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The “Go Away (Get Out)” singer, whose real name is Joanna Levesque, has spoken candidly about watching her parents struggle with drugs and alcohol while she was growing up in her new memoir, About Affection.

As it has now been revealed, the 33-year-old musician recalls spending much of her childhood in church basements while her mother and father, mother Diana and late father Joel, attended Alcoholics Anonymous conferences. While she thought seeing their struggles would be enough to stop her from playing similar patterns, she later found herself abusing alcohol and substances during a difficult time in her life.

“For a while, I used to be such a hypocrite and I thought I would never be like my parents. I used to be like, ‘No, because I’m the strongest. I’m wicked strong,’” JoJo instructed People. “However, then I used to be like, ‘Oh, what I’m doing is not better or worse. I’m my parents’ child, and I should be awake to what’s going on inside of me.’”

JoJo’s mother and father met in AA—Diana was an alcoholic, and Joel was a substance abuser, along with drugs. They divorced when she was 5, and she went to live with her mother, who helped foster her career as a baby star, starting out young with auditions for local TV shows before her powerful vocals were found on the national stage, with JoJo performing in Stardom Vacation Spot, Rosie O’Donnell’s Gift and America’s Most Talented Kidsbetween others.

While her mother was skeptical about the entertainment industry, JoJo was determined to become a star and was willing to do whatever it took to make that dream a reality and keep her and her family out of poverty.

“I feel like, somehow, I felt like things weren’t going to be okay, and things weren’t okay,” says JoJo, who moved around with her mom a lot and sometimes stayed with friends or family. “I used to think, ‘This is great because I’m going to be famous.’”

After refusing a series of gifts, Diana allowed JoJo to sign with Blackground Data at age 12 — but demanded that she take care of her own daughter. A few months later, JoJo had a chart-topping single with 2004’s “Go Away (Get Out),” become a celebrity and began touring the world. “I used to be like, ‘Oh, well, it took my whole life, so it’s about time,'” she recalled.

The new lifestyle, however, proved difficult for both JoJo and her mother.

“She was a single mom, she was a singer, she did whatever she wanted to make money cleaning houses, and then she became the overseer of this young phenomenon,” JoJo said. “It’s so bizarre and creepy.”

As her daughter’s level of fame continued to rise, Diana began hearing rumors about shady ventures in the music industry and became paranoid — it was then that she had a relapse.

Upon ingesting it once again, Diana suffered mental health issues and even considered suicide, with JoJo, as a teenager, helping her give up.

“I’m just so grateful that she’s here,” she told the outlet. Choosing to include dark moments like these in her memoir was neither for JoJo nor her mother, but before she began writing the book, JoJo said she told Diana she would write about “some of the hardest times of my life” and promised to paint her as “a whole human being” within its pages.

Once her mom read a fancy draft, JoJo said, “She was happy with me, and that meant a lot to me.”

The mother-daughter duo remain close to this day and even lived together during the COVID pandemic,

JoJo featured her on the song “Proud” from her 2020 album, Good to knowand Diana attended her daughter’s opening night as Satine in Moulin Rouge! The Musical on Broadway last year.

“I love her for so many things — her sobriety, her dedication to wellness, and her ability to take responsibility. I really like that about her,” JoJo said. “She’s such a lovely person.”

While JoJo had an on-again, off-again relationship with her father, they bonded over music, however, as he also relapsed into his habit, their relationship weakened. She tried to help him and even arranged for him to live and access professionals who would help him get back on his feet, but he was unable to commit.

“I feel like my dad was trapped in his physicality. He had so many struggles in his thoughts,” she says of Joel, who died in November 2015. “In his death, I had to learn that some people, as much as we want them around, that’s usually the end of their journey.”

After years of treatment, she realized, “I couldn’t be responsible for my parents’ lives or happiness — because I hadn’t really felt responsible for a long time.”

As for her personal experience with drugs and alcohol, it happened when she was a teenager, during a night on tour. She was later caught by Diana and stayed away from consumption for years. As she approached adulthood, her record label, Blackground, lost its distribution deal and was unable to properly release music, but still had the rights to her industrial recordings under her contract.

Unhappy with many aspects of her life, she began to consume more frequently and use medications such as Adderall and Xanax in both private and professional settings. At several events, she even drove a car while drunk and passed out.

Coming out of the limbo of drug labels in 2014, as well as later seeking treatment and focusing on her physical health, helped JoJo discover a healthier relationship with alcohol and substances, but she still felt unresolved by the end of her book writing process in 2023.

It was then that JoJo came to terms with several repeated habit patterns in her life and decided to attend an AA meeting with a friend.

“You can actually feel a lot less alone in an AA meeting when people are sharing, and AA stands for Alcoholics Anonymous, but people go for a lot of different issues. People who find themselves in love addicts or sex addicts or food addicts, or whatever it is, they’re going to get what they want,” JoJo, who is famously not sober now, said. “I was just feeling like I wanted a neighborhood, residential feel. I felt distant from myself, and that’s been a touchstone for me since I was younger.”

Opening up about her personal struggles in About Affection It wasn’t simple, but when it’s able to help any reader deal with their own trauma, for her, it’s worth it.

“I simply hope that people will be inspired to let go of any shame they feel about various things in their lives,” she added, “and to live unapologetically, freely and clearly, not under the influence of things that are fundamentally not true for them.”

When you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, get assistance. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline (1-800-662-4357) provides free, confidential help 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for people in distress.