He Will Love Them, Always: All About Bon Jovi's 4 Kids With Longtime Wife Dorothea

He Will Love Them, Always: All About Bon Jovi’s 4 Kids With Longtime Wife Dorothea

It’s his life—and it’s full of children. Jon Bon Jovi and his eponymous band got their start in the decadent world of 1980s rock, but he actually settled down fairly early into his career and started a family with his high-school sweetheart, Dorothea.

The couple share four kids, all of whom are adults now, but they’ve never been fazed by their dad’s fame. In 2016, Bon Jovi joked that his two youngest sons, Jake and Romeo, then teenagers, had recently turned down an offer to attend one of his concerts. “That’ll keep you humble,” he joked to People.

According to Dorothea, however, she always wanted to make sure her children didn’t feel like their lives were unusual. “We try hard to give our kids a normal life,” she explained in the same interview. “I never pointed to the TV and said, ‘There’s Daddy!’”

Now, some of the Bongiovi children are famous in their own right—albeit not in the music world. Keep reading for a complete guide to Bon Jovi’s kids.

How many children does Jon Bon Jovi have?

Jon Bon Jovi has four children: daughter Stephanie Rose (born in 1993) and sons Jesse (born in 1995), Jake (born in 2002), and Romeo Jon (born in 2004).

Who is the mother of Jon Bon Jovi’s kids?

Bon Jovi and wife Dorothea in 1998.

IMAGO / ZUMA Wire

Jon Bon Jovi shares all of his four children with his wife, Dorothea Bongiovi (née Hurley). The duo, who met in high school in 1980, dated off and on before tying the knot in 1989. The pair secretly wed in Las Vegas while Bon Jovi the band was on tour.

“We had the No. 1 album, the No. 1 single, and we were playing three nights at the Forum in L.A.,” Bon Jovi told Men’s Health in 2010. “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.”

Who are Jon Bon Jovi’s children?

Stephanie Rose Bongiovi

Bon Jovi’s eldest child, daughter Stephanie Rose, arrived on May 31, 1993. She now works as a camera operator for various TV shows, including Impractical Jokers, and worked as a camera assistant on the 2021 film Passing.

Bon Jovi wrote the song “I Got a Girl,” which appeared on his band’s 2000 album, Crush, about Stephanie. As an adult, Stephanie danced on stage with her dad as he played the track during a Las Vegas show in 2017.

In 2012, while she was attending Hamilton College, Stephanie was hospitalized due to an apparent opioid overdose. She was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance and criminal possession of marijuana, but the charges were later dropped because of New York’s Good Samaritan law, which aims to prevent overdose deaths by encouraging reporting.

“It was a terrible speed bump that we got over,” Bon Jovi told People in 2016. “There was no need to be any closer to our kids. We couldn’t get any closer.”

In February 2024, Bon Jovi revealed that he’d written a song for Stephanie’s wedding. “She hasn’t heard it yet,” he told Access Hollywood of the tune. “It’s called ‘Kiss the Bride.’ I promise you it’s the wedding song of the next 100 years.”

Jesse Bongiovi

Bon Jovi welcomed his second child, son Jesse, on Feb. 19, 1995. Jesse graduated from Notre Dame University in 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in political science and government. One year later, he and his dad cofounded a brand of rosé wine called Hampton Water.

In July 2022, Jesse proposed to his girlfriend, Jesse Light, after four years of dating.

Jake Bongiovi

The Bon Jovi family expanded again on May 7, 2002, with the arrival of Jacob “Jake” Hurley Bongiovi. After graduating from Pennington High School in New Jersey, Jake began working as a model. He’s also branched out into acting, landing roles in the films Rockbottom and Sweethearts.

Jake has been dating Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown since 2021. The couple announced their engagement in April 2023. Six months later, Brown revealed that her future father-in-law won’t be performing at her wedding—for a very sweet reason. “I feel like that’s asking me to go and do a full-on play for everyone,” she said during an interview on the Today show in September 2023. “I think the man needs a break, he doesn’t stop. He’s always doing tennis or singing lessons. I think he needs a break. A three-hour break.”

Romeo Jon Bongiovi

Romeo, mom Dorothea and dad Jon.

Photo by Michael Buckner/SXSW Conference & Festivals via Getty Image

The Bongiovi family became complete on March 29, 2004, with the addition of youngest son Romeo Jon. Unlike his older siblings, Romeo Jon doesn’t have a public social media account.

In 2020, Dorothea admitted that she was looking forward to the day she and Jon become empty nesters. “Yes! I might finally get out of high school!” she joked to People. “Just not being stuck to a schedule and being able to travel [will be nice]. But we like to see our kids. It’s not like we’re going to disappear.”

How old are Jon Bon Jovi’s kids?

Bon Jovi’s eldest child, daughter Stephanie, will turn 31 in May 2024. Jesse celebrated his 29th birthday in February 2024, while Jake will turn 22 in May 2024. The youngest Bongiovi sibling, Romeo, marked his 20th birthday in March 2024.

Are any of Jon Bon Jovi’s kids musicians?

None of Bon Jovi’s kids have followed in his musical footsteps, but two of his children have pursued careers in the entertainment industry, and one cofounded a business with his dad. Stephanie, Bon Jovi’s eldest child, works in TV as a camera operator, while Jake is a model and actor. Jesse, meanwhile, launched a wine company with his father.