JoJo thought she was 'too strong' to struggle with addiction

JoJo always assumed she was too "strong" to struggle with addiction. The 33-year-old pop star abused alcohol and substances as a young adult, after her parents - her mom Diana and her late father Joel - both struggled with addiction for many years. Speaking to PEOPLE, JoJo explained: "For a while, I was super self-righteous and thought I'd never be like my parents.

I was like, 'No, because I'm the strongest. I'm wicked strong.' "But then I was like, 'Oh, what I'm doing is no better or worse.



I'm my parents' child, and I need to be awake to what's happening within myself.'" JoJo - whose real name is Joanna Levesque - now has a huge amount of admiration for her mom, describing her as a "beautiful person". The 'Leave (Get Out)' hitmaker said: "I admire her for many things - her sobriety, her commitment to health and her ability to take accountability.

I love that about her so much. She's such a beautiful person." JoJo frequently tried to help her dad amid his addiction struggles.

However, the singer explained that he was "trapped in his body". She reflected: "I think my dad was trapped in his body. He had so many struggles in his mind.

"In his passing, I had to learn that some people, as much as we want them around, sometimes that's the completion of their journey." JoJo has developed a philosophical attitude towards her parents' addiction struggles in recent years, after putting herself through therapy. The singer - who released her self-titled debut album back in 2004 - explained: "I could not be responsible for the life or happiness of either of my parents - because I did feel responsible for a long time.

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