Additional Coverage:
- Bruce Springsteen’s wife Patti Scialfa has been his bandmate for decades. Here’s what to know about their relationship. (businessinsider.com)
Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa: A Rock and Roll Romance Spanning Decades
Asbury Park, NJ – While the upcoming biopic “Deliver Me From Nowhere” may paint a portrait of Bruce Springsteen as a troubled artist and complicated lover, the real-life Boss has enjoyed a steadfast and enduring marriage for over 30 years with fellow E Street Band member Patti Scialfa. Their story, rooted in their shared New Jersey upbringing and a deep musical connection, is one of evolving friendship, undeniable chemistry, and lasting love.
The couple’s paths first crossed indirectly when Springsteen, at 21, spoke to a 17-year-old Scialfa who answered a newspaper ad for background singers for his band. He ultimately advised against it due to the extensive travel for a high schooler. However, fate would bring them together again.
In 1984, Springsteen witnessed Scialfa’s performance at the iconic Stone Pony in Asbury Park, a moment he describes as falling in love with her voice as she sang “Tell Him.” This marked the beginning of their “long, winding semi-courtship,” as he recounts in his 2016 autobiography, “Born to Run.”
Scialfa Joins the E Street Band
Following their initial connection, Springsteen invited Scialfa to join the E Street Band for the monumental “Born in the USA” tour in 1984. Her debut on June 29, 1984, in Saint Paul, Minnesota, brought her into the spotlight as a backing vocalist, guitarist, and keyboardist.
Springsteen noted his desire to both enhance the band’s musicality with her “dependable, well-sung harmony vocals” and to have the band “reflect my evolving audience, an audience that was becoming increasingly grown-up and whose lives were about men and women.” Scialfa has remained an integral part of the E Street Band ever since.
A Complicated Start: Springsteen’s First Marriage
That same year, Springsteen met and married actress Julianne Phillips in 1985. Their romance was a whirlwind, but Springsteen admitted to struggling with severe anxiety attacks after the wedding, creating a “psychological distance” in their relationship.
Love Blossoms on Tour
During the 1988 “Tunnel of Love Express” tour, a period where Springsteen was performing songs exploring his ambivalence and fears about marriage, his bond with Scialfa deepened. He found in Scialfa a musician close to his age who understood his complexities, someone he didn’t feel the need to “pretend around.”
Their friendship transformed into romance when, while Phillips was away filming, Springsteen and Scialfa met under the guise of “working on our ‘duets.'” Springsteen recognized a profound shift, realizing his feelings for Scialfa were not just “a thing,” but “the thing.”
He subsequently informed Phillips of his feelings, leading to their quiet separation and her filing for divorce in August 1988. Springsteen later expressed regret for how he handled the situation, acknowledging he “failed her as a husband and partner.”
A Lasting Union and Family Life
After the “Tunnel of Love” tour, Springsteen and Scialfa moved in together. Despite initial struggles with Springsteen’s avoidant tendencies, Scialfa’s patience and an ultimatum ultimately led to a pivotal decision. “I stayed,” Springsteen wrote, calling it “the sanest decision of my life.”
The couple welcomed their first child, Evan James, in 1990, and married in 1991 at their Beverly Hills estate. Their daughter, Jessica Rae, born in December 1991, went on to achieve Olympic silver in equestrian team jumping. Their youngest, Samuel Ryan, born in January 1994, is a New Jersey firefighter and recently made Springsteen and Scialfa first-time grandparents in 2022.
Springsteen credits Scialfa with teaching him to prioritize family over work, forging a life and love “fit for a couple of emotional outlaws.” Their enduring partnership stands as a testament to a love that has weathered the storms of fame and personal challenges, proving that sometimes, even “the Boss” needs his leading lady.