Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown has opened up about why adoption was always part of her plans after welcoming a daughter with husband Jake Bongiovi, while also saying she still hopes to carry children in the future.
In August 2025, Brown and Bongiovi announced on Instagram that they had adopted a baby girl, marking the couple’s first child a little over a year after their May 2024 wedding.
“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.
“And then there were 3. Love, Millie and Jake,” she penned.
Brown was 21 when she and Bongiovi shared the news, and she had previously spoken in interviews about wanting a big family. Earlier in 2025, she said motherhood had long been important to her and that adoption was always something she viewed as part of that future.
Speaking on Kylie Kelce’s Not Gonna Lie podcast, Brown explained: “Always, always wanted to adopt. It was always part of my childhood dream.”
She went on to say: “Every time I was at home and I was, you know, 5, 6 years old, my parents were like, ‘You had your baby dolls.’ They were all adopted. I never had any of them myself. And I never pretended I was pregnant,” she continued.
Although she is now 22, Brown said she still hopes carrying her own children will be part of her life one day, making clear that adoption was not chosen because she did not want to experience pregnancy. In the same interview, she described adoption as something deeply meaningful to her rather than an alternative she felt pushed toward.
Reflecting on her younger years, she added: “I loved the aspect of adoption in my social work courses… so meaningful and important.”
Brown also said that she and Bongiovi ‘took a lot of time to focus on what that story and what that journey looks like’ before deciding to move ahead, suggesting the couple had thought carefully about how they wanted to begin their family.
Elsewhere in the interview, Brown defended her husband, the son of Jon Bon Jovi, after online commenters criticized him for not carrying her bags or pushing the stroller during public outings.
“When did women become incapable of holding their own bags, car seats and stuff?” she questioned. Later adding that he is “the most polite, sweet, will-do-anything-for-me” kind of man.
She also pushed back on what she saw as a contradiction in online reactions, noting that women are often encouraged to be independent until they choose to do things for themselves in public, at which point people ask why their partner is not stepping in.
Like many modern relationships, Brown and Bongiovi first connected through Instagram in 2021. Brown previously said they started out as friends before their romance developed, and the relationship became public that same year.
Two years later, Bongiovi proposed.
In a sweet Instagram post, Brown, who was 19 at the time, wrote: “I’ve loved you three summers now, honey, I want ’em all,” as she showed off her engagement ring.
The pair later married in Italy in May 2024. Brown has since spoken about building a quieter life away from Hollywood with Bongiovi in Georgia, where they have spent time on their farm and with Brown’s animal rescue work, making their move into parenthood a continuation of the more private family life they have said they want.