For Jon Bon Jovi there is no better love story than his own! The legendary rock star has been with his wife Dorothea for 40 years and he's not keeping the secrets to a long and happy marriage a secret.
Jon and the mother of his four children opened up to People magazine about their incredible relationship but had a few surprises about keeping the flame alive since high school.
"Mutual respect," he said when asked what their secret is. "Having grown up together and grown together. And we really like each other. We want to hang out."
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The pair - both 58 - met when they were teenagers in the eighties at Sayreville High School in New Jersey.
Dorothea - who shares children Stephanie, 27, Jesse, 25, Jacob, 18, and Romeo,16, with Jon - insists she knew from the start she was onto a good thing: "I always said I was good at spotting potential too," she revealed. "I have a gift."
But that's not to say there hasn't been some cheating going on, especially in the very beginning. Fortunately, however it worked in their favour.
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© Photo: Getty ImagesJon and Dorothea have been together since the eighties
"She let me cheat off her in history," Jon admitted. "I was immediately drawn to her from the minute I saw her - and that's never changed - 40 years ago."
Dorothea also joked about what appealed to her about Jon: "He's cute. I'm shallow. I'll admit it."
Jon - whose Bon Jovi album, 2020, drops 2 Oct - has earned tremendous success in his industry but insists his marriage has kept him grounded.
© Photo: Getty ImagesJon and Dorothea in 1996
"We work hard at it," he told the publication. "But we enjoy each other and we never fell for the trappings of what celebrity can do.
"We've witnessed that happen over the years to people that were close to us and people that we knew from afar. It's just what I do, it's not who I am. I write songs. I happen to be very good at performing them. That's it."
During the COVID-19 lockdown the pair focused on their Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation which has a goal to end homelessness and hunger.
He said of his mission: "If we could put a roof over someone's head or put food in their belly then it's quite simple: We don't need a scientist to find the cure."
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