JoJo Candidly Admits She’s ‘Been on Both Sides of the Coin’ with Infidelity: ‘I’ve Seen the…see more

JoJo Candidly Admits She’s ‘Been on Both Sides of the Coin’ with Infidelity: ‘I’ve Seen the Cost’ (Exclusive)
Joanna “JoJo” Levesque tells PEOPLE about writing through various romantic relationships for her new memoir, ‘Over the Influence’

Joanna “JoJo” Levesque knows how it feels to get her heart broken. She also knows how it feels to break someone else’s heart.

In her new memoir, Over the Influence, out now, the 33-year-old singer and author writes candidly about various romantic relationships in her life, some of which have ended due to infidelity — with Levesque having admittedly been on “both sides of the coin,” she tells PEOPLE exclusively.

“I feel so sad that I have hurt people, even though in writing [the memoir], I was like, ‘Wow, I see how the pain I was in caused me to inflict pain into my relationships,'” says Levesque, who opens up about personal and professional hardships in the book, from child stardom to addiction and more.

The vocalist adds, “But it’s a part of my story, and I think that it feels empowering to talk about all of it — the good, the bad, the gross, the shameful, the embarrassing. It feels better to do that than to pretend.”

Levesque says she was first cheated on by a teenage boyfriend. She’s since experienced more infidelity, and acknowledges she has been unfaithful in multiple relationships.

At times when it’s happened to her in the past, she’s found herself “running for the hills,” she says, ready to simply deem someone “a cheater” and be done with it. “But obviously I want to be seen in a different light,” she admits, adding that it takes work to prove yourself as a trustworthy partner.

“You can’t just say you want to change. You have to change so much about the way you do things and the situations you put yourself in,” says Levesque, who abstained from sex while recording 2020’s Good to Know album after cheating on an ex-boyfriend.

“I can confidently say I’m no longer somebody who engages in those behaviors, and I never will, because I’ve seen the cost,” she adds. “I never want to hurt someone I love ever again.”

In Over the Influence, the “Too Little Too Late” musician also writes about bonding with an ex-fiancé over both having been unfaithful in past relationships, feeling ashamed and wanting to move forward with honesty.

While planning the prospective wedding, Levesque writes, she discovered her then-fiancé (who is not named in the book) was involved with another woman. Hoping to find a path forward, Levesque says her ex tried to prove his commitment to her by going to couples counseling, but she ultimately called off the engagement.