Maroon 5 singer Adam Levine found himself in the crosshairs in September 2022, after Sumner Stroh posted on TikTok that she had an alleged affair with the married musician. Fans had a field day on social media, after Stroh posted supposed screenshots of a conversation between the two in which he apparently asked if she’d be OK with him and his wife, Behati Prinsloo, naming their impending third child “Sumner.” The bizarre story took a scandalous turn when more women started to come forward with accusations against the singer.
Despite the backlash, the Maroon 5 singer and his wife seem to have come out on the other side of the drama. Let’s check out the timeline of everything that went down with his 2022 sexting scandal.
September 19, 2022: Sumner Stroh Posts TikTok Alleging She Had An Affair With Adam Levine
The Instagram model sent social media ablaze on September 19, 2022, with a TikTok in which she said she’d had a relationship with Levine for about a year. She said they hadn’t spoken in months, when — according to an apparent screenshot from June 1 — he DM’d her to ask about using her name for his forthcoming baby. You can see her full post below:
@sumnerstroh ♬ original sound - Sumner Stroh
Stroh went on to say in a second TikTok video that she was under the impression that the musician and his wife's marriage was over, and when she realized that wasn't the case, she ended things with him.
September 20, 2022: Three Other Women Make Accusations Against The Maroon 5 Frontman
The day after her social media posts, other women began to come forward with their own stories. Comedian Maryka posted screenshots on her Instagram Stories of supposed DMs from the “She Will Be Loved” singer, with comments allegedly including (per The Sun):
- Holy f***ing f***. That body of yours is absurd.
- I may need to see the booty.
- Watching your a** jiggle on that table will permanently scar me.
- I'd do anything for it. I'd buy it a steak dinner and whisper sweet nothings into it. I wanna tattoo my a** now.
A woman named Alyson Rose also reportedly posted screenshots in two TikTok videos of supposed conversations with the musician. She has since deleted the posts, but The Sun reports that Levine allegedly called Rose a “hot chick” as well as other flirty exchanges. Rose also said there were texts that were more inappropriate that she “didn’t feel comfortable posting.”
Yoga instructor Alanna Zabel also spoke out on her Instagram Stories (per The Sun), recalling an incident from 2010, when the former coach of The Voice allegedly sent her a text that read, “I want to spend the day with you naked.” Zabel said her then-boyfriend saw the text and flew into a jealous rage, breaking her wrist. But, when she told the "Moves Like Jagger" singer what happened, the yoga teacher said he ignored it and “iced me out.”
September 20, 2022: Adam Levine Releases Statement Denying Affair But Admitting To ‘Poor Judgment’
On the same day that the additional accusations came out, The Maroon 5 singer broke his silence, releasing a statement via Instagram that read:
A lot is being said about me right now and I want to clear the air. 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; 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 the 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.
While he copped to “inappropriate” behavior, he denied the affair allegations, which prompted a response from Stroh, his original accuser. Within hours of Levine’s statement, the model said in her Stories:
Someone get this man a dictionary.
While she didn’t mention the singer by name in this post, it is believed to be in direct response to Levine’s denial of having an affair.
September 20, 2022: Adam Levine And Wife Spotted Together, Despite Her Reportedly Being ‘Very Upset’ Over Allegations
Behati Prinsloo, who was pregnant at the time with the couple's third child, married the pop rock star in 2014. On the same day that he released his statement, the couple was photographed together, both smiling as DailyMail.com reports they were picking up their daughters from school.
Though they showed a united front, a source said the Victoria’s Secret model was “very upset,” despite her intentions of “sticking it out.” The source said:
He admitted that he went behind her back and has been inappropriate. He admitted that he acted like an idiot. She is still very upset though.
Prinsloo remained mum on social media after the accusations came to light, with no statement directly from her.
September 21, 2022: Auburn University Student Becomes Fifth Woman To Accuse The Singer Of Flirty Texts
Ashley Russell, a 21-year-old student at Auburn University, became the fifth woman to come forward with reports of flirty texts from the “Misery” singer. She said she started exchanging messages with him in March, in which they talked a lot about working out. She told DailyMail.com:
[He would message] almost everyday at night around 10 p.m. my time. I would check every time I posted a story, which was every day, and it was always viewed by him. He would mainly like booty stories and would always reply with something to do with leg or booty day at the gym.
Russell said he stopped texting her after she warned him that he was “going to get caught DMing girls like me.”
September 21, 2022: Adam Levine And Behati Prinsloo Photographed Out Shopping, Laughing Together
For a second day in a row, the singer and his wife were pictured out and about, as Page Six reports the couple were laughing and holding onto each other as they ran errands.
September 22, 2022: Yoga Instructor Alanna Zabel Details Friendship With Adam Levine And Reason For Speaking Out
The yoga teacher spoke with DailyMail.com to clarify her reasons for coming forward with accusations against the star 12 years after the supposed incident occurred. She said they’d worked together since 2007 and become good friends. She was even apparently supposed to be going on tour with Maroon 5 as their yoga instructor, but the singer allegedly pulled the plug on those plans after the incident with her boyfriend. As for why she spoke out when she did, Zabel said:
When I found out that Adam had asked this influencer if he could name his baby after her, I saw him in a completely different light and decided it was finally time to share this. If I wanted my fifteen minutes of fame, I would have gone public with this a very long time ago.
She said in her case, her coming forward wasn’t about an affair or text, but rather the fact that he treated her like “used trash.”
September 27, 2022: Adam Levine And Behati Prinsloo Board Private Plane Together
With no official word out of the camp for the former The Voice coach since his September 20 statement, ET obtained photos of he and his wife boarding a private jet at a Santa Barbara airport on September 27. It’s unknown where the couple was off to, but it appeared they were still sticking together as a united front.
October 1, 2022: Behati Prinsloo Attends Las Vegas Fundraiser With Her Husband
Behati Prinsloo continued to stand by her man at the fundraising gala The Event in Las Vegas on October 1 with her husband, as Maroon 5 was serving as the headliner of the event to benefit The Shaquille O’Neal Foundation. Prinsloo sat on the left side of the stage, People reported and while Adam Levine made no mention of the scandal, he reportedly walked toward her and appeared to look at her when he sang the words, “All I need,” during the band’s hit “Sunday Morning.”
October 14, 2022: Behati Prinsloo Breaks Social Media Silence
Behati Prinsloo returned to social media on October 14 with a seemingly pointed photo amid the ongoing media speculation about her marriage. The model shared to Instagram Stories a throwback photo from her Victoria’s Secret runway days, in which she’s flipping off the photographer. With no caption to her post, we can only guess who that middle finger is for.
January 2023: Adam Levine And Behati Prinsloo Welcome Their Third Child
The couple seems to have weathered the storm, and in January 2023 Behati Prinsloo gave birth to the couple's third child. The baby's name and gender have been kept private, and given the public's intense reaction to the photo she posted with her husband in February -- her first post with him since the scandal -- it's pretty easy to see why.
Adam Levine and Behati Prinsloo seem to be going strong as a family of five, despite the events of 2022.
