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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Brown chapter.

Instagram model Sumner Stroh came clean about her alleged relationship with Maroon 5 singer Adam Levine. In a TikTok video that garnered over 25.1 million views, Stroh reveals she had an affair “with a man who was married to a Victoria’s Secret model” and claims they saw each other for about a year. 

Stroh goes on to say that she had been “young and naive” at the time of the affair. “I feel exploited,” the Instagram model shared, “I wasn’t in the scene like I am now, so I was definitely very easily manipulated.” She decided to share her side of the story on September 19th, coerced by a friend who would sell the screenshots to TMZ. Though she wanted to keep matters private, Stroh beat them to it in a 1:32 minute video, plastered with screenshots from her DMs with Levine. 

My thoughts, and those from the TikTok commenters, immediately went to his wife, Behati Prinsloo, who has walked in ten Victoria’s Secret Fashion Shows. Levine, a strong supporter of her career, was seen in the audience at her 2013 show, and the couple officially tied the knot in 2014. A mere four days before the infamous TikTok, Behati showcased her baby bump on an Instagram post, the third child of the Levine family.

But, the biggest shocker came wrapped in another DM to Stroh. The Sugar singer asked, “I’m having another baby and if it’s [a] boy, I really wanna name it Sumner. You ok with that? DEAD serious.” Levine later adds an emoji to pack a punch. Levine later admitted to the flirtatious comments directed at Stroh through an Instagram story but denied having an affair with the model. “I crossed the line during a regrettable period in my life,” he stated. He is now trying to make amends with his family. 

It will be difficult to remedy this situation, as Stroh’s allegations have opened up the door for other women with whom Levine has had inappropriate relations to share their experiences. Influencers Tana Mongeau and Alissa Violet received DM requests from the pop singer, though they never responded to him. Levine’s yoga instructor, Alanna Zabe, also admits that she got flirty messages from Levine from 2007 through 2010. Though this was before he had met Prinsloo, Zabe’s partner saw the messages, and their story had a violent ending. 

My take on it: Adam Levine is to blame. He is married to a Victoria’s Secret Angel, who is expecting their third child. That wedding band on his finger is still there, especially when he was DMing other influencers on the app. Sumner Stroh is also to blame. A quick Google search shows that Levine is closing in on his tenth anniversary with his wife. That should have been a red flag for Stroh to keep her distance from the beginning. 

Did the Maroon 5 singer make a beautiful mistake, or will this all bring back memories for the singer? 

🎙️ Related: “Red Pill Blues” Review of Maroon 5’s 6th Album
Samantha is a junior from New York City studying Neurobiology. Apart from her work in lab, she enjoys reading, petting the neighborhood dogs, and drinking matcha lattes.