Weird Things Everyone Ignores About Lisa Bonet And Lenny Kravitz's Relationship

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Lisa Bonet and Lenny Kravitz were quite the couple when they first linked up in the '80s. Bonet was starring as Denise Huxtable on the huge hit sitcom "The Cosby Show," and Kravitz was just beginning his impressive career as a musician. The pair was often seen out and about twinning with their long hair, funky jewelry, and laid-back bohemian aesthetic, and the paparazzi couldn't get enough when Bonet became pregnant with the couple's child, Zoë Kravitz, who would go on to become a star in her own right.

Although Bonet and Kravitz's romance didn't last very long, it was full of weird coincidences, unconventional arrangements, and a deep closeness that seemed difficult to shake. And despite the fact that Bonet and Kravitz looked like a perfect match, it turned out they were extremely different when it came to parenting, their young daughter.

Over the years, the relationship, long past its romantic stage, has undergone many changes, but Lisa Bonet and Lenny Kravitz are still extremely close in a way that many might find strange, given all they've been through. Read on to learn more about the weird things everyone ignores about Lisa Bonet and Lenny Kravitz's relationship.

Lisa Bonet and Lenny Kravitz seemed like a match made in heaven when they began dating, and they certainly looked like they belonged together. Bonet and Kravitz both rocked long dreadlocks and shared a killer boho style, but fashion sense was not the only thing the pair had in common. Both Bonet and Kravitz came from weirdly similar half-Black, half-Jewish backgrounds.

Bonet's mom, Arlene Litman, was a white schoolteacher of Jewish descent, and her father, Allen Bonet, was a Black opera singer. Meanwhile, Kravitz's dad, Sy Kravitz, who worked as a TV producer, was also white and Jewish, and his mom, Roxie Roker, was a Black actor known for her role on the classic sitcom "The Jeffersons."

Both Bonet and Kravitz were closer to their mothers than their fathers. In his memoir, "Let Love Rule," Kravitz wrote that his father was a strict disciplinarian and recalled a time he'd gotten mad at Kravitz for crying after falling off his bike. "Instead of consoling me, he grabbed me by the arm and rushed me home," Kravitz wrote. "When we got there, he told Mom that she had a crybaby for a son" (via People). And Bonet's father had never been a part of her life at all, which affected her greatly as an adult. "When your primary male figure couldn't care less to show up, that can become a theme in your life where you're trying to fill this gap with these different men," she shared with Net-a-Porter.

It's easy to think of Lisa Bonet and Lenny Kravitz as having been a power couple back in their day, given that they both achieved stardom in their respective careers as an actor and a musician. But when the pair first met in 1985, it was Bonet who was the bigger star, while Kravitz was relatively unknown. Bonet landed the role of Denise Huxtable on the wildly popular sitcom "The Cosby Show" in 1984 when she was just 16 years old, which quickly skyrocketed her to fame. Kravitz, on the other hand, was an aspiring musician performing under the stage name Romeo Blue and had yet to release a hit song.

In fact, when Bonet and Kravitz first crossed paths at a New Edition concert, Kravitz was starstruck by Bonet, fumbling a bit in her presence and complimenting her on her hair. Of course, they did end up hitting it off, and Kravitz made a name for himself in 1989 with his hit single "Let Love Rule." But for a while, even the press sometimes referred to Kravitz as Mr. Bonet, which he did not appreciate. "I don't want to look like I'm riding her coattails," he told the Los Angeles Times.

By 1991, when Kravitz's fame was on the rise due to the success of his next single, "It Ain't Over 'til It's Over," not only was Bonet finishing up her stint on "The Cosby Show," but the pair found themselves heading for divorce.

When Lenny Kravitz first met Lisa Bonet, the attraction was strong to say the least. Kravitz described the interaction in his book, writing, "We vibed immediately. Time stood still. Without a lot being said, there was magnetism," adding, "I'd never had an encounter like it before. We were from the same tribe," (via People). But despite the intensity between the two, Bonet and Kravitz were friends before they linked up romantically. In fact, Kravitz moved in with Bonet before they even began dating, taking up residency on her couch.

