Jon Bon Jovi Is on a 'Need-to-Know' Basis with His Kids' Wedding Plans: 'They Don't Tell Me Much' (Exclusive)

The rock icon opens up to PEOPLE as three of his kids are engaged, including son Jake Bongiovi to Millie Bobby Brown

Jesse Bongiovi, Jake Bongiovi, Dorothea Bongiovi, Stephanie Bongiovi and Jon Bon Jovi attend Apollo in the Hamptons 2019: Hosted by Ronald O. Perelman at The Creeks on August 03, 2019 in East Hampton, New York
Jesse Bongiovi, Jake Bongiovi, Dorothea Bongiovi, Stephanie Bongiovi and Jon Bon Jovi in East Hampton in August 2019. Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty

When it comes to Jon Bon Jovi's kids getting married, he's simply along for the ride.

The rock icon appears on the cover of this week's PEOPLE as three of his four kids — daughter Stephanie and sons Jesse and Jake — are engaged, explaining that he's not always in the loop on the state of their wedding plans.

"I'm on a need-to-know [basis], and they don't tell me much," Bon Jovi, 62, tells PEOPLE.

 Jake Bongiovi, Millie Bobby Brown, Dorothea Hurley and Jon Bon Jovi attend Netflix's "Damsel" New York Premiere at Paris Theater
ake Bongiovi, Millie Bobby Brown, Dorothea Bongiovi and Jon Bon Jovi in New York City in March 2024.

Dia Dipasupil/Getty

The "Livin' on a Prayer" singer's eldest son, Jesse Bongiovi, 29, announced his engagement to girlfriend Jesse Light in 2022, while his 21-year-old son Jake popped the question to his girlfriend, Millie Bobby Brown, in April 2023.

Earlier this year, Bon Jovi revealed his 30-year-old daughter Stephanie is also engaged to be married, though she hasn't shared details about her significant other.

Each of the Grammy-winning musician's kids have found themselves in the spotlight as they've entered adulthood, and while he's "sure" to have given them advice regarding how to handle fame, they've witnessed his own journey their whole lives.

"I think, if anything, kids are very observant, no matter who you are. And they're watching," says Bon Jovi. "So hopefully, by example, they learn. And then they're going to do what they want to do. Same way I rebelled against my family, they're going to do."

"But by living your truth, I think they see things that they pick up on, and it becomes part of who they are. That's what I'm observing so far," adds the performer. "The chapters change. My youngest is 20, my eldest is 30. So they're at different phases of their lives."

Bon Jovi and his longtime longtime wife, Dorothea Bongiovi, who also share 20-year-old son Romeo, are technically empty nesters these days, but it doesn't always feel that way.

Jon Bon Jovi shot in NYC by Jake Chessum on March 26, 2024.
Jon Bon Jovi.

Jake Chessum

"Everybody's back in shifts now. You'd think the house is empty, but it's not," he explains. "There's always somebody there in the fridge, you know? So, it's good. It's okay."

Ahead of the Bon Jovi band's new album, Forever, dropping on July 7, the frontman and his fellow members are looking back on their four-decades-long career in the new Hulu docuseries Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story, streaming now on the platform.

"I look back at the accomplishments of the band, and my family," Bon Jovi tells PEOPLE in the cover story, "and I feel great pride."

For more on Jon Bon Jovi, pick up the new issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands everywhere now.

Related Articles