Millie Bobby Brown and Jake Bongiovi's relationship timeline, from meeting on Instagram to adopting a baby girl

Romance rumors began swirling in June 2021 after a series of Instagram posts by Bongiovi, the son of the rock star Jon Bon Jovi.

In the first post, Bongiovi shared a photo with Brown in the back of a car with the caption, "bff <3."

In the following months, Bongiovi shared two more posts featuring Brown — one of the couple on a CCTV camera and another of them drinking tea together.

During a November 2022 episode of WIRED's "Web's Most Searched Questions" YouTube series, Brown explained that she met Bongiovi via Instagram.

"We were friends for a bit and then, what can I say?" the "Stranger Things" star said.

On December 25, 2021, Brown shared another cuddly selfie with Bongiovi, this time posing in front of a Christmas tree.

"Happy holidays ❤," Brown captioned the post.

One month later, in January 2022, Brown told Seventeen that Bongiovi gifted her a vinyl of Olivia Rodrigo's hit album "Sour" for Christmas.

"I love '1 Step Forward, 3 Steps Back.' It makes me wanna cry every time. I think my boyfriend's gonna kill me if I listen to it around him anymore," the young actor said while discussing the album.

In February 2022, the couple celebrated Brown's 18th birthday.

Brown shared a photo of their outfits on Instagram, writing in the caption, "Hey ken! 🎂." Both went blonde for the occasion.

Bongiovi captioned his own post, "Happy birthday barbie ily <3."

Bongiovi joined Brown as she walked the carpet at the 2022 British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs) in London.

The pair both wore black outfits, and Bongiovi wore a pin with the Ukrainian flag in support of the country following the recent Russian invasion.

One week after Bongiovi's birthday, the couple walked their second red carpet together in New York, celebrating the season four premiere of Brown's hit Netflix show "Stranger Things."

Afterward, Bongiovi shared an Instagram post with photos from the event. He wrote in the caption, "Congratulations babe u deserve the world love you 🥳."

Later that month, Brown also revealed on Instagram that her boyfriend had visited her on-set during the filming of season four.

Shortly after the "Stranger Things" premiere, Brown and Bongiovi vacationed in Barcelona together, sharing photographs of their trip to the Sagrada Familia in late May.

Brown captioned the post "te amo," which is Spanish for "I love you."

Meanwhile, Bongiovi referenced Harry Styles' album, "Harry's House," in the caption of his own post: "Alexa play late night talking by Harry Styles."

The couple continued to show their love for Styles by attending his Love On Tour stop at Wembley Stadium in London.

Brown later shared a photo of the pair kissing at the concert, writing in the caption, "alexa play love of my life by harry styles."

Brown and Bongiovi made a surprise appearance on Mariah Carey's TikTok.

The couple helped Carey, her boyfriend Bryan Tanaka, and Carey's twins, Moroccan and Monroe, recreate the opening to the music video for Carey's 1997 single "Honey."

The original spy-themed video opens with Carey held hostage in a mansion. The singer then pretends to speak Spanish to trick her captors. In the TikTok video, Brown and Bongiovi play Carey's interrogators.

Brown brought Bongiovi along with her to the "Enola Holmes 2" premiere in New York.

After the event, Brown shared a series of pictures taken at the premiere. She captioned a slideshow of pictures of Bongiovi: "The man !"

Bongiovi also shared his own post from the night, which he captioned: "Isn't she lovely ❤️."

On January 1, 2023, Brown reflected on her previous year, sharing multiple images on Instagram of herself with Bongiovi.

In the caption of the post, she wrote: "endlessly in love with the year I've had! grateful for my friends, family, donkey (bernard), my doggies, my puppies teeth, and my partner for life. here's to another year with you and the wonderful people and animals around us 🤍 let's do it again but better!"

Bongiovi commented on this particular post, writing: "your year babe love you so much ❤️."

He later also shared his own post recapping the year with Brown.

"Love is all you need. happy new year everyone 🥂," Bongiovi captioned this post.

Bongiovi shared a heartfelt Instagram tribute to Brown for her 19th birthday.

"Another year around the sun together," he wrote in the caption. "Happy 19th to the girl of my dreams. I love you more than words can describe. Everything about you is golden down to the core ❤️."

Brown and Bongiovi sparked speculation of an engagement after Brown shared a professional shot of the couple on Instagram. In the photo, her left hand is clearly visible, and she's sporting a diamond ring.

"I've loved you three summers now, honey, I want 'em all 🤍," Brown wrote in the caption, referencing lyrics from Swift's romantic single "Lover."

