Rock Star Marriages That Are Still Going Strong

Rock Star Marriages That Are Still Going Strong | Society Of Rock Videos

And they say you can’t have it all.

Rock stars don’t always have the best reputation for long-term relationships, yet alone long-lasting marriages. It’s such a refreshing rarity to discover that some of our favorite rock icons remain loyal to their marriage vows and stayed married to their spouses. Surely  putting up with the stereotypical rock star lifestyle of sex, drugs, and alcohol is no easy feat. If marriage takes work, then we could assume that a rockstar marriage takes double the work what with the constant touring and legions of fans surrounding them. Fortunately, we still got these couples who despite having a relationship under the microscope, or the expectations of divorce, have beated the odds and lasted for decades and hopefully even more decades to come. Here are the rare breed of rock stars who successfully settled down with marriage and kids and actually made it work.

1. Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne

 

Photo Credit: US Weekly

Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne have been married for an incredible 34 years now and stayed together despite recent rumors of them getting a divorce because of Ozzy’s alleged infidelity. Through a highly publicized reality show of their family life and the notorious lifestyle of the rock star on the road,  they both miraculously soldiered through the worst of a marriage not many couples can say they have gone through.  Sharon Levy was just 18 years old when she and 22-year old Ozzy Osbourne met in 1970. As it is until today, Sharon was sent to Los Angeles to look after the well being of wild rocker Ozzy. The two started dating each other soon after.  The couple got married in Maui, Hawaii on July 4, 1982 after two years of dating, but more than a decade after the two first met.

2. Bono and Alli Hewson

Photo Credit: BuzzNet

U2 front man Bono and wife Ali Stewart met 40 years ago, and has been happily married for 34 years. Stewart has been there for Bono even way before U2 broke records and stood at the top of the success ladder. The couple married in Ireland on August 21, 1982] in a ceremony that combined both Protestant rituals and those of the Shalom Friendship group to which Bono adheres to. They were of humble beginnings as they did not even have enough money to have a honeymoon because of the debt the band owed to Island Records at that time. Their first home was also one that they shared with the rest of the U2 band members. Although Bono is certainly one of the most famous names in the rock industry, Ali Stewart has no problem holding her own, being a well-decorated academic with degrees in social science, politics and sociology. Bono and Stewart have four children together.

3. Sting and Trudie Styler

 

Sting’s rowdy reputation may have broken up The Police but the same surely cannot be said about his marriage to actress and director Trudie Styler. The beginning of their relationship, however, has been admittedly an affair as Styler was still married to ex-husband and Sting was still married to Frances Tomelty who ironically introduced Sting and Styler. Soon after, Sting and Styler were dating and subsequently divorcing their spouses. They couple had an extravagant wedding on August 20, 1992 in Wiltshire England.
They have four children together. The couple also bought a noble estate in Tuscany, Italy in 1997 where they grow their own wine and olive oil. Styler says she and Sting celebrate their wedding anniversary in Tuscany every year since they’ve bought the lavish property.

4. David Bowie and Iman

 

Photo Credit: Melting Pot Internat’l

Rock superstar and icon David Bowie and Somalian supermodel Iman was married for 24 years until Bowie’s death in January 2016 after privately suffering from liver cancer. It was apparently love-at-first-sight for the two household names thanks to the match-making of Bowie’s friend, hairstylist Teddy Antolin who introduced them after learning how lonely Bowie has been getting despite the peak of his fame and success. Iman has revelead that the secret to her long-lasting marriage to Bowie was timing. She says that they were both ready to settle down when they met, They truly did as they got engaged only months after meeting for the first time. When asked if the supermodel ever gave fashion tips to her husband, she laughs and says, “What are you, crazy? We’re talking about David Bowie. He is fashion!” The couple has one daughter Alexandria Zahra Jones born in 2000.

5. Tim McGraw and Faith Hill

 

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Country Royalty Faith hill and Tim Mcgraw just celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary last October. Despite countless rumors of them getting a divorce worth $135 million , the music stars remain strong, successful, and blissfully together. The two country mega hit makers fell in love while they were both on tour in the early 90s. McGraw proposed to Hill backstage minutes before his set to which Hill responded in surprise, “We’re at a country music festival in a trailer house, and you’re asking me to marry you?”. Not quite the fairy tale answer. However, after McGraw’s set he found a message written on his dressing room mirror that said ‘Yes, I will be your wife.’ framed in lipstick kiss marks. They pull off a surprise wedding in McGraw’s hometown of Rayville, Louisiana, luring friends to come to what they thought would be a softball game and concert. To everyone’s surprise, Hill came out in a white slinky wedding gown (while three months pregnant with their oldest daughter Gracie) and McGraw was sporting a suit with a pair of jeans. They are now based in Nashville with their three beautiful daughters.

