Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine was accused last week of engaging in an extramarital affair and sending inappropriate messages to multiple other women. This was probably not a surprise to anyone who watched the Super Bowl LIII halftime show; Levine’s taste in tattoos tells you pretty much everything you need to know. Even being a Victoria’s Secret model, like his wife Behati Prinsloo, cannot save you from the depravity of a man who got “California” permanently inked across his torso.
The first allegation against Levine came from Sumner Stroh, an Instagram model (yes, that’s a real profession now). Stroh shared screenshots of messages in which Levine drools over how “hot” she is and cops to meeting her in person. She claims that she dated Levine for a year, although Levine denies that the relationship was ever physical. He said in a statement that he “used poor judgment in speaking with anyone other than my wife in ANY kind of flirtatious manner.”
Levine certainly used “poor judgment” when he wrote to Stroh, “Holy fuck. Holy fucking fuck. That body of yours is absurd.” The bizarre DM immediately became a meme. More importantly, though, Levine treated his wife terribly and ought to be totally condemned for his behavior. It’s disgusting. Obviously. No one should defend him or deny his responsibility for harming his marriage.
But what’s that old word we would use to describe women like Stroh? Oh yeah…homewrecker.
Some might cringe at the use of that term. Modern feminists have denounced it as sexist, saying it unfairly places blame on the “other woman” rather than the man who has chosen to step out on his partner. The mistress might even be considered a victim herself. That seems to be the way Stroh wanted us to see her situation.
“At the time, I was young, I was naive and, quite frankly, I feel exploited…I mean, my morals were unknowingly compromised. I was completely manipulated,” Stroh said in her initial viral video.
Give me a break. Everyone knows that sneaking around with married men is wrong. If you choose to disrespect someone’s monogamous relationship and engage in actions that could break up a family, particularly when there are kids involved, you deserve to be called out.
Outspoken feminist and model Emily Ratajkowski, who recently ended her own marriage after her husband cheated, nonetheless took Stroh’s side.
“I don’t understand why we continue to blame women for men’s mistakes,” Ratajkowski said. “The whole other woman, they’re to blame, that’s bad. And it’s literally designed to keep women apart.”
Ratajkowski’s belittling take suggests that women don’t have agency over their own actions; they are just passive recipients of men’s choices. Wouldn’t it be more empowering to encourage women to not act in a way that could hurt others? It’s true that men who want to cheat will eventually find a willing partner, but why would you want that person to be you? Not only should women be respectful of our fellow women’s relationships, we should have enough respect for ourselves that we don’t accept being a two-timing man’s side piece.
Stroh claims that Levine told her his marriage was “over.” But her social media posts during the alleged affair suggest she knew exactly what she was doing. In one TikTok video, she kicks her feet to the Maroon 5 song “Beautiful Mistakes” alongside the caption, “I look at my life and just laugh sometimes.” Mhm, so exploited.
Even if Levine had lied about his relationship status, he and Prinsloo were still legally married and there was plenty of evidence that they were still together. In August 2021, the pair shot a cover for Architectural Digest. Earlier that year, Levine posted an Instagram of the family of four holding hands. In late 2021, Levine and Prinsloo launched a tequila brand together. How “naive” would you have to be to ignore all of those red flags?
Stroh eventually realized that no one was buying her victimhood status and posted a new TikTok apologizing to Prinsloo.
“I fully realize I’m not the victim in this. I’m not the one who’s really getting hurt here. It’s Behati and her children, and for that, I’m so, so sorry,” Stroh said.
If Stroh were truly remorseful, she wouldn’t have waited until a friend threatened to expose the affair to cop to her poor choices. Not to mention that she chose to reveal the affair in a way that blindsided and publicly humiliated Prinsloo and her children. Sorry, but Stroh will be receiving zero of my sympathy.
