Bruce Springsteen’s Secret Dating History Reveals the Real Identity of Faye Romano & Who He Was With Before His Wife

Patti Sciafla (1988 – present)

Bruce Springsteen met his current wife Patti Sciafla at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, New Jersey. He recalled their first meeting in an interview with Time, “I went, Who is that gorgeous redhead singing like Ronnie Spector or Dusty Springfield?”

The future husband and wife were platonic at first since Springsteen was still married to his first wife Julianne Philips. She joined the E Street Band as its first female member in 1984. “I didn’t know when we started rehearsing that he was going to give me a lot to do,” she told PEOPLE in 1988. “It happened slowly over the course of rehearsing. Bruce coaxed me and urged me to reach. He was very patient, very willing to teach. He had a lot of confidence in me.”

After his split from Philips, Springsteen lived with Sciafla and the two bonded together romantically. The two later married in 1991 in their Beverly Hills home. They’ve welcomed three kids—Evan, 35, Jessica, 33, and Samuel, 31.

“I knew she saw me for who I really was,” he says. “A complicated, messy person. I didn’t have to pretend. I was broken. She was broken in her own way, and we were each other’s personal projects.”

Springsteen denied rumors of him cheating on Scialfa in 2006 after court documents showed a man accued his wife named Ann Kelly of cheating on him with the artist. “Patti and I have been together for 18 years — the best 18 years of my life,” Springsteen wrote in a statement on his website (via the Boston Herald): “We have built a beautiful family we love and want to protect, and our commitment to one another remains as strong as the day we were married.” It was a statement he has used more than once to address affair rumors. 

Julianne Phillips (1984 – 1989)

Bruce Springsteen was married to model Julianne Phillips from 1985 to 1989. He wrote about his relationship in his memoir Born to Run : “Julianne was young, just getting her career started, while at thirty-five, I could seem accomplished, reasonably mature and in control, but, inside, I was still emotionally stunted and secretly unavailable. She’s a woman of great discretion and decency and always dealt with me and our problems honestly and in good faith, but in the end, we didn’t really know. I placed her in a terribly difficult position for a young girl and I failed her as a husband and partner. We handled the details as civilly and as graciously as possible, divorced and went on about our lives.”

After touring with Sciaflia in the late 80s, he knew he had to let down his wife. “I came clean to Julie as soon as I knew how serious Patti and I were, but there was no decent or graceful way out of it. I was going to hurt someone I loved . . . period…I dealt with Julie’s and my separation abysmally, insisting it remain a private affair, so we released no press statement, causing furor, pain and “scandal” when the news leaked out. It made a tough thing more heartbreaking than necessary. I deeply cared for Julianne and her family and my poor handling of this is something I regret to this day.”

Joyce Hyser (1979 – 1984)

Joyce Hyser confirmed she was in a five year relationship with Bruce Springsteen. In an interview with Rediscover the 80s, “Bruce and I were together for almost 5 years. I grew up with him. We are friends to this day.”

Lynn Goldsmith (1977 – 1978)

Bruce Springsteen was in a relationship with photographer Lynn Goldsmith from 1977 to 1978. She notably documented him as a subject on his the Darkness on the Edge of Town era. “Bruce has more than endured. Bruce has made people think of him in an iconic way, without dying,” Goldsmith told The Standard. “Bruce – like Bob Marley, like the Grateful Dead – they have people who aren’t just fans, they’re believers. You go to the church when you go to a concert; your fellow concert-goers are your brethren. There are not that many artists… I mean, look, Taylor Swift has taken it to a whole new level. They have a name – Swifties! We don’t have Brucies out there! I think it’s those artists who are able to create a feeling of community that people really respond to, we all have a need for belonging.”

Karen Darvin (1975 – 1977)

Bruce Springsteen was in a relationship with Karen Darvin from 1975 to 1977, but not much is known about their relationship.