Jon Bon Jovi’s 30-Years Marriage Is Proof High-School Romances Can Turn Into Love Of A Lifetime

Jon Bon Jovi and his wife Dorothea Bongiovi, née Hurley, give love a good name.

Although Jon Bon Jovi is known for his powerful rock anthems and moving ballads (and, at times, big hairdos), he’s also one-half of one of showbiz’s greatest and long-lasting romance stories.

The Bon Jovi frontman, singer, and songwriter has been with his wife Dorothea for more than forty years, and the happy couple celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary back in 2019.

The couple’s story is considered one of the most heartwarming romances in the entertainment industry. In 2020, Bon Jovi spoke in depth about his long-lasting relationship and how he and his partner have only grown closer over time.

In the admittedly sometimes wild world of rock and roll, few couples have withstood the test of time like these two. The former high school sweethearts met when they were 18 and stayed together for an amount of time that is frankly an uncommon feat for any modern couple, let alone for an iconic rockstar like Jon Bon Jovi. But thanks to a relationship built on respect and shared values, their bond has grown stronger against all odds. It’s not surprising that, when asked what his secret to their long relationship is, Jon’s go-to answers are mutual respect and hard work.

This endearing couple’s love story started all the way back in 1980 when Jon and Dorothea met in high school. Jon had been playing music for five years as a teenager already and had been in several bands which used to perform around the New Jersey area.

Jon Bon Jovi, Dorothea Hurley (1987), (Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection/Getty Images)

The adorable pair met for the first time in 1980 when they shared the same history class in high school. At the time, Dorothea was actually dating a friend of Bon Jovi’s. They did not immediately start going out.

“I was doing nothing to help my studies along,” Bon Jovi later recalled, according to Fame10. “It started with just trying to look over her shoulder at test answers, to making small talk.”

After Dorothea’s boyfriend decided to enlist in the Navy, however, things started to change between the pair, and Jon didn’t wait that long before he made his move. “He left town, and hey, you know the five-second rule when you drop a piece of toast on the ground? I gave him three weeks. We started dating, and that was the end of that,” he admitted.

The couple had a few ups and downs, as all couples do, and finally got married in 1989. However, at the time, nobody knew what they had done! In a spur-of-the-moment decision, Jon asked Dorothea to elope with him and get married in Las Vegas. Speaking to Best Life, Jon revealed:

“It was 1989 and our album New Jersey was out. We had the No. 1 album, the No. 1 single, and we were playing three nights at the Forum in L.A. We were staying at the St. James’s Club, which is that beautiful art deco hotel on the Sunset Strip across from the old Hyatt House. I pulled the curtain back in my room, and there’s a billboard of me staring right back.

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?’”