The dark side of the Bon Jovis: Is Jake Bongiovi looking for stability with Millie Bobby Brown?

Millie Bobby Browns getting engaged to her old beau Jake Bongiovi has sent fans into a frenzy after sharing the exciting news on Tuesday.

The actor, 20, is no stranger to the limelight as the son of ’80s legend Jon Bon Jovi, 61, and his wife Dorothea Hurley.

But while the Bon Jovi family seems to be one of the tightest-knit in show business, they’ve still had their fair share of problems.

The musician, 61, has previously revealed his own battle with mental health, while his daughter Stephanie was hospitalized after a drug overdose.

As Millie and Jake prepare to start their lives together, MailOnline looks back at his famous family’s struggles…

To marry! The second son of the ’80s hitmaker Jake Bongiovi, 20, recently announced his engagement to Millie Bobby Brown, 19

From the outside, Bon Jovi and his wife Dorethea are one of Hollywood’s most enduring couples, having been married for 34 years.

The high school sweethearts married in 1989 in Las Vegas after nine years together and welcomed four children, Stephanie, 30, Jesse, 28, Jake, 20, and Romeo, 19.

Dorothea previously revealed that she and Jon tried to keep their kids out of the limelight, tellingly PEOPLE: ‘We never really drag the kids anywhere.

“I never pointed at the TV and said, ‘There’s Daddy!’ We do our best to give our children a normal life.’

In 2012, Jon and Dorethea’s eldest child, Stephanie, who was 19 at the time, was hospitalized after taking opioids.

Speaking of the ordeal in an interview in 2013, telling The mirror: ‘It was terrible, a terrible moment. It was my worst moment as a father.

“She was by no means sticking needles in her arms. But there’s a lot of synthetic stuff in the world and a lot of temptation and access and pressure that you and I didn’t know about a generation ago…

“I feel it was a terrible tragic life lesson, but I thank God every day because she is whole. It happened and it’s gone. I personally know people whose sons and daughters where it was much, much worse. That could have been Stephanie.’

Famous Family: Jake was born on May 7, 2002 to celebrity parents Jon Bon Jovi and Dorothea Hurley (they are all pictured with his siblings Stephanie and Jesse in November 2013)

Close bond: Dorothea previously revealed that she and Jon tried to keep their kids out of the limelight by telling PEOPLE, ‘We never really drag the kids into things’

Scary: In 2012, Jon and Dorethea’s eldest child, Stephanie (pictured in 2015), who was 19 at the time, was hospitalized after taking opioids

In 2016, Bon Jovi spoke about his own devastating mental health struggles, admitting that the previous three years had been “the worst of his life,” after Bon Jovi’s guitarist Richie Sambora abruptly left the band after 30 years.

His exit blindsided the hitmaker, this and the ensuing feud with his record label left Jon at his lowest point.

He told The mirror“It’s been a really, really hard time that I haven’t fully recovered from yet, but my wife has been phenomenal. Without her, I’m not sure how I would have made it.’

The star has also previously revealed that he had a breakdown in 1991, after being left exhausted by the release of Bon Jovi’s third album Slippery When Wet and touring back-to-back.

While seeking help from a psychologist, he contemplated suicide by jumping out of a moving car.

He added, “I’m not ready to share it in full, but it wasn’t pretty. But I’m working towards it. In retrospect, it was similar to that period.

“I found acting at that time and it gave me a liberation. There was no release this time, but there were just as many problems.’

Rock star Jon, whose full name is John Francis Bongiovi Jr., has dabbled in acting but is best known as the founder and frontman of his band Bon Jovi.

He formed the band in 1983 with David Bryan, Tico Torres, Phil X and bassist Hugh McDonald and they released 15 studio albums.

Jon also made his solo debut with his 1990 album Blaze of Glory and scored a number of big hits with his band, including It’s My Life and Livin’ On A Prayer.

His wife Dorothea works as a karate instructor in New Jersey and the pair met sweetly when they were in school together.

Despite the Bon Jovi family’s struggles, they have proven to be one of the tightest units in show business with Jon previously opening up about his long-term romance with his high school sweetheart in a 2020 interview.

“Growing up together and growing together. And we really love each other. We want to hang out,” he told People.

“I was instantly attracted to her from the moment I laid eyes on her – and that has never changed – 40 years ago.”

Jon added, “We enjoy each other and we’ve never fallen for the trappings of what celebrities can do. We’ve seen that happen over the years with people close to us and people we knew from afar.’

The family lived in New Jersey for many years before moving into a lavish mansion in Palm Beach, Florida, until they sold the $20 million property in August 2020.

On the same day, he bought a new seaside mansion in Palm Beach for $43 million, according to reports at the time.

Jon is believed to be a huge fan of the South Florida region and is often seen hanging out with friends in the coastal town, according to Palm Beach Daily News.

Jon and his wife also run the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation, which aims to end hunger and homelessness through their Soul Kitchen restaurants and food bank.

Praised: Jon has previously credited his wife for supporting him as he struggled with his mental health following Richie Sambora’s departure from Bon Jovi in ​​2013

Millie and Jake revealed their engagement on April 11, writing on Instagram, “Loved you three summers now, baby, I want them all.”

While Jake also shared an announcement post on his own page, he simply wrote “forever” alongside two snaps of the couple.

To celebrate the joyous news, the lovelorn couple took part in a beach photo shoot – with Millie dressed in a crochet dress while Jake donned a cream colored polo shirt.

The announcement confirms some speculation that has been circulating on social media in recent weeks, after she glimpsed the ring in a recent post.

Millie posed behind the wheel of a convertible in a photo last month, looking away from the camera and raising her hand, revealing the prominent diamond ring on her finger.

While she also sparked rumors in August when she wore a gold diamond ring on her wedding finger during a PDA-packed outing.