Jon Bon Jovi recently appeared on Bunnie XO’s Dumb Blonde Podcast, where he opened up about various topics, including being a grandfather, his relationship with his son and new daughter-in-law, Millie Bobby Brown, as well as undergoing a major surgery to repair his atrophied vocal cords and the challenges that came along with it.
Of the latter, the Bon Jovi frontman, whose real name is John Francis Bongiovi, said it took him three years to recover from his vocal operation, despite trying to “will” his signature raspy pipes back into existence. Bon Jovi’s vocal struggles began in 2014, due to age, damage from overuse, and overexertion, however, at the time, he was unaware of the severity of the issue.
“By 2015,” he told host Bunnie XO, 45, on the Monday, Sept. 22 episode, “It just wasn’t working right and I wasn’t quite sure…. I couldn’t really understand why.”
Bon Jovi, 63, explained that his band completed a short-length tour a year later for an album called This House Is Not For Sale, a No. 1 record. At that point, the rock icon said that “something was still going on.” Finally, in 2022, Bon Jovi said it was his wife, Dorothea Hurley, who told him something was wrong.
Jon Bon Jovi’s Wife Alerted Him That His Vocals Didn’t Sound the Same
“So by the time I get to 2022, now it’s COVID-19, and the world shuts down, I’m just saying, ‘OK. I can will this thing back, and it just got to a point where I came off stage in Nashville, and I said to Dorothea, ‘It was good.’ She said, ‘It wasn’t good.’”
“She’s the only one on the planet that I know is not gonna BS me. You’re either surrounded by ‘yes’ men, or people getting paid, or a fan that wants you to be good, and then you do your best. But, whose is the confessional box? It’s her,” Bon Jovi explained of how he knew he needed to have the surgery following his wife’s reaction.
“I ran to the doctor. I drove myself to the hospital. That’s how eager I was to start this journey. I didn’t know it was going to be three plus years of recovery. I can tell you that,” Bon Jovi said, looking back.
Jon Bon Jovi Says His Vocals Have Finally Recovered
These days, however, Bon Jovi insists, “I’m singing really well,” but he adds, “Something can trip the wire and take me down the rabbit hole…It sucks.”
Now that he has recovered, Bon Jovi is currently in the midst of a comeback, and he says he now knows when to slow down. Looking back at his early years and his rise to stardom, the rocker recalled feeling the need to please everybody and never stopping to take time off to recharge.
“On more than one occasion, I would burn out. And, I’m trying desperately now, in this vocal comeback, to only do it if I have joy,” Bon Jovi noted of his current state of mind. “If it’s work, I really don’t want to do it…I love the idea of performing, and if I’m healthy, then never better.”
Jon Bon Jovi Shared Advice for Jelly Roll
Bon Jovi, who has developed a friendship and kinship with Bunnie XO’s famous husband, Jelly Roll, is reminded of his younger years when he thinks of the “Save Me” singer. So much so that he has become somewhat of a mentor to Jelly Roll, feeding his buddy advice now and then as someone who has been in the music business for decades.
“When I first met Jelly Roll… one of the first things we did was I interviewed him for Interview Magazine, and in the magazine, I said to him, ‘Don’t do too much. Don’t go chasing every rainbow because you’re gonna burn out and not even know you’re burned out.’ And in my youth, I was doing that,” Bon Jovi, a self-proclaimed go-getter in his younger years, said.
He added, “That is my fear for him still today: Jelly, don’t do too much. He’s established. He’s a big star. He’s done it, he’s proved it, and he’s an inspiration for millions of people. You don’t have to chase every feature. You don’t have to do every show. Go and chill for two years. I have absolutely learned how to do that.”
Jelly Roll is one of the features on Bon Jovi’s upcoming collaborative album titled Forever (Legendary Edition). The pair joined forces on “Living Proof” — a reimagined version of the track from the band’s 2024 album, Forever.
Forever (Legendary Edition) is available on Oct. 24 via Island Records.
Bon Jovi is also hoping to tour the album, although he has not yet confirmed a tour announcement as he keeps his vocals in check. If for any reason he’s unable to support the record with live performances, he said, “I can absolutely with conviction tell you that if I don’t perform again, my legacy is set. I’m cool with it. I’m great. I’m good. We were an awesome live band, we sold a lot of records, I’m good.”
“I don’t need the applause. I don’t yearn for the applause…the only b—ch that I had in this process, is OK God, you took it away. Why?” he continued. “Let’s fight to get it back because there could be some great joy and light that I can shine and be reciprocated from the audience that hears that.”
This story was originally reported by Parade on Sep 22, 2025, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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