The Bon Jovi frontman tied the knot with Dorothea, his high school sweetheart, in Las Vegas in 1989

Gabrielle Rockson is a staff writer-reporter for PEOPLE. She joined PEOPLE in 2023 and covers entertainment and human interest stories. She’s interviewed David Beckham, Zendaya, Timothée Chalamet and many others. Her previous work can be found in OK! Magazine, MyLondon, GRM Daily, and more.

Dorothea Bongiovi and Jon Bon Jovi.Credit : 

Jon Bon Jovi is celebrating married life!

On Tuesday, April 29, the Bon Jovi frontman, 63, shared an Instagram post to mark his 36th wedding anniversary with his wife Dorothea Bongiovi, 62.

“36 roses for 36 amazing years. Happy anniversary my love,” he wrote in the caption alongside a photo of the red roses in a vase on top of a table.

A second slide featured a throwback picture of the couple in their younger years on what appeared to be their wedding day in Las Vegas.

In the photo, Jon sported his former signature long hair while holding a blue suit jacket that matched his pants. Dorothea wore a white midi-length dress with matching lace gloves. The pair smiled and snuggled up as they posed together.

Jon’s carousel concluded with a photo of a Graceland Wedding Chapel sign that said: “The original world famous home of ceremonies with the ‘king,’ ” referring to an Elvis Presley impersonator.

“Rock star Bon Jovi was married here,” the sign also noted.

Jon and Dorothea met when they were teenagers while attending high school in New Jersey. Following a brief split in 1985, they eloped at the Graceland Wedding Chapel in 1989.

Jon Bon Jovi and his wife Dorothea Bongiovi at the Miami Open on March 27, 2025.Leonardo Fernandez/Getty

In a 2024 interview with PEOPLE, Jon recalled how the spontaneous nuptials unfolded.

“We were in Los Angeles, 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,” the singer recalled.

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.’ “

The couple went on to welcome four children together: daughter Stephanie, 31, and sons Jesse, 30, Jake, 22, and Romeo, 21.