Millie Bobby Brown, the actress the public first met when she was 12 years old in the first season of Stranger Things is now 19 years old (!) and has been dating boyfriend Jake Bongiovi for years. On April 11, 2023, the couple hinted in two Instagram announcement posts that they are now engaged before the news was later confirmed:
The pair was first linked in June of 2021, after being seen holding hands in New York City. They were both masked at the time, and Bongiovi carried Brown’s dog, a poodle named Winnie, in a tote bag. Brown travels with Winnie to help ease her anxiety while she travels.
“About two years ago, I just started having really bad panic attacks, like, really bad anxiety and I struggled with it really bad,” she said on an episode of Miley Cyrus’s Bright Minded. “And, one day I was just talking, and I was like, ‘Maybe I should get a therapy dog,’ you know, something to comfort me when I am really stressed.’”
Over the years, Brown has been linked to YouTube star and musician Jacob Sartorius and Romeo Beckham, the son of Victoria and David.
Since those early days, they have become quite public about their relationship. But Bongiovi, it turns out, is used to the spotlight, much like Brown. Bongiovi, born Jacob Hurley Bongiovi, is one of Jon Bon Jovi’s four children.
You might have seen him in photos with his father and the rest of the fam, but here is what to know about him and his relationship with Brown.
He is 21 years old.
Bongiovi was born in May 2002, according to a Facebook fan group for his father. He is the youngest of his three siblings, who include Romeo, Stephanie, and Jesse.
This is Jesse:
His mother is Dorothea Hurley.
Bongiovi’s parents have been married since April 1989 but have had a romance longer than that. They met in high school.
“Mutual respect,” Jon told People last year of what has helped their relationship last. “Having grown up together and grown together. And we really like each other. We want to hang out.”
Dorothea said: “I always said I was good at spotting potential, too. I have a gift.”
Jon continued: “We work hard at it, 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.”
He was an athlete in high school in Brooklyn.
Bongiovi attended Poly Prep Country Day School and played football. He is listed on the roster as a Poly Prep “Blue Devil” for the 2019-2020 school year.
He has referred to Brown as his BFF.
“bff <3,” he wrote.
It looks like they were obviously already more than friends.
He's friends with her friends.
Brown's real life bestie is Stranger Things co-star Noah Schnapp, who attended a Harry Styles concert with the couple this summer. Scnhapp shared some shots of he and Bongiovi playing around in the stadium with Styles in the background.
Brown also shared a pic from the night of her and Bongiovi sharing a romantic moment.
How did Brown and Bongiovi meet?
In an interview promoting Netflix's Enola Holmes 2, Brown discovered that one of the most Googled searches under her name is “how did millie bobby brown and jake bongiovi meet.”
“We met on Instagram, and we were friends for a bit, and then, what can I say?” she said.
They've made their red carpet debut.
They first appeared together on the red carpet at the EE British Academy Film Awards 2022 at Royal Albert Hall in March.
And in May, Bongiovi was Brown's date at the premiere of the latest season of Stranger Things.
He also accompanied her to the premiere of Enola Holmes 2.
They were together for Thanksgiving 2022 and decorated a Christmas tree together.
Bongiovi shared he was very thankful for Brown during Thanksgiving.
And that same month they seemed to be decorating a shared Christmas tree together, posting a clip to “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” while wearing coordinating Disney PJs. It looked like on the tree, there were matching “M” and “J” ornaments, too.
The couple celebrated Christmas 2022 together.
On December 22, 2022, Brown showed off her boyfriend on Instagram Stories, sharing a shot of her kissing him on the cheek at Taylor Swift's “Maroon” played in the background.
“I chose u!” she captioned the post. In a second black and white video, Bongiovi is singing karaoke to Mulan's “I'll Make a Man Out of You.”
“Disney songs? Key to my heart,” Brown editorialized. Earlier in the month, she shared a photo on her timeline of the two of them enjoying a beautiful day on a sandy beach, hugging in their bathing suits.
“sunny one so true, i love you,” she wrote.
Bongiovi shared his POV of the same trip, in which he and Brown are walking down the beach holding hands.
Brown has said he's her “partner for life.”
To celebrate her 2022, Brown shared a carousel of photos of the previous twelve months, saying she was “endlessly in love with the year” she had. The photos included a number of pictures from Brown with her pets, her friends, traveling, and on set. And it included quite a few pictures of her boyfriend.
One photo featured a strip of photo-booth images in which they are kissing, another in which they are hugging in the car, and one where he seems to be grabbing her waist by a Christmas tree and she pretends to be surprised.
In the rest of the caption, Brown said she was “grateful for my friends, family, donkey (bernard), my doggies, my puppies teeth, and my partner for life.”
