Adam Levine , lead singer of the pop group Maroon 5, was involved in two controversies this week after model Sumner Stroh went to social media to declare that the two had an affair during 2021.
The musician, who will have his third child with his wife Behati Prinsloo , whom he married in 2014 and with whom he has two daughters ( Dusty Rose , 5, and Gio Grace , 4), contacted Stroh after the end of their relationship to ask for permission to use Sumner as the name of his future son.
The story was revealed by Stroh in a video in which she discloses having had a relationship with the musician last year, but ended it early. After Stroh's revelation, several women came forward saying they had gone through similar situations with the singer.
One of these images (via Annie Took ) supposedly shows the singer's official Instagram account chatting via direct message with a model named Alyson Rosef, who allegedly said: "I'm weird too and I only listen to metal."
Adam then replied, "That's something no other hot girl besides you has ever said." The statement, besides containing sexist language, offended female metal fans who were outraged by the comment.
Adam Levine and Sumner Stroh
On her TikTok account , Stroh posted a video showing screenshots where Levine appears to be hitting on her several times and saying: “Okay, serious question. I’m having another baby and, if it’s a boy, I really want to name him Sumner. Are you okay with that? It’s VERY SERIOUS!”
Some time later, Adam used his official Instagram account to address the issue. He admitted his mistake and said he would "overcome it with his family." He further stated: "I used poor judgment in speaking to anyone other than my wife in ANY way that had flirting as its intent. I did not have an affair, yet I crossed the line during an unfortunate period of my life. At times, this became inappropriate; I dealt with it and took proactive steps to heal this with my family."
“My wife and my family are all that matter to me in this world. To be so naive and stupid as to risk the only thing that truly matters to me was the biggest mistake I could have made. And I will never make it again. I take full responsibility.”
Stroh later made a new statement saying that Adam manipulated her: “I didn’t want people to look and say, like, ‘Look, she’s playing the victim.’ In reality, it has the opposite effect. Something I now realize I didn’t address enough was the fact that one of my friends tried to sell [the information], which I realized yesterday when [the newspaper] contacted me for comment. I was completely frantic. (…) The most important thing I definitely covered up was that I had the impression that their marriage was over. I believed they were keeping up appearances to avoid negative media because, as I said, I was new to Los Angeles. I just assumed that with celebrities of that caliber, it was simply that way.”
“And that’s why I feel exploited, because he knew I believed everything he said—because of my vulnerable position as a newcomer to LA. Also, he was messaging me directly from his official Instagram account. I had no reason to doubt him. But now I realize it was a manipulation tactic of his—hiding it in plain sight. As soon as I realized that wasn’t the case, I distanced myself from him. Looking back, I wish I had questioned things more. I wish I hadn’t been so naive. But being naive isn’t an excuse for what I did and the role I played in all of this… Again, I’m in no way trying to gain your sympathy, and I know I’m not the victim in this story.”
