JoJo is opening up about some difficult things in her past. In a new interview, the singer (whose full name is Joanna Levesque) spoke about growing up with parents who struggled with addiction. She admitted that she originally felt “self-righteous” about knowing that would never happen to her, but then, after she realized she had her own patterns of addiction into adulthood, she discovered a whole new perspective on herself and her childhood.
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JoJo is opening up about the more difficult parts of her life in her new memoir.
As the “Too Little, Too Late” singer told People, her new book, Over the Influence (which is out now), details what it was like watching both of her parents struggle with substance abuse as a child. She told the magazine that her parents, Diana and Joel, met at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, and while her mom’s vice was alcohol, her dad was addicted to pills.
When JoJo was 5 years old, Diana and Joel got divorced and she moved in with her mom full time, who helped her pursue her dream of breaking into the entertainment industry at a young age.
As JoJo became more famous, her mom began drinking again.
As a single mom who was navigating life as her daughter’s manager, Diana became paranoid about the music industry and turned to alcohol to cope. At one point, JoJo had to talk her out of contemplating suicide, and now, she told People that she’s “just so grateful” her mom is still here. Today, Diana is sober.
Meanwhile, Joel was in and out of JoJo’s life as he continued to struggle with addiction and maintaining a stable place to live, and despite the help that JoJo offered him, he wasn’t able to stick with it. He died in 2015.
JoJo thinks of her dad often since his passing.
She said that he would “love” being in the audience to see her perform if he was still alive.
“I think my dad was trapped in his body. He had so many struggles in his mind,” she shared with the magazine. “In his passing, I had to learn that some people, as much as we want them around, sometimes that’s the completion of their journey.”
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JoJo once believed she'd never follow in her parents' footsteps.
“For a while, I was super self-righteous and thought I’d never be like my parents. I was like, ‘No, because I’m the strongest. I’m wicked strong.’ But then I was like, ‘Oh, what I’m doing is no better or worse,” she told People. “I’m my parents’ child, and I need to be awake to what’s happening within myself.”
As she entered adulthood and began the battle to own her own music, JoJo found herself drinking, taking Xanax and Adderall, and even admitted to driving while drunk more than once.
Today, things are much better for JoJo.
While writing her book, she discovered the signs of addiction in her life and decided to start going to AA meetings. Though she said she is not sober today, she was able to find a healthier balance when it came to alcohol and substances, and going to the meetings helped her “feel less alone.”
“I was just feeling like I needed a sense of community and home. I felt far away from myself, and that has been a touchstone for me since I was young,” she said.