At the time, Kravitz was no stranger to couch surfing because his dedication to his music prevented him from accepting opportunities that compromised his artistic vision. "I turned down record deals and people telling me they were going to make me a star, though I was frequently living on somebody's couch," Kravitz shared with Oprah Daily. But being close to Bonet was inspiring for the fledgling musician, and he credited her with helping him grow as an artist. "I saw myself in Lisa, and our whole love story opened up my life to the next plateau," he shared.

When Lisa Bonet and Lenny Kravitz realized they'd found love with one another, their relationship seemed to move fairly quickly. The couple didn't bother with a lavish wedding, opting to elope at a Las Vegas Chapel on November 16, 1987. The date was special because it was also Bonet's 20th birthday. The following year, 21-year-old Bonet and 24-year-old Kravitz became young parents when they welcomed their daughter, Zoë.

Being a young newlywed and mom had its advantages because it forced Bonet into a new level of maturity. "Having Zoë saved my life," the actor revealed to Honey (via People). "It was my wake-up call [about growing up]. There were so many things I didn't want to pass on to her so I really made a decision to change [into a better person]." According to Kravitz, he took to fatherhood with ease, telling Access Hollywood, "I think it just came naturally to me ... I knew what I didn't want to be."

Lenny Kravitz has become one of the biggest rock stars of our time, with four Grammy wins under his belt and over 40 million album sales worldwide. But weirdly, it was Lisa Bonet, who was not a trained musician, who helped Kravitz become the force of nature he is today.

Bonet had a hand in creating Kravitz's 1989 album "Let Love Rule" by co-writing a couple of songs on the record, "Fear" and "Rosemary." And in addition to the couple's collaborative efforts, Kravitz has credited Bonet with inspiring him to find his own creative voice, simply through his admiration for her. "[W]atching her do what she did, how she maneuvered, in her artistic life ... It was the first time I'd opened up like that, and had known love like that, and freedom," he shared with Men's Health.

Bonet went on to write another song with Kravitz as well, 1994's "Come and Get Some" by rapper Da Brat. The actor also played a musician and performed a cover of Peter Frampton's "Baby I Love Your Way" in the 2000 film "High Fidelity," but did not go on to pursue a career in music for herself.

Lisa Bonet and Lenny Kravitz had an unusual number of things in common, especially regarding their families, and one of these was the tragic coincidence that they each lost their beloved mother to breast cancer just a few years apart.

Kravitz's mom, actor Roxie Roker, passed away from the illness in 1995 at the age of 66. The loss was devastating for the musician, who told People, "I was a mama's boy. ... I know that I wouldn't be here if it weren't for her and all those who came before me." Kravitz counted himself lucky that Roker had been an actor because it meant he could rewatch her work during the times when he was especially missing her. "I'm very fortunate that she was on television because when I need to, I'll turn on 'The Jeffersons' and watch her, and it does so much for me," he revealed.

Bonet's mother, Arlene Litman, died of breast cancer in 1998 at the age of 58, which was a huge loss for the actor. She and her mom had been close. Litman raised Bonet as a single mother after she and Bonet's father divorced. And Litman helped out when Bonet and her daughter Zoë were temporarily displaced after the 1994 Northridge earthquake. "She was a good woman. She loved me," Bonet told Net-a-Porter about her mom.

Since the '80s and '90s, Lisa Bonet and Lenny Kravitz have been household names, but they each went by other monikers at different times in their lives and for very different reasons.

Kravitz began his career performing under the stage name Romeo Blue. He felt his given name was too ordinary for rock and roll stardom. "I just felt like there was David Bowie, and there was Prince ... Lenny Kravitz just didn't fit in," he shared with CBS. Eventually, Kravitz found his true artistic identity and realized that he didn't need any bells and whistles, dropping the stage name in favor of his own. "[T]he exercise of going outside of yourself, changing your look, changing your name, led me right back to myself. ... And my name was correct."

Lisa Bonet found fame as a teenager and performed under her given name but decided later in life that she wanted to switch things up. While she would still be known professionally as Lisa Bonet, she had her name legally changed to Lilakoi Moon in 1995. The name change came not long after her 1993 divorce from Kravitz, when she was craving a more private life and going through a personal transformation. The actor recalled having been bombarded by paparazzi when pregnant with her child, telling Net-a-Porter, "[P]eople were falling off roofs trying to get pictures." But after her divorce, which she called "a very accelerated time, spiritually and intellectually," the actor was able to focus on raising her daughter and finding inner peace, and her new name seemed to fit well with her new life.

