Millie Bobby Brown’s latest film Damsel might see her character marry a handsome prince, only to be thrown to a fire-breathing dragon, but rest assured that in real-life, planning for the actor’s up-coming wedding is far less stressful.
‘I have loved every second of it,’ the actor, who announced last year that she is engaged to Jake Bongiovi, told ELLE UK during a recent game of Ask Me Anything. ‘It's been really an unbelievable journey. Every time we have a new wedding meeting, Jake and I take a picture to capture the moment of the planning process. He's loving every second of it. I haven't been met with a stressful time yet, and I think that's just a reflection on how ready and excited we are to do it.’
The couple began dating in June 2021 after connecting as friends, and confirmed their relationship when Brown shared a blurry photo of them sharing a kiss in London. They made their red carpet debut at the BAFTA Awards in March 2022.
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The pair celebrated their engagement party in June 2023, but the official date of their wedding day is still under wraps. As for changing her surname, Brown – who said Shania Twain’s ‘Man, I Feel Like A Woman’, will feature on her music wedding playlist – revealed that it’s an ‘ongoing conversation’.
‘I don't think it's that important to even think about,’ she shared, adding: ‘I think I'm so excited about the big day, I haven't really thought about it. Although I am quite traditional. There's a sense of him being a part of my life and my identity still remains independent […], but he is an addition to who I am, so I think there's definitely a sense of that going into the decision making.’
While she’s excited to add ‘wife’ to the long list of titles on her resumé, which includes actor, Florence by Mills beauty and fashion brand founder, producer, and UNICEF ambassador, the actor is looking forward to filming the last season of Stranger Things this year. ‘Excited because of the storyline,’ she admitted, adding: ‘I'm excited because I get to still work with my castmates and crew members.’
With the show’s fifth and final season on its way, it’s hard to believe it’s been almost eight years since the Duffer Brothers welcomed us to the Upside Down and the lives of Eleven, Will Byers, Max Mayfield, and co. ‘It's bittersweet,’ Brown said of ending the show. ‘I'm excited to explore my career more, but of course it's a huge part of my life.’
Brown’s latest exploration is her Netflix film Damsel, which sees the star play Princess Elodie – a brave and bold young woman who must rely on her strong will and determination to escape a dragon’s cave and save her sister. At the beginning of the film, the actor showed off long, bum-skimming strawberry red hair but cuts it off with a sword halfway through. While Brown decided not to recreated her buzzcut from season one of Stranger Things for season four of the show, she said that she wanted her latest character to undergo a mini makeover.
‘I definitely wanted to cut my hair,’ Brown said of the decision. ‘I actually just recently found out that hair carries trauma, and so I thought that was interesting. [Hair is] kind of like a timeline of where you were at in you life – each strand of hair – and so I felt very strongly about cutting it off in 'Damsel'.
From foot massages and her dog, Winnie the Poodle, watch the rest of Millie Bobby Brown’s Ask Me Anything at the top of this article.
DAMSEL is now out on Netflix.
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Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.
