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Jon Bon Jovi is a real family man and has created a perfect life with his wife, Dorothea Bongiovi, whom he's been married to for 36 years. The couple, who are teenage sweethearts, have four children and recently became first-time grandparents to a little girl, whom they totally dote over. Here's everything we know about Jon Bon Jovi and his life with his wife, Dorothea: Who is Jon Bon Jovi's wife, Dorothea Bongiovi? Dorothea Bongiovi is a karate instructor and restaurateur from New Jersey, born on September 29, 1962. The 63-year-old also works with the JBJ Soul Foundation, a charity she co-founded with Jon that helps provide housing support and meals in New Jersey. Their relationship Jon and Dorothea are each other's teenage sweethearts. They first met when they were high school students in 1980. The rocker previously told PEOPLE: 'She let me cheat off her in history. I was immediately drawn to her from the minute I saw her and that never changed.' The couple briefly split in 1985, and the Bon Jovi star dated actress Diane Lane for five months. They eventually reconciled, and went on to tie the knot in Las Vegas in 1989. 'We had the No. 1 album, the No. 1 single, and we were playing three nights at the Forum in LA,' he told Men's Health in 2010. Jon continued: '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.' After announcing Bon Jovi's 2026 gig at Croke Park, Jon spoke of his grá for Ireland, saying: 'I was smart, I married an Irish woman.' Their family Jon and Dorothea share four children. Their eldest, a daughter named Stephanie Rose, was born on May 31, 1993. Next came their son, Jesse James Louis, on February 19, 1995. Their second son, Jacob 'Jake', was born on May 7, 2002. Their youngest, a son named Romeo, was born on March 29, 2004. In 2002, Jon sweetly told PEOPLE: 'You think you're in love when you're a kid and you meet your wife and get married, but you know you're in love after you have a child.' Becoming a grandfather Jon and Dorothea's second-oldest son, Jake, adopted a baby girl with his wife, Millie Bobby Brown, in 2025. Gushing over becoming a grandfather, Jon told Bunnie XO: 'They adopted a girl and we met the baby, obviously. And immediately that becomes your grandchild, you know what I mean? Your baby. So it’s beautiful. He can't get enough of the little girl, saying: 'I want to see pictures like every other day. I'm that pain-in-the-butt guy already, so it's cool.' 'Mutual respect' 'Mutual respect' is the secret to Jon and Dorothea's long-lasting marriage, according to the rock legend himself. 'Having grown up together and grown together. And we really like each other. We want to hang out,' he said, to which Dorothea agreed: 'I always said I was good at spotting potential too. I have a gift.' His wife of 36 years is his 'rock' with the Livin' on a Prayer singer saying: 'We work hard at it, 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.
