Jon Bon Jovi admits he ‘hasn’t been a saint’ in his 35-year marriage
Jon Bon Jovi has opened up about his marriage to wife Dorothea — admitting that he hasn’t always “been a saint” throughout their relationship.
The “Livin’ on a Prayer” hitmaker, 62, and his wife are gearing up to celebrate their 35th anniversary next week, but the rocker admits that they wouldn’t have reached the milestone had it not been for Dorothea’s “tolerance.”
“These are all the wonderful clichés of rock stardom,” he told The Independent. “It’s about never lying about having been a saint, but not being a fool enough to [mess] up the home life, either.”
The pair tied the knot at the Graceland Chapel in Las Vegas back in 1989, and went on to welcome four children together.
The rocker said the pair’s marriage stood the test of time thanks to “a mutual admiration society, and being lucky enough to have grown up together,” but also credited a degree of tolerance on her part.
In fact, on Bon Jovi’s hit 1993 track “Bed of Roses” he regretfully details his experiences during touring.
Elsewhere, the Grammy winner opened up about the other cliché of rock stardom — drugs.
Bon Jovi said he’s never been interested in taking narcotics following an eye-opening experience in his childhood.
“It was smoking something that was laced with something else, and I remember feeling out-of-body high and thinking, ‘I don’t like this. I don’t feel comfortable with this,” he shared.
“It was scary, and I was so young that I was glad I had that sort of ‘scared straight’ moment.”
Bon Jovi also spoke about his son Jake Bongiovi’s engagement to actress Millie Bobby Brown.
Admitting that he wasn’t aware of her work on “Stranger Things,” the rocker did confess to full of admiration for her.
“I can’t tell you that I honestly was very aware of it, I think it was for another generation, but I do admire her work ethic,” he told the outlet.
“Millie is a movie star. We just went to the premiere of ‘Damsel’ with her, and Jake’s got his first movie out right now. I’m happy for him.”
Bongiovi, 21, and Brown, 20, announced their engagement in April 2023 after two years of dating.
“They are two young people that are pursuing a dream together, so we’re supportive of it, because our hope for them — and Millie’s parents’ hope for them, because Bob and Kelly Brown, too, met when they were very young — is that the kids will grow together,” the rocker said of the pair.
“Anything after that is out of all four of us as parents’ control, but they’re good kids. They’ll figure it out.”
And while Brown last year said that her famous future father-in-law will not be performing at her wedding, the rocker said he’s not ruling it out completely.
“You know, I doubt her word on that very much,” he quipped. “We’ll see! It depends how much wine I have before we get to the moment where she sticks the mic in my face.”
