Jon Bon Jovi Shares Why His Daughter’s Wedding Will Be More Emotional Than His Sons’ Nuptials 

Jon Bon Jovi is opening up after one of his sons, Jake Bongiovi, recently married ‘Stranger Things’ star Millie Bobby Brown.

Jon Bon Jovi’s 31-year-old daughter will always be his “5-year-old princess.” And that sentiment’s likely why he’ll be an emotional wreck — rightfully so — when he walks his only daughter down the aisle at her upcoming wedding.

The “Livin’ on a Prayer” singer gushed over his daughter Stephanie’s pending nuptials in a conversation with ET’s Rachel Smith just weeks after his son Jake Bongiovi’s marriage to Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown. The 62-year-old Bon Jovi frontman is still riding high from witnessing Jake marry the love of his life.

“Fantastic, just a beautiful, small wedding,” Bon Jovi said. “The bride looked gorgeous and Jake looked so happy. I’ve never seen him that happy. They’re a wonderful young couple.”

But while emotions were riding high, Bon Jovi admits Stephanie’s wedding will trigger the softest side of him. And there’s evidence to prove as much. For starters, Bon Jovi recently wrote “Kiss the Bride” for his new and 16th studio album, Forever, which is out now. He wasn’t just crying when he wrote the song. He was crying when he belted the track.

“Oh, I was crying singing, I was crying writing,” he quipped.

And how could he not?

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“Because it’s my baby, you know?” he said. “The boys are the boys. They are married to some wonderful girls that we’re considering members of our family now, but Steph was the first baby. And Steph was also the band’s first baby.”

She’s also his and wife’s Dorothea Bongiovi’s only daughter. The couple also shares sons Jesse, 29 and Romeo, 20. Jess married Jesse Light on May 7 at the same Las Vegas chapel where his parents eloped back in 1989.

“Right. So, I had to write that song for Steph,” he added.

When Stephanie was 5, Bon Jovi wrote “I Got the Girl,” the 2000 ballad off of his band’s album, Crush.

“There’s a line in it that says, ‘[But] the queen of hearts will always be a 5-year-old princess to me,’ and now she’s 31 getting married. I had to write [‘Kiss the Bride’].”
Jon Bon Jovi with his wife Dorothea Hurley and daughter Stephanie Rose Bongiovi at a gala in Los Angeles on Feb. 2, 2024. – Getty
And while Bon Jovi still awaits for his daughter to call him to share her two cents on “Kiss the Bride,” Bon Jovi relishes on some big career milestones. Like his band’s new album, Forever, dropping on the same day he opens his behemoth of a restaurant, bar and entertainment space dubbed JBJ’s Nashville. Located in the hart of Lower Broadway in Music City, JBJ’s Nashville is a 37,000 square foot venue featuring five stories (all themed and the tallest on Broadway), and two outdoor rooftops offering unparalleled views of downtown Nashville.

That the album dropped on the same day the restaurant and bar opened wasn’t by design. But it only goes to show how the four-year dream in the making was so meant to be.

“I mean, truly, it wasn’t planned. It just happened to be,” he said.

Bon Jovi’s 16th studio album, Forever, is out now.

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