Bruce Springsteen shares warning wife Patti issued him over life and three kids

ABC News' special documentary, Bruce Springsteen: Backstage and Backstreets, is set for release on October 20, which means that The Boss is opening up about his incredible career and personal life with wife Patti Scialfa.

© Bruce Glikas

The singer, who has been touring for most of this year, opened up about how his wife of 33 years helped him early on in their marriage, as they juggled music and raising a family.

"I was running my father's game plan when we first got together, and we first started to have children, and Patti really sort of reoriented me," Bruce told George Stephanopoulos in an interview, referring to his own difficult relationship with his father, who worked multiple jobs when he was younger.

"I was a lazy musician, sleeping until 11 o' clock," he said. "The kids were getting up and going to school without me, and all Patti said one night was: 'Well, hey, you don’t have to get up, but if you don’t get up, you're going to miss it. You're going to miss it all. Just get up and make the pancakes tomorrow.'"

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Her comments landed their mark, and the next day Bruce was up at 6:30am, "cursing, grumpy, bopping down the steps [and] made pancakes."

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Patti and Bruce famously first met at The Stone Pony bar in Asbury Park, New Jersey. The "Hungry Heart" singer was struck by her voice and befriended her. In 1984, she would join the E Street Band during the Born in the U.S.A. Tour.

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Following Bruce's marriage to actress Julianne Phillips, which ended in 1989, the couple finally got together. They welcomed their first son, Evan, on July 25, 1990. A year later, they married at their Los Angeles home in a private ceremony. Then, on December 30, 1991, they welcomed Jessica. Their third child, Samuel, came along on January 5, 1994.

As well as touring this year, Bruce hit a major milestone as he became a billionaire. Forbes estimated his net worth as $1.1 billion. This comes as the singer sold his masters and publishing rights to Sony Music in a deal worth around $500 million in 2021.

While it's incredibly rare for musicians to become billionaires, it's even rarer that they do so off the back of their music. But Bruce's billion comes from having worked for over six decades, with 21 studio albums, seven live albums and five EPs, and his touring. Earlier this year, he embarked on a tour across Europe and the UK.