Bono shares secret to 40-year marriage with ‘mysterious’ wife

The couple have been married since 1982 and the U2 star says there is “a grand madness” about them.

"There’s something about knowing that you’re going against the odds,” he said in an interview for the New Yorker Festival as he showcased his upcoming book, ‘Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story.’

Bono (62) and wife Ali (61) are childhood sweethearts, having met at the age of 12 at Mount Temple Comprehensive School. They see their marriage as “friendship” first.

“I would say if you ask me seriously, friendship can outpace romantic love, sometimes. And friendship is what myself and Ali have. When you have romantic love and friendship, that’s really something special."

"Any time either of us got lost, the other would ... be there to get the other one home. And I'm so grateful," the Dubliner said. "And 40 years is a powerful number for me. That's a powerful number for Ali. And it was brilliant when we got to 40, and we went, 'Let's not f*** this up now.'

Bono previously told The Ellen DeGeneres Show that “there is still “a lot to learn” about his partner.

"She’s hard to know… She’s a mysterious figure,” he said.

"There’s a lot to learn about her sill. And we’re still finding out more and more about each other. Most of it’s good.”

The couple share four children: Jordan (33), Eve (31), Elijah (23) and John (21).

Elijah is following in his father’s footsteps, fronting the up-and-coming band Inhaler who are set to support the Arctic Monkeys on their next tour.

The 23-year-old has said his dad’s fame definitely opened “a lot of doors” for the band, but they still need to prove themselves.

"I don’t blame people who are interested in it. I would be interested if I heard that some person was in the same position I was in,” he told the Irish Examiner last year.

“But I think we have grown to accept it. It is what it is. I don’t think there is much point deflecting. If people want to talk about it, they want to talk about it.”

“We have definitely found our own fanbase in the UK who maybe don’t know who U2 is or are.”

The young star has often been told he sounds like his father, a suggestion he said is “not much of a surprise because it’s just DNA, isn’t it.”