JON'S OTHER HALF
Who is Jon Bon Jovi’s wife, Dorothea Hurley?
Outside of music, the pair collaborate on many business ventures
JON Bon Jovi and Dorothea Hurley walked down the aisle in a surprise wedding ceremony after dating for nine years.
Here we get to know the wife of the Grammy Award winner, who admitted their decision to elope "shocked a lot of people".
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Who is Jon Bon Jovi's wife, Dorothea Hurley?
Born on September 29, 1962, Dorothea Hurley-Bongiovi is an American karate instructor and restaurateur from Middlesex County, New Jersey.
Dorothea and Jon Bon Jovi are the co-founders of JBJ Soul Foundation working to "break the cycle of hunger, poverty and homelessness".
The states that the foundation has helped provide support for almost 1,000 units of affordable and supportive housing in 12 states for thousands of people including youth and veterans.
They also founded JBJ Soul Kitchen, a community restaurant serving food to both in-need and paying customers.
JBJ Soul Kitchen has locations in the Red Bank and Newark areas of New Jersey.
How did Jon and Dorothea meet?
Jon and Dorothea met while they were both students at Sayreville War Memorial High School.
According to the longtime couple, it was love at first sight.
Jon told People: "I was immediately drawn to her from the minute I saw her and that never changed."
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The pair started dating in 1980 and were on-again, off-again for years until they married.
On April 29, 1989, Jon and Dorothea tied the knot in a spur-of-the-moment Las Vegas wedding ceremony.
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The rock music superstar recalled: "It shocked a lot of people, shocked about everybody."
Jon told : "The band, management, agents, lawyers, parents, you name it.
"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?'
We work hard at it [marriage], but we enjoy each other and we never fell for the trappings of what celebrity can do
Jon Bon Jovi
"And 35 years later, we're still married.
"We got it right the first time."
He added: "We work hard at it [marriage], but we enjoy each other and we never fell for the trappings of what celebrity can do.
"We've witnessed that happen over the years to people that were close to us and people that we knew from afar.
"It's just what I do, it's not who I am. I write songs.
"I happen to be very good at performing them, that's it."
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Who are Jon and Dorothea's children?
Jon and Dorothea are parents to four children.
On May 31, 1993, they became parents for the first time when they welcomed their daughter Stephanie.
The couple also has three sons named Jesse, Jake and Romeo.
Jesse was born on February 19, 1995, with Jake on May 7, 2002.
Jesse is behind the wine brand Hampton Water while Jake is a model, producer and writer.
Their youngest, Romeo, arrived on March 29, 2004.
Of course, by the time you get to the fourth baby, you're dragging it into the parking lot by its arm, saying, 'Whatever. Strap yourself in, you'll be fine
Jon Bon Jovi
Regarding his experiences as a father, the Bon Jovi frontman told : "I remember coming home with Stephanie, our first, and thinking, 'I have a daughter?' I never even had a sister.
"That was daunting. We were in unchartered territory, to say the least.
"We were so grateful that she was healthy but we were scared s**tless.
"Of course, by the time you get to the fourth baby, you're dragging it into the parking lot by its arm, saying, 'Whatever. Strap yourself in, you'll be fine'."
The rockstar added: "If I could go back and relive any moment in my life, the first thing that comes to mind is the birth of my kids. Because that was such a miracle.
"The birth of a human you've helped create — that's probably the biggest, most unbelievable thing that I could ever want.
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"To touch the hand of God, that's as close as you ever come to that."
The Sun exclusively revealed how Jon's son Jake wed Stranger Things actress Millie Bobby Brown on the weekend of May 12 and 13, 2024, in a secret, intimate ceremony.
Jake’s rock star dad Jon was there, along with Millie’s parents.
A source said: “Millie and Jake quietly said their vows in America last weekend.
It is an accelerated version of what I went through 40 years ago and I think, with the support of family around them, they’re going to be great together
Jon Bon Jovi
“They are planning a bigger ceremony in the US later this year but now they have legally married and done all the paperwork.
"It was a very low-key, romantic affair with their closest family with them as they said their vows.”
Jake’s dad defended their decision to get married young and said they reminded him of when he married his wife Dorothea in 1989, having met as teenagers.
Jon previously said of Millie: “I’ve gotten to know her in the last year, she works really hard, and she and Jake will grow together in their own way.
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“It is an accelerated version of what I went through 40 years ago and I think, with the support of family around them, they’re going to be great together.”
Millie and Jake started dating in 2021 before getting engaged in spring 2023.
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