One of the biggest rock stars of the 1980s, Jon Bon Jovi was considered a major sex symbol.
But, the Livin’ On A Prayer singer has been married to his wife, Dorothea Hurley, for more than 35 years.
Their marriage has been far from perfect, but their relationship has remained strong through the ups and downs of Jon’s rock star life.
They’ve welcomed four children together and now seem more in love than ever. Here, we take a look back at Jon Bon Jovi and Dorothea Hurley’s love story.
HIGH SCHOOL SWEETHEARTS
Jon and Dorothea met back in 1980 when they were students at Sayreville War Memorial High School in New Jersey.
“She let me cheat off her in history,” he told People in 2020 of their meeting. “I was immediately drawn to her from the minute I saw her and that never changed.”
Meanwhile, Dorothea joked, “I always said I was good at spotting potential too. I have a gift. He’s cute. I’m shallow. I’ll admit it!”
Despite meeting so young in life, the pair decided to wait nine years to get married, and tied the knot on 29 April 1989 during the height of Bon Jovi’s success.
“We had the No. 1 album, the No. 1 single, and we were playing three nights at the Forum in L.A.,” Jon told Men’s Health in 2010. “I turned to Dorothea and said, ‘I got an idea. Why don’t we go right now?’ She said, ‘You’re out of your mind.’ I said, ‘Come on. What’s better than this, right now, this moment?’ And so we ran off to Las Vegas. Didn’t tell a soul.”
FAMILY OF SIX
Four years after they wed, Jon and Dorothea expanded their family with the arrival of their first child, daughter Stephanie Rose Bongiovi, on 31 May 1993.
The Bongiovi clan grew again on 19 February 1995 when their son Jesse James Louis was born, and on 7 May 2002 they welcomed another son, Jacob. Their family of six was completed on 29 March 2004 with the arrival of Romeo.
The couple largely kept their kids out of the spotlight when they were young, however as they’ve gotten older the Bongiovi kids have begun forging paths of their own.
Stephanie is the most private of the Bongiovi kids, but when she was seven she joined her dad on stage to perform I’ve Got The Girl, and she did so again in 2017.
Meanwhile, Jesse played football at the University of Notre Dame and he launched a wine label with Jon in 2018 called Hampton Water.
Jacob “Jake” Bongiovi is pursuing a career in acting and production and is also married to Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown.
As for Romeo, he is an aspiring musician and is in a band called LAWN.
ROCK-SOLID MARRIAGE
When reflecting on his marriage with Dorothea, Jon Bon Jovi previously admitted that he “got away with murder.”
“I’m a rock and roll star. I’m not a saint,” he said on the ABC special Michael Strahan x Jon Bon Jovi: Halfway There. “I’m not saying that there weren’t 100 girls in my life. I’m Jon Bon Jovi. It was pretty good!”
But, Jon praised his wife’s tolerance of his demanding job and hectic touring schedule, and credited their long-time relationship to “mutual respect.”
He added, “Having grown up together and grown together. And we really like each other. We want to hang out.”
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