In her first year of marriage, Millie Bobby Brown has learned the strangest thing about her former love life.
Since she and Jake Bongiovi tied the knot in a private Italian wedding ceremony nearly a year ago, the Stranger Things star has come to realize what makes her relationship so special.
“Loving someone and being in love are two different things,” she told Vanity Fair in an interview published Feb. 12. “I think I loved a lot of people I was with, like I loved my friends. But he is the first man I’ve ever loved and been in love with.”
As she put it, “If we’re not fully invested, then what’s the point? We have to be, and we always have been.”
But before they said yes to forever, Millie, 20, says she and Jake, 22, made sure they were on the same page about some of life’s most important topics.
“We talked about our political views,” she revealed, “what kind of family we want to build, the kind of home we want to live in, the kind of relationship we’re looking for, the kind of careers we want.”
She continued, “It’s such an important decision, and we wanted to make sure we were making the right one. I knew I was. It always felt right with him.”
Following the couple’s May 2024 wedding ceremony, Millie approached a monumental moment in her career—the final season of Stranger Things, which she began working on when she was 12—and Jake provided much-needed emotional support through the process.
“I was on set, and I was like, ‘Well, I have one more day left,’” she recalled. “And I started crying. I don’t actually like to cry at work. I’m a really emotional person, but I try to stay super strong. It made me feel so uncomfortable.”
Thankfully, her partner was there to help her navigate saying goodbye.
“Jake was like, ‘It’s good, you have to get it out!’” she explained, “and I just started welling up.”
Even when Jake wasn’t physically present on set, Millie made sure their love was always represented. As seen in an August 2024 photo dump from set, Millie proudly boasted her new name with a piece of tape on a board read, “Millie Bobby Brown Bongiovi.”
And while the pair have kept many of the details of their nuptials under wraps—save for a few BTS photos—it was Jake’s father Jon Bon Jovi who provided a little more insight into his son’s special day.
“It was a very small family wedding,” the musician— who shares the 22-year-old as well as kids Stephanie, 30, Jesse, 29, and Romeo, 20, with wife Dorothea Hurley—said on BBC’s The OneShow in May 2024. “The bride looked gorgeous.”
Following the ceremony, the 62-year-old added of the newlyweds, “They’re absolutely fantastic.”
For more of Millie and Jake’s sweetest moments, keep reading.
June 2021: First Instagram Pic
The pair sparked romance rumors around the time that Jake posted this photo, with the caption, “bff <3”
November 2021: Never Say Goodbye
The couple officially confirmed their romance with this PDA pic.
November 2021: Bon Jovi 2.0
“We’re starting a band,” Jake wrote on Instagram, “send name ideas.”
December 2021: Merry Christmas
The Stranger Things star and the actor celebrated their first Chirstmas together in 2021.
December 2021: Happy Holidays
Sweet selfie.
February 2022: Celebrating Millie’s 18th Birthday
Twinning.
March 2022: Red Carpet Official
Millie and Jake make their first joint appearance at a celebrity event—the 2022 BAFTA Film Awards in London.
May 2022: Stranger Things Premiere
Millie and Jake were twinning at the premiere of Stranger Things season four in New York City.
January 2023: New Year’s
Millie shared photos of the couple in celebration of the New Year, writing, “endlessly in love with the year I’ve had.”
January 2023: New Year’s
One snapshot showed a photo booth strip of the loved-up couple.
January 2023: New Year’s
As Millie put it, “grateful for my friends, family, donkey (bernard), my doggies, my puppies teeth, and my partner for life.”
February 2023: Golden Birthday
Jake marked Millie’s 19th birthday on Feb. 19, 2023 with a sweet tribute, writing, “Another year around the sun together happy 19th to the girl of my dreams.”
February 2023: Golden Birthday
The sweet post included photos of the couple.
February 2023: Golden Birthday
The pair’s silly side is depicted in one image of Jake and Millie clowning around in the pool
February 2023: Golden Birthday
Jake and Millie snuggle up in a romantic selfie.
April 2023: Engaged
Millie announced the couple’s engagement on Instagram, quoting Taylor Swift’s song “Lover.” The two would go on to celebrate with family and friends at an engagement party weeks later.
July 2023: Six Flags Visit
Millie and Jake enjoyed a day out with her sister Ava Brown, 11, and friends at the Six Flags Over Georgia theme park.
September 2023: Summer Nights
Jake shared this pic in the final days of summer 2023.
November 2023: Glamour Women of the Year
The two appear at the event, where Millie was honored as one of two Global Women of the Year.
February 2024: Happy Birthday Millie
Jake shared a tribute to his partner for her 20th birthday, writing, “Happy birthday my beautiful fiancéI love you so much. Big year ahead.”
March 2024: Anniversary
Millie shared this tribute to Jake on their third dating anniversary.
May 2024: Married
After three years of dating, the duo tied the knot in a private ceremony, multiple outlets reported.
August 2025: Expanding Their Family
Over a year after their nuptials, Millie and Jake shared they had a new arrival.
“This summer, we welcomed our sweet baby girl through adoption,” the couple announced in an Aug. 21 Instagram post. “We are beyond excited to embark on this beautiful next chapter of parenthood in both peace and privacy.”
They concluded, “And then there were 3.”
