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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
National
Michelle Cullen

Inside Bono's home life - childhood sweetheart wife, famous kids and secret half-brother

Bono is among the most well-known figures in the world after achieving global success as the frontman of the legendary U2.

But what is known about the Dubliner's home life with his four children and wife Ali?

The singer recently revealed that he had a somewhat turbulent relationship with his father Bob after his mother Iris passed away when he was just 14 years old.

READ MORE: Bono reveals dad Bob had secret son and how he found out about his half-brother in 2000

He said in an interview with BBC Radio Desert Island Discs' Lauren Lavern that he grew up in a house with "three men shouting at each other" and has had some "anger management discussions" over the years.

Ali Hewson, musician Bono, Eve Hewson and Jordan Hewson attend Glamour Women Of The Year 2016 at NeueHouse Hollywood on November 14, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (gettyimages.ie)

In the interview, he also opened up about discovering he had a half-brother in 2000.

He explained that his late father, Bob, had a "deep friendship" with a "gorgeous woman", and they had a child together.

He added that his own mother never knew.

Bono said he has made peace with the situation and 'loves and adores' his half-brother.

He said: "I asked him [his father] did he love my mother, and he said yes, and I asked him how could this happen, and he said, 'it can' and that he was trying to put it right, trying to do the right thing.

"He wasn't apologising. He was just stating these are the facts... I'm at peace with it."

The 62-year-old also spoke to Laverne about how his relationship with his father came under strain after the death of his mother, although he now admits he was partly to blame, adding that after Bob died in 2001, he apologised to him during a visit to a chapel in France.

"There was nobody there, I lit a candle, and I got on my knees, and I just said, 'look, I'm sorry I wasn't there for you, you went through a lot and please forgive me', and I felt free," Bono said.

But what do we know about the star's home life?

Bono was born Paul David Hewson at the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin and was sent to school at Mount Temple Comprehensive School, where he met his future wife, Alison Stewart.

He also met The Edge, Larry Mullen Jr and Adam Clayton at school, and in 1978, U2 was formed.

Bono and Alison Stewart from Raheny struck up a romance when Bono walked her to the bus one day.

He became Ali's first real boyfriend when she was just 15 and he 16.

The couple said "I do" in the Old Guinness Church of Ireland in Raheny on August 21, 1982, when Bono was 22 and Ali was 21.

After U2 began to find global success, Ali decided to shelve her aspirations of becoming a nurse to support her new husband and his rock 'n' roll dreams.

She earned a degree from UCD for politics and sociology - sitting the exam just two weeks after giving birth to the couple's first child, Jordan.

Ali has since dedicated herself to humanitarian work after being inspired by her husband's performance at Live Aid in 1985.

In 1994, she became a patron of Chernobyl Children's Project International before becoming a director of the board in 2007.

Along with her activism, Ali has also co-founded two ethical businesses, EDUN in 2005 and NUDE Skincare in 2007, to encourage trade in Africa and create healthy, natural products using ethically sourced ingredients.

Children

Not only are U2's singer's children all grown up, but they're also following in their dad's famous footsteps.

Jordan Hewson

Bono's oldest daughter, Jordan, appears to have taken after her mother Ali and is an activist and entrepreneur based in New York City.

Born on May 10, 1989, Jordan has an undergraduate degree in political science and a Masters's in creative writing from New York's prestigious Columbia University.

In 2016, she launched the tech company Speakable, which utilises technology to make civic engagement easier.

The company made international headlines in recent years thanks to its 'Action Button': an internet tool that makes it easier to engage with social and political issues, whether through commenting on social media or donating money.

In 2018, Jordan featured in the iconic September Issue of Vogue alongside 33 other international innovators, and in 2019 she landed on Forbes magazine's 30 under 30 list with other prestigious young people from across the globe.

Eve Hewson

Perhaps the most recognisable of Bono's children is daughter Eve, who has been making waves in Hollywood.

Eve Hewson attending the Vanity Fair Oscar Party held at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA. (PA)

Born on July 7, 1991, Eve says she always dreamt of being an actress and at the age of 18, she left Ireland to study at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.

After earning her degree, she landed her first significant role in 2011's This Must Be the Place, starring Sean Penn, before portraying Nurse Lucy Elkins in the Cinemax TV series The Knick.

She later appeared in Steven Spielberg's Cold War movie Bridge of Spies, where she played the daughter of Tom Hanks before landing the role of Maid Marian in a modern version of Robin Hood, starring Taron Egerton, Jamie Foxx, and Jamie Dornan.

She also landed one of her most prominent roles to date as Adele in the TV series Behind Her Eyes.

Although she likes to keep her love life private, Eve has been linked with a number of famous faces in the past. She dated One Tree Hill star James Lafferty from 2010 to 2015.

Before that romance, she was rumoured to have struck up a relationship with The Social Network actor Max Minghella.

Elijah Hewson

Born in August 1999, Elijah has followed in his father's footsteps after setting up his own rock band, Inhaler, with three of his friends from St Andrews College in Blackrock in 2012.

Elijah Hewson performs with his band Inhaler as part of the New Years Eve Festival at the Customs House, Dublin (Gareth Chaney Collins)

The group - comprised of Elijah, Robert Keating, Ryan McMahon and Josh Jenkinson - self-released their debut single "I Want You" in 2017, which caught the attention of record labels, and they eventually signed a deal with Polydor Records.

They gained notice among music fans after supporting the likes of Blossoms and Noel Gallagher on tour in 2019 and since has been going from strength to strength.

Despite emulating his rock star father, Elijah once revealed that his parents weren't actually on board with his dreams of being a singer and entertainer.

"At the beginning, they weren't really. I mean, they wanted me to go to college, you know, like all of our parents," he once told GQ. "I think they just kind of saw that I loved it and that we were good."

John Hewson

Not much is known of Bono's youngest child John, who was born on May 21, 2001, with the 21-year-old choosing to stay out of the spotlight for the time being.

But given the success of his parents and siblings, we are sure it won't be long before John breaks out of his shell and begins blazing his own path to stardom.

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