Billie Joe Armstrong has a love story that songs are written about. The Green Day frontman has been married to his wife, Adrienne Armstrong, since 1994.
While he knows he “married the right person”, the two split after they got together in 1990, and Adrienne ended up engaged to another musician.
Their romance wasn’t over, though, as they reconnected some years later and have been married for three decades.
“I married the right person,” Billie Joe told Esquire in 2024. “That’s a big deal. My wife really was smarter than I was.”
© InstagramHe added: “I was more spontaneous and wild, where she could be more practical and knew how to make plans better. But we were the right people for each other.”
Discover more about Billie Joe Armstrong’s wife, Adrienne, and their relationship below.
They met at a Green Day concert
Adrienne was a fan of Green Day before she met her future husband at one of their shows in Minneapolis in 1990.
She struck up a conversation with Billie Joe when she asked him where she could get a copy of Green Day’s CD, according to Mankato Free Press, and a relationship soon formed.
They kept in touch over the phone and tried a long-distance relationship while Billie Joe was away on tour, but eventually, the distance became too much, and they broke up after dating for around 18 months.
© InstagramShe was engaged to another musician
After Adrienne and Billie Joe split, she ended up dating musician Billy Bisson, the frontman of the punk band Libido Boyz.
According to Mankato Free Press, the Libido Boyz “are often considered the anchor of the Mankato punk scene in the late 1980s/early 1990s,” and they even played shows with Green Day from time to time while on tour, their former bassist Dave Begalka said.
Adrienne and Billy’s romance moved fast, and they soon got engaged the year after her split from Billie Joe, but it wasn’t meant to be.
Reports on their split differ, with Adrienne claiming their relationship came to a natural end, while Billy has said that Billie Joe stole her away from him.
© InstagramShe moved to California for Billie Joe
After Adrienne graduated from Minnesota State University in 1993 with a degree in sociology, Billie Joe asked her to relocate to California.
“I was totally scared. But super excited. It was a new adventure, and I was ready,” she told Mankato Free Press. “I figured I’d give it the summer and see what happened.”
© InstagramThey married in 1994
Two weeks after Adrienne moved to California, Billie Joe proposed.
“I was out two weeks, and Billie Joe asked me to marry him,” she recalled. “It was crazy. But it was a crazy time for us – and I said yes.”
They tied the knot on July 2, 1994, in Billie Joe’s backyard, according to the VH1 Behind the Music documentary. “We didn’t think about it, we just did it,” Adrienne said.
To celebrate 20 years of marriage, the couple renewed their vows in 2014 with a grunge-style ceremony in Las Vegas, surrounded by family and friends.
© InstagramThey have two children
The day after their wedding, Adrienne discovered she was pregnant with their first child. Their son, Joseph Marciano ‘Joey’ Armstrong, was born February 28, 1995.
The youngest son, Jakob Danger Armstrong, was born on September 12, 1998. Both have followed in their father’s footsteps and have become musicians.
© InstagramAdrienne inspired some Green Day songs
Adrienne and Billy Joe’s first kiss inspired “2000 Light Years Away” from Green Day’s 1991 album Kerplunk.
Her nickname, Adie, inspired the song “80” from the band’s 1994 album Dookie, as it sounds like ’80’.
“Westbound Sign” from Green Day’s 1995 album Insomniac was inspired by Adrienne’s move to California.
© InstagramAdrienne is a business owner
Adrienne and her friend, Jamie Kidson, co-founded the environmentally friendly boutique, Atomic Garden, in 2007 in Oakland, California.
The boutique sells clothing and home goods. “What’s been most meaningful to us over the last five years are the people – near and far – who have made all of the beautiful things we carry in our shop. Their time and commitment to quality is inspiring,” she said.
In 1997, she and Billie Joe, along with some of their friends, co-owned the record label, Adeline Records. It closed down in 2017.
© InstagramBillie Joe “wouldn’t change a thing”
“We started out as kids – now here we are spending our middle age together,” he told People in 2024.
“It’s a beautiful thing. We’ve been through so much in our life, and we’ve always been able to come out stronger. I’ll take all of the good and the bad; I wouldn’t change a thing.”
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