When a 27-year-old Jon Bon Jovi eloped with his then-fiancée, Dorothea Hurley, in the middle of his band’s New Jersey Tour in 1989, friends, family, and fans did not share the newlyweds’ excitement.
But as the couple approach their 35th anniversary, the rocker, now 62, is glad he didn’t listen to them.
In a recent interview with People Magazine for his upcoming Hulu docuseries, Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story, the Bon Jovi frontman reflected about how he overcame the initial wave of doubt.
“[It] shocked about everybody: the band, management, agents, lawyers, parents, you name it,” he recalled.
He then admitted, “It’s a shame because it should have been a beautiful moment, but after we did it, people were trying to take it away, until I stood up and went, ‘Wait a minute, why are we living our life for anyone else?’
“And 35 years later, we’re still married,” he proudly proclaimed.
The Livin’ on a Prayer singer also shared insights into his elopement, recalling, “We were in Los Angeles, California, the band was on the road on the New Jersey Tour, and if you opened up the curtains of my hotel room, there’s a big billboard of the five of us [Bon Jovi band members] staring into my window.”
He continued, “My girlfriend, who was my fiancée at the time, we had a night off, and I said, ‘I need a higher high – I got an idea. Let’s go to Vegas now.’ And she said, ‘Now?’ I said, ‘Now.’”