Dorothea Hurley & Jon Bon Jovi's Enduring Marriage Is Proof That Opposites Attract

Few celebrity marriages last the test of time. Occasionally, though, a Hollywood power couple comes along that's so solid, people ask them how they do it. For example, Judith Light's decades-long marriage has worked thanks to one interesting quirk, and it's refreshing to see. Another exemplary couple who embody strength and unity is Jon Bon Jovi and his wife Dorothea Hurley Bongiovi. The two are a Hollywood rarity, aka, a couple that has lasted far beyond the 20-year mark. Touchingly, the two were high school sweethearts in New Jersey in the '80s and tied the knot in 1989. 

Much like Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin's enduring marriage, which is proof that opposites attract, Hurley and Bon Jovi's secret seems to center around their very different energies. While Bon Jovi is known for being outspoken, especially about his music and political beliefs, Hurley seems to be his reserved yet quietly confident other half. A former karate instructor who now helps run the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation (a nonprofit the two co-founded together), Hurley mostly stays out of the spotlight. 

Bon Jovi also appears to be the more spontaneous one. He basically said as much in a 2010 Men's Health interview, where he shared the story of how he and Hurley finally decided to get married. He floated the idea of a Vegas elopement to Hurley at the time, saying, "I got an idea, why don't we go right now?" Her response was a little more measured, with her telling him he was crazy, but she came around eventually. Bon Jovi convinced her by saying, "Come on. What's better than this, right now, this moment?" Unlike some celebs who got married later in life, Bon Jovi and Hurley ultimately couldn't wait any longer.

You might be surprised to learn that not everyone was happy about the couple's spontaneous elopement at first. In Jon Bon Jovi's Hulu documentary series "Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story," he opened up about this time and said (via Today), "It was holy hell from the minute we started telling anybody, my parents, Doc (McGhee, the band's then manager), the band. You'd think people would be happy for us." He then went on to say that band member David Bryan expressed concerns that the marriage would ultimately hurt the band's image. Even so, Bon Jovi stuck to his guns, confident that he made the right decision.

37 years of marriage and four children later, it's clear that it worked out for the two of them. Although not everyone believed in their love at the start, Jon Bon Jovi and Dorothea Hurley Bongiovi's relationship works for several reasons, and their different but complementary personalities may be part of it. However, Bon Jovi shared with People in 2020 that his marriage's success boils down to a few simple things. "Mutual respect,″ he said. "Having grown up together and grown together. And we really like each other. We want to hang out."