’re used to taking bits out of each other…You’re as good as the arguments you get, but at a certain point, when people are doing well, the male loves to be the lord of his own domain, you know? It’s rough. And you can just imagine why people say, ‘Ah, f*** this, I’m outta here.’”

U2’s next project will be Songs of Surrender, a collection of “reimagined and re-recorded” songs spanning the band’s long career. It will be out March 17th.

How many times do you think U2 has secretly broken up? What phase in their career did it happen? Share your opinions on 107.7 The Bone’s Facebook or Twitter page.