Jon Bon Jovi reveals inner circle was really ‘shocked’ and ‘furious’ when he married wife Dorothea

Nadine Bourne
·5 min read
Singer and songwriter Jon Bon Jovi recalls making the last minute decision to married his-then fiancée while he was on tour at the time.
Singer and songwriter Jon Bon Jovi recalls making the last minute decision to married his-then fiancée while he was on tour at the time.
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Does he give love a bad name?

Singer and songwriter Jon Bon Jovi said his inner circle was quite surprised when he eloped with his wife, Dorothea Hurley, three decades ago.

“It shocked a lot of people — shocked about everybody: the band, management, agents, lawyers, parents, you name it,’” he recently recalled to People magazine. “It’s a shame because it should have been a beautiful moment, but after we did it, people were trying to take it away, until I stood up and went, ‘Wait a minute, why are we living our life for anyone else?’ And 35 years later, we’re still married.”

Singer and songwriter Jon Bon Jovi recalls said his inner circle was “shocked” when he eloped with his wife, Dorothea. Anthony Harvey/Shutterstock
Singer and songwriter Jon Bon Jovi recalls said his inner circle was “shocked” when he eloped with his wife, Dorothea. Anthony Harvey/Shutterstock
“My girlfriend, who was my fiancée at the time, we had a night off, and I said, ‘I need a higher high — I got an idea. Let’s go to Vegas now.’ And she said, ‘Now?’ I said, ‘Now,'” Bon Jovi said. Drew Gurian/Invision/AP
“My girlfriend, who was my fiancée at the time, we had a night off, and I said, ‘I need a higher high — I got an idea. Let’s go to Vegas now.’ And she said, ‘Now?’ I said, ‘Now,'” Bon Jovi said. Drew Gurian/Invision/AP

The 62-year-old, born John Francis Bongiovi Jr., made the last-minute decision to marry his then-fiancée while he was on tour at the time.

“We were in Los Angeles, California, the band was on the road on the ‘New Jersey’ tour, and if you opened up the curtains of my hotel room, there’s a big billboard of the five of us [Bon Jovi band members] staring into my window,” Bon Jovi went on. “My girlfriend, who was my fiancée at the time, we had a night off, and I said, ‘I need a higher high — I got an idea. Let’s go to Vegas now.’ And she said, ‘Now?’ I said, ‘Now.’”

The “Living on a Prayer” singer first met his wife while they were students at Sayreville War Memorial High School in New Jersey. The pair dated until 1985 when they broke up for five months before getting back together.

The pair got married at the Graceland Chapel in Las Vegas in 1989 and have four children together: daughter Stephanie, 30, and sons Jesse, 29, Jake, 21, and Romeo, 20.

The pair got married at the Graceland Chapel in Las Vegas in 1989. Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images
The pair got married at the Graceland Chapel in Las Vegas in 1989. Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

While speaking with the Mirror, the rock star said, “It was like Harry Styles or Justin Timberlake getting married.

“I was that to the young girls in my time. When I came back from Vegas my manager was furious. He was like, ‘America’s boy is now married … that’s not a good career move.’ The record company was also despondent.”

In a recent interview, Bon Jovi told the Independent that he “hasn’t been a saint” during their 35-year marriage.

“These are all the wonderful clichés of rock stardom. It’s about never lying about having been a saint, but not being a fool enough to f–k up the home life, either,” he said.

“It’s a shame because it should have been a beautiful moment, but after we did it, people were trying to take it away, until I stood up and went, ‘Wait a minute, why are we living our life for anyone else?’ And 35 years later, we’re still married,” the rock star said. Getty Images
“It’s a shame because it should have been a beautiful moment, but after we did it, people were trying to take it away, until I stood up and went, ‘Wait a minute, why are we living our life for anyone else?’ And 35 years later, we’re still married,” the rock star said. Getty Images

Rumors and allegations about the rock star having an affair started circulating in 1993. Bon Jovi addressed those rumors in the hit single “Bed of Roses.”

In the song, he sings: “Now as you close your eyes/ Know I’ll be thinking about you/ While my mistress she calls me/ To stand in her spotlight again/ Tonight I won’t be alone / But you know that don’t mean I’m not lonely/ I’ve got nothing to prove/ For it’s you that I’d die to defend.”

The musician told the Independent that his marriage has lasted so long thanks to “a mutual admiration society, and being lucky enough to have grown up together.” He also credited his wife’s tolerance.

Bon Jovi that his marriage lasted 35 years thanks to “a mutual admiration society, and being lucky enough to have grown up together.” Getty Images for Hampton Water
Bon Jovi that his marriage lasted 35 years thanks to “a mutual admiration society, and being lucky enough to have grown up together.” Getty Images for Hampton Water

“Somehow it works. I think because we grow at the same rate. We grew equally and not in opposite directions,” Dorothea told People in November 2016.

The Grammy winner said that he and his wife “got it right the first time” while reminiscing on their love story.

The duo launched JBJ Soul Foundation in 2006, a nonprofit that specializes in creating affordable housing and provides meals to those in need.

The Grammy winner said that he and his wife “got it right the first time” while reminiscing on their love story. Getty Images
The Grammy winner said that he and his wife “got it right the first time” while reminiscing on their love story. Getty Images

Dorothea has been by his side through the ups and downs over the years. In 2022, Bon Jovi underwent vocal cord surgery after suffering from an atrophied vocal.

“The thing that gave me so much pleasure had been taken away,” he told People. “Joy is something you got to work at, right? Happiness is what you make it. It’s not about seizing the day anymore. I think it’s about embracing the day. I don’t have to punch it in the face anymore, now I just give it a hug, and that’s a good place to be.”

In early February, the singer went onstage for the first time since the surgery after being named the MusiCares Person of the Year.

“Somehow it works. I think because we grow at the same rate. We grew equally and not in opposite directions,” Dorothea said in November 2016. Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images for Disney+
“Somehow it works. I think because we grow at the same rate. We grew equally and not in opposite directions,” Dorothea said in November 2016. Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images for Disney+

“Although I’m well on the road to recovery and was able to take my time and do a song a day when I made the record,” the “Wanted Dead or Alive” crooner told Mix 104.1 Boston in March, “my need, want, desire is to be able to do two-and-a-half hours a night, four nights a week for months on end.”

Bon Jovi’s latest work, a docuseries called “Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story,” will be released on Hulu on Friday, April 26.

The four-part series will highlight “the epic past and uncertain future of one of the most recognizable bands in the world and it’s front-man Jon Bon Jovi.”