She added, “here's to another year with you and the wonderful people and animals around us let's do it again but better!”
“Your year babe love you so much,” Bongiovi commented on the post, adding a red heart emoji.
Bongiovi celebrated Brown's 19th birthday with a loving Instagram tribute in February 2023.
Bongiovi gave the public an intimate look into their love story when he shared an Instagram post celebrating Brown's 19th birthday. “Another year around the sun together happy 19th to the girl of my dreams,” he wrote. “I love you more than words can describe. Everything about you is golden down to the core ❤️”
The pair was also photographed celebrating her birthday out together on Sunday, February 19, at Los Angeles' Tao restaurant.
A month later, on Friday, March 24, they were seen in London at the members only club and hotel Chiltern Firehouse. Brown was wearing white zebra-print bell-bottom pants by Alessandra Rich paired with a white top and a large black jacket with quilted lining. Her hair was slicked back in a bun and on her feet were strappy heels with a white pedicure.
Bongiovi wore a large white button down with the collar open to reveal a chain necklace and a baggy pair of lightwash jeans with white sneakers.
Bongiovi and Brown announced their engagement in April 2023.
Brown and Bongiovi dropped bombshell news on the morning of April 11. Both shared photos of them posing together, Brown in a white lace bridal-like dress. She showed off a diamond ring on her left ring finger and captioned her Instagram with a Taylor Swift lyric: “I've loved you three summers now, honey, I want 'em all 🤍”
Bongiovi posted his own Instagram at the same time, captioning it, “Forever 🤍” Neither explicitly said they were engaged, but fans took the posts as hints of an announcement.
Bongiovi's dad, Jon Bon Jovi, commented on the young couple's engagement while talking with Andy Cohen on his SiriusXM show. Bon Jovi married his high school sweetheart Dorothea Hurley, so he's no stranger to young people making a commitment.
“So you were together when you were young,” Cohen asked his guest. “When your almost-21-year-old says, ‘I'm getting engaged,’ do you worry for them that they're too young, or because you were so young when you were with Dorothea, you weren't engaged that young, but do you worry as a dad about how old or how young they are?”
“I don't know if age matters,” Bon Jovi answered. “You know, if you find the right partner and you grow together, I think that would be my advice really, is growing together is wise. Growing together, and so I think that all of my kids have found the people that they think they can grow together with, and we like them all.”
Brown wished Bongiovi a happy 21st birthday in an Instagram post on May 7, 2023.
Brown shared a little look into her life with her fiancé and feelings for him in a birthday post she shared to fête Bongiovi's 21st birthday. “This sums us up,” she captioned a carousel of photos of them holding hands. “In bliss, exploring together. I am eternally holding your hand. happy birthday fiancé. I love you ❤️”
The couple enjoyed an engagement party in May 2023.
Brown and Bongiovi were celebrated at an engagement party, and Brown's hairstylist Pete Burkill shared a few photos where the young couple are standing in front of a bunch of white balloons and a sign that reads “Mr & Mrs Bongiovi.”
Brown for a lace two piece from Italian designer Giambattista Valli, and Bongiovi was in an olive green suit for the occasion.
“Congrats to this beautiful couple!” Burkill wrote in the caption.
Like many celebs, they headed to Taylor Swift's Eras Tour.
Brown and Bongiovi were spotted by fans in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Friday June 30, 2023, for Swift's show at Paycor Stadium. They were enjoying the show from their seats in the VIP section, though they were mostly dancing and rocking out to the music. Brown was dressed in solid monochrome pink and painted a glittering pink heart around one, just like on the cover of the singer's 2019 Lovers album.
They've been sharing couple pics to celebrate summer 2023.
On Friday, August 4, Brown shared a sexy mirror selfie with Bongiovi wearing a daffodil yellow dress. The spaghetti strap gown had a scoop neckline was accentuated with a band of fabric that fell off one shoulder. Brown had her hair in a loose updo with tendrils around her face, and a gold pendant.
Bongiovi was standing behind her with his arm around her waist, and wore a button down shirt and a chain necklace. He snapped the photo as she looked into the mirror. In the caption, Brown wrote, “i stan jake bongiovi.”
A day earlier, Bongiovi shared a photo of himself embracing Brown in a parking lot with no caption, though her Stranger Things co-star Noah Schnapp, commented, “Photo creds.”
Hilary Weaver is a freelance writer based in New York who writes about politics, queer issues, Meryl Streep, Glenn Close, and every woman the Queen has ever made a dame. I saw Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again three times in theaters, and that's pretty much all you need to know.
Alyssa Bailey is the senior news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). She previously held positions at InStyle and Cosmopolitan. When she's not working, she loves running around Central Park, making people take #ootd pics of her, and exploring New York City.