While Lisa Bonet and Lenny Kravitz seemed like a super happy couple with their matching bohemian style and adorable baby girl, their relationship could not stand the test of time. The pair split in 1991 and finalized their divorce in 1993. While it is common for couples to part ways amicably, it was a bit weird that Kravitz continued to express his love for Bonet in interviews after their split. "I still love her very much," he told The New York Times in 1993. "More than she'll ever know."

While Bonet stayed true to her desire for privacy and kept mum about the marriage ending, Kravitz continued to speak out about how painful the experience was for him. In a 1995 interview, he confessed that his split from Bonet took a toll a serious emotional and physical toll on him. "For, like, six months, I only slept for two hours a day, from 4 a.m. to 6 a.m.," he revealed to Rolling Stone, explaining that during his waking hours he felt "like a zombie." His only outlet was his music, and he drew upon his hurt feelings while writing his 1991 album "Mama Said." "I was in a tremendous amount of pain when we broke up, tremendous," Kravitz said.

While Lisa Bonet and Lenny Kravitz appeared to be like-minded in many ways, including their laid-back style and their desire for artistic expression, it turned out that when it came to parenting they were on completely different pages. This became all the more evident when the pair split and were tasked with co-parenting their daughter, Zoë Kravitz. According to Zoë, Bonet was strict, making sure she adhered to a vegan diet and abstained from watching TV or using the internet. Occasionally, Zoë was allowed to rent movies, but otherwise, she was encouraged to use her imagination and explore her creativity.

Kravitz, on the other hand, was much more permissive, and when Zoë went to live with him in Miami when she was 11 years old, she was suddenly allowed all the TV and junk food she wanted. "It wasn't that my dad didn't care," Zoë explained to Esquire. "He just cared about different things." When Kravitz moved to New York City, he brought Zoë along, even though it coincided with his going away on tour. While Zoë had fun mostly unsupervised living in the city, she later regretted the move, which she felt had been hard on Bonet. "I think it was very hurtful that I moved away from her to be with my dad and my dad wasn't even there," she shared.

Over the years, the initial pain from their separation wore off, and Lisa Bonet and Lenny Kravitz found their relationship had moved up to a new level of closeness. Many couples stay friendly after calling it quits, but it seems Bonet and Kravitz remained so close that they became like family to one another. "After Lisa and I separated, we learned to find a new relationship," Kravitz shared with People. "We're like brother and sister."

Bonet and Kravitz's closeness was on full display in a 2022 Instagram pic the musician posted on his ex-wife's birthday. The black and white snapshot features Bonet flanked by Kravitz and their daughter, Zoë, both kissing her on the cheek. "Happy birthday mama," Kravitz captioned the sweet photo.

Kravitz further explained how he and Bonet's relationship had morphed over time, making it clear they still had a lot of love for one another despite all the years that had passed since they were officially a couple. "The love doesn't leave you, but it has to find a new way to funnel itself into a new life," he told People. "We consciously wanted to do that."

Given how devastated Lenny Kravitz was in the wake of his divorce from Lisa Bonet, it's a little weird that he and Bonet's second husband, "Aquaman" star Jason Momoa, became such close friends. Bonet and Momoa were together for 17 years, dating for quite some time before tying the knot in 2017. They share two children, a daughter, Lola Iolani Momoa, and a son, Nakoa-Wolf Manakauapo Namakaeha Momoa. Although Bonet and Momoa divorced in 2024, they have remained close, and Kravitz and Momoa seem to have become even closer.

In 2024, Kravitz appeared on the cover of People, and Momoa had nothing but praise for his pal. "Oh my God, he looks amazing," Momoa said. "I mean, he is the most beautiful man in the world. It's insane." His comments indicated that he and Kravitz still had quite the bromance, even though Momoa and Bonet had called it quits. And apparently, the whole blended family is full of love for one another, given that Kravitz is part of Bonet and Momoa's children's lives as well. "I'm very proud that their kids call me Uncle Lenny," Kravitz revealed. "We're all extremely close and share a lot of love."