Joe Jonas has opened up about the intense scrutiny he faced regarding his personal life from a young age.
As a member of the Jonas Brothers, alongside his brothers Nick and Kevin, Joe was thrust into the limelight not only for their music but also for their decision to wear purity rings as a symbol of chastity.
The rings led to a slew of questions about the brothers’ religious beliefs and their intimate lives.
In a recent conversation on Penn Badgley’s podcast, Podcrushed, Joe discussed this period alongside his brothers.
Reflecting on that time, Joe, who finalized his divorce from actress Sophie Turner last year, said: “Famously, we were known for like purity rings, which were something in the community of the church where that was like what everybody else in our age were doing around 10, 11 years old, like ‘we’re going to wait for the right person’.”
Joe recalled: “One person on an interview when you’re 15, 16 [years old] would ask you about it, and you’re like, ‘I don’t want to talk about this’ and then they’re like, ‘Well, I’m going to write that you guys are in a cult’.”
Penn Badgley, who was also on the podcast, shared his own experience, noting that he was slightly older than Joe when he first faced similar questions.
“I was like 17, and it was a big interview at this time, and I remember being asked about dating advice,” the Netflix actor mentioned.
“I remember feeling so much pressure to sound coherent and mature and adult and sexy, and it’s like, ‘I don’t have a single thing to say or add here’.”
Although Joe was more reserved about his personal life during his teenage years, he has since become more candid and even disclosed which Hollywood star led him to discard his purity ring.
During a Reddit ‘Ask Me Anything’ thread, Joe revealed: “I dated a girl named Ashley, so just Google it to figure out which Ashley that is,” as reported by PEOPLE.
He was referring to actress Ashley Greene from the Twilight series.
Joe not only mentioned who he was with but also shared the details of that night.
“It’s quite the great story because I didn’t have any condoms, so I went to our drummer, Jack’s room, who was my roommate at the time and I demolished his room looking for them,” Joe recounted.
“Found them underneath his underwear drawer. When he came home, he thought somebody broke into his room because his whole room was demolished because I was in dire need.”