6. Jon Bon Jovi and Dorothea Hurley

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Jon Bon Jovi has been happily married to his high school sweetheart for 27 years now. Despite the success of his career in rock n’ roll the veteran musician maintains a humble family life in his home state of New Jersey with his wife, black belt Karate Instructor  Dorothea Hurley and their four children . The couple met in high school but didn’t start dating until early on in Jon’s career. In April 1989, Jon and Dorothea eloped and had a last minute wedding in Las Vegas. It’s already rare for rock stars to have a long-lasting marriage as it is rare for Vegas weddings to be long-lasting at all. Jon says of his elopement to Hurley, “We did it for us and didn’t give a damn. I got a lot of heat from it, between the band, my parents…Everybody was pissed off. It took me a couple of days before I realized that I don’t give a s*** what anybody thinks.” And to that, he’s proven every one who doubted this sweet couple wrong!

7. Keith Richards and Patti Hansen

Photo Credit: Yahoo Music

On Keith Richards’ 70th birthday, he also celebrated his 30th wedding anniversary to his wife, former model Patti Hansen. Two things are quite surprising here: First is that Keith Richards, despite his notorious rock n’ roll lifestyle of sex, drugs, and booze, has lived to be a septuagenarian; and second, is that his marriage lasted up to 30 years (and counting!). What’s the secret you may ask? Well, the Rolling Stone guitarist says it’s all because of his darling wife, stating “Thank God for Mrs. Patti Hansen, who has finally got her way and put me on the straight and narrow.”

Patti Hansen was only 23 when she met Keith while out celebrating her birthday with friends. Richards saw “this blonde beauty dancing with wild hair flying” and sent over a bottle of champagne to her table. Three years after their first encounter, they married in Cabo San Lucas and the rest was rock n’ roll marital magic.

8. Steven Van Zandt and Maureen Santoro

Photo Credit: Zimbio

Rock n’ roll married Soprano. Not quite in the literal sense but you get the point. Bruce Springsteen’s guitarist and The Sopranos actor Steven “Little Steven” Van Zandt has been married to actress Maureen Santoro (famously known for her role as Van Zandt’s character’s wife in The Sopranos) for 34 years. This couple is living proof of “life imitates art” and stays strong through it all. They wed on December 21, 1982 to a ceremony officiated by the high priest of rock n’ roll Little Richard. Van Zandt and his wife founded the Rock and Roll Forever Foundation in 2007. Their non-profit organization provides programs that provide education on the history of rock. The foundation boasts of a star studded board of trustees including Bruce Springsteen, Bono, and Martin Scorsese.

9. Alice Cooper and Sheryl Goddard

Photo Credit: Sick Things UK

When shock rock marries classical ballet, it’s hard to imagine it would work. But that is exactly what the marriage of Alice Cooper and Sheryl Goddard is all about. 18-year-old dance student Sheryl Goddard had not one idea about rock music as she was trained as a classical ballerina. She says, “I knew everything about Bach, Rachmaninoff, Schumann, Mozart – but nothing about rock and roll.”

After her classmates convinced her to auditions for Alice Cooper’s global Welcome to My Nightmare tour in 1975, she got the part for two dancing jobs and went on tour with the prince of Shock Rock himself. They met and then dated for 12 months before getting married in Acapulco, Mexico. The couple is now 40 years strong. Sheryl says about the secret of their good marriage, “I don’t think there is such a thing as a perfect marriage. But ours is probably one of the best I’ve ever seen.” Right you are, Mrs. Cooper!

10. Don Henley and Sharon Summerall

 

Don Henley is faithful to his wedding vows “in sickness and in health”. The Eagles’ drummer has been married to his wife Sharon Sumerall since January 1994 after dating for 5 months and being engaged for about 11 months. Sumerall was a former model from Texas. She also studied art in Paris. They had a star-studded wedding reception that included rock n’ roll icons such as Bruce, Springsteen, Sting, Glenn Frey, Sheryl Crow, Billy Joel and Tony Bennett. In 2005, after being married for 11 years, Henley’s wife was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. When asked about how his wife was doing, Henley answered,

“We’re fortunate in that she has the relapsing/remitting form of MS, not the kind where you go straight downhill. So she’s holding her own. There are about 80 new drugs in the pipeline at the moment, so we feel hopeful about the future.”

They have three children together.

11. Dee and Suzette Snider

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Dee Snider of Twisted Sister may not look like the type to settle down and settle down long. Rockers who achieve long term marriage bliss are of a rare breed. Snider has been married to his wife Suzette for 35 years! They met when Suzette was only 15 and Dee Snider was 21 in a nightclub in Long Island. So what was a 15-year old doing in a night club in Long Island with a glam rocker? Well, as many party-thirsty teenagers have done, she snuck in, probably with a fake ID. And they probably shared the same interests in glittery flared low neckline suits as Suzette is a costume designer. They have four children together
which all amde an appearance on Celebrity Wife Swap in 2012. Dee’s wife Suzette traded places with Flavor Flav’s long-time fiancée Liz.

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