Adam Levine's Past Comments About Cheating and Monogamy Resurface, Raise Eyebrows

09/22/2022 03:44 pm EDT

Adam Levine's 2009 thoughts on monogamy and cheating are resurfacing more than a decade later as the Maroon 5 frontman is the subject of a cheating scandal. At age 29, the now-43-year-old "She Will Be Loved" singer opened up to Cosmopolitan about his views on relationships and being with one partner.

"Instinctively, monogamy is not in our genetic makeup," Levine said of men at the time. "People cheat. I have cheated. And you know what? There is nothing worse than the feeling of doing it." Levine also described himself in the interview as "emotionally confused," noting that his "ability to detach" himself is both his best and "worst feature." He explained, "I let myself off the hook to the point where it's a bad thing. People are hard on themselves. I'm not."

Three years later, Levine met wife Behati Prinsloo, and the two tied the knot in 2014. The couple has gone on two welcomed two daughters, Dusty, 6, and Gio, 4, and are currently expecting their third child. Amid the Victoria's Secret model's pregnancy, Instagram model Sumner Stroh came forward this week to accuse Levine of having an affair with her for "about a year," sharing screenshots on TikTok of alleged direct messages between herself and Levine that seem to substantiate her claim.

"Essentially, I was having an affair with a man who's married to a Victoria's Secret model," Stroh explained in the TikTok. "At the time, you know, I was young. I was naïve and, quite frankly, I feel exploited." Levine was quick to respond to Stroh's accusations, writing in a statement posted on his Instagram Story that he had not had an affair but "crossed the line" in regards to the messages he sent. 

"A lot is being said about me right now and I want to clear the air," he wrote. "I used poor judgment in speaking with anyone other than my wife in ANY kind of flirtatious manner. I did not have an affair, nevertheless, I crossed the line during a regrettable period in my life." In "certain instances it became inappropriate," he added. "I have addressed that and taken proactive steps to remedy this with my family."

"My wife and my family is all I care about in this world. To be this naive and stupid enough to risk the only thing that truly matters to me was my greatest mistake I could ever make. I will never make it again. I take full responsibility. We will get through it and we will get through it together," he concluded. Since then, multiple other women have come forward to accuse Levine of sending flirtatious or inappropriate messages to them.

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