Bongiovi shared his own compilation of photos, in which Brown's ring finger is not visible, with the caption "Forever 🤍."

Later that month, the couple was photographed by paparazzi in Milan, with Brown still wearing the ring.

Bon Jovi addressed his son's engagement during an appearance on Andy Cohen's SiriusXM show, "Andy Cohen Live." The rock star said he wasn't worried about the couple's young age following online criticism.

"I don't know if age matters, you know, if you find the right partner and you grow together," he said. "I think that would be my advice, really, is growing together is wise."

As is their custom, Brown wished Bongiovi a happy birthday with a lovey-dovey Instagram post. She also dispelled any confusion about their engagement by referring to him as her fiancé.

"this sums us up. In bliss, exploring together," she wrote in the caption. "I am eternally holding your hand."

Fan-shared photos circulated on social media showing Brown and Bongiovi at the Eras Tour stop in Cincinnati, Ohio, local news outlet WLWT 5 reported. 

In an interview with Women's Wear Daily, Brown said the couple planned to keep their wedding private. 

"I think probably drawing the curtains, just because there are only so many moments in life that you get only once," Brown told WWD. "And to have everyone's opinions and eyes looking at that just feels unnatural to me."

"I feel it's important to keep those things, those small precious moment in life, really close to your chest," she continued. "I can say that the planning is going — it's so fun and it's such an exciting time in my life."

Brown also told The Sunday Times that she instantly knew that Bongiovi was "the one," and that he always "made clear sense" to her.

She revealed to the outlet that Bongiovi proposed to her using an heirloom from her mother.

"I've always loved that ring, it's always stuck out to me, so she gave it to Jake," Brown said. "They were in cahoots about the whole proposal. I love that I can always keep a piece of my mum with me."

Brown said that her parents "adore" her fiancé, saying that they were an "amazing role model" for her relationship.

In October 2023, Brown told Glamour magazine that she never dreamed about getting married before meeting Bongiovi.

"My dream was to have a baby," Brown said. "I wanted to be the woman that my mom is to me and I wanted to be the woman that my grandmother was to me. So that was never my, like, intention, to be a wife."

Brown continued: "But after meeting Jake and seeing, 'Oh, I don't have to be this stereotypical wife for him. He doesn't want me to be that either. He wants me to go and do my thing and live my life, and he will hold my hand in the process of that.' I was like, 'Oh, I do want this.'"

Brown continued, telling Glamour that when she met Bongiovi, her idea of a relationship with men meant she wasn't allowed to take up too much space.

"I think I was so afraid to be a strong woman in a relationship," Brown said.

"When I met Jake. I just felt I could be loud. He embraced that and encouraged that. And I fell in love with myself while being with him," the "Nineteen Steps" author said. "He was a really big, huge part of me loving myself and becoming a woman. It was like, 'Wow, I really love this person because he allows me to love myself.'"

Matthew Modine, aka "Papa," or Martin Brenner from "Stranger Things," revealed that Brown and Bongiovi's wedding was going to be overseen not by a religious "father" — but by her on-screen father.

Modine told Access Hollywood that he had been tapped to officiate the couple's ceremony.

"I have one of those licenses to get people married, and Millie thought it'd be great, and then Jake said it'd be a great idea, so I wrote the wedding vows," Modine said. "And they loved what I wrote for them to join hands and become husband and wife."

On May 24, 2024, Page Six shared paparazzi photos of Brown and Bongiovi spending time in the Hamptons. Both could be seen wearing bands on the third fingers of their left hands.

After a photographer congratulated the happy couple on their nuptials, Brown reportedly thanked them in response.

The same day, People confirmed that the couple had secretly been married in a private ceremony with their closest friends and family in attendance.

The US Sun also reported the news, with an anonymous source sharing that "it was a very low-key, romantic affair with their closest family with them as they said their vows."

Brown and Bongiovi shared a collaborative Instagram post to announce their foray into parenthood.

"This summer we welcomed our sweet baby girl through adoption. We are beyond excited to embark on this beautiful next chapter of parenthood in both peace and privacy," the joint announcement reads. "And then there were 3. Love, Millie and Jake Bongiovi."

Five months earlier, Brown opened up on the "Smartless" podcast about her eagerness to start a family with Bongiovi.

"My mom actually had her first child at 21, and my dad was 19. And you know, it's been my thing since before I met Jake," Brown said. "Since I was a baby, I told my mom, like, baby dolls. I wanted to be a mom just like the way my mom was to me."