Jon Bon Jovi clarified a recent comment about having had many women in his life despite remaining married to Dorothea, his school sweetheart.

In an interview in May, while the singer discussed his career, he said: “I’m not a saint. You know, I’m not saying that there weren’t 100 girls in my life. I’m Jon Bon Jovi. It was pretty good.”

He went on to add that he’d never considered risking his marriage by “believing the narcissist in me was real,” saying it would have been “a stupid thing to do.”

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Asked by the Guardian about that comment, Bon Jovi replied: “That was an interesting moment where the brain and lips don’t connect. What I meant to say was I’ve had 100 women who have thrown themselves at me, but I didn’t finish the sentence so I really came off like an arrogant cliche.”

Ahead of the couple’s 35th wedding anniversary, he said of Dorothea: “I just got it right the first time. I was blessed to have known her since we were kids and I couldn’t have ever imagined life any differently.”

He added that, while he made sure his children were protected and cared for, he didn’t want to make their lives too easy. “My kids observe my work ethic and that’s in their DNA now – they’re not trust-fund babies,” he said.

“You have to go to work. I will give them enough to make sure they have shoes on their feet, but like Dorothea says: ‘Daddy has money, you don’t have anything.’”

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Looking back on his career, he recalled the breakthrough experience of 1986 Bon Jovi album Slippery When Wet. “It changed people around us more than it changed us,” he reflected. “Suddenly people who we would usually ask for advice were now asking us for advice.”

And while his bandmates embraced the typical excesses of rock star life, Bon Jovi noted: “When everything relies on me singing, I’m going to have to go to bed earlier than the others.

“I wish I had enjoyed the success more, but somebody has to be the quarterback of the team to keep the band together.”

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