JoJo Is ‘Not Sober’ But Has ‘Practices in Place’ to Stay Aware: ‘Don’t Desire to Be Out of My Mind’ (Exclusive)

Joanna “JoJo” Levesque is constantly working to navigate life’s “ups and downs.”

“I don’t know who I’d be if it weren’t for my family and my friends who have become family, but I definitely had my ups and downs,” JoJo, 34, exclusively told Us Weekly on Thursday, January 23, while promoting her NGL EP. “I thought I would never be my parents, who I judged at a certain point pretty harshly for struggling with their own addictions.”

She added, “Then I found myself being like, ‘Oh, just because it doesn’t show up like this, I am acting like an addict in this way.’ I’m just doing things that are impacting my life and the lives of others, and I had to check myself many times.”

JoJo further explained, that after coming to the realization that addiction can manifest in various ways, she checks on herself “constantly” in order to be the healthiest version of herself.

“I think that there are tendencies that I have where I need to really be aware,” the singer told Us. “So, that’s why having different practices in place. I’m not sober, but [I go through] periods of [not drinking], like, I’m doing Dry January or I don’t drink while I’m on tour. I don’t like to overindulge in general, and I’m grateful for that. I’ve been on the other side of liking to be out of my mind. I don’t desire to be out of my mind anymore.”

She added, “I’m learning one day at a time.”

JoJo detailed her experiences with drinking in her 2024 memoir, Over the Influence. In the book, she revealed that her parents, who were addicts, met in Alcoholics Anonymous before their rocky relationship that ultimately ended in divorce. JoJo, meanwhile, revealed that she also struggled with alcohol abuse, in addition to what she said was an addiction to love, sex and validation.

“I was in a full-blown addiction to love and validation, sex and stimulation,” she wrote in her memoir, alleging that she once cheated on a past partner. “I was feeding my addiction and biding my time before telling my man that I was the worst person in the world. The sabotage switch flipped, and I responded to the athlete. I mean, at this point what was I if not a sucker for self-betrayal and overindulgence? Somehow, I convinced myself it didn’t matter.”

While speaking with Us, JoJo noted that she doesn’t “really have regrets” about getting so candid and vulnerable in Over the Influence.

“It is my story and, look, if I had written it a year from now or five years from now, would I tell different stories? Probably, [or] in a different way,” she said on Thursday. “But this is what the story was.”

JoJo has since put her past struggles behind her in order to be able to accept a positive, healthy relationship with a new partner.

“That’s what my song ‘Ready to Love’ is about. I was like, ‘I want to make space in my life for someone who’s ready to love and ready to be vulnerable and accountable and have fun and grow together and all those things,’” JoJo stated. “I do think that it has taken me a long time to know myself enough to say yes to the things that really feel like a yes and no to the things and be able to leave things that aren’t right for me and also show up, but be a safe space for somebody [and] be a safe space for myself first and foremost.”

She added, “I do think that it’s just a beautiful season in my life where I feel more present and ready for the things that are meant for me.”

“Ready for Love” is one of the songs on JoJo’s EP NGL, which dropped on Friday, January 24.

“I can’t believe it’s been four years since I’ve put out my other EP and it just means it’s about ownership and empowerment,” JoJo told Us. “This is my first independent release and this album was so about being single and moving to a new city and feeling strong and really feeling more comfortable and confident in my own skin than I ever had before.”

NGL is out now.

With reporting by Christina Garibaldi