The Jonas Brothers Are Finally Prioritizing Their Mental Health After All The Drama
The Jonas Brothers captured the hearts of screaming tweens all over the world with their good looks and catchy pop-rock tunes. Kevin, Joe, and Nick started the band when they were just 17, 15, and 12, respectively, and shot to stardom when Disney aired their music video for "Year 3000." After four successful albums, the Camp Rock movies, and their own Disney Channel series Jonas, they devastated fans by breaking up in 2013. Six years later they reunited, but everything leading up to "Sucker," might be what the Jonas Brothers want you to forget.
They Weren't Going To Be The "Jonas Brothers"
They may be known as the Jonas Brothers but that wasn't always going to be the case. The band originally called themselves J3 but changed it at the last minute before their very first concert.
"[We] hated the name. It felt like something a boy band would be called. I remember turning to my brothers before that show and saying, 'Do you want our name to be J3 for the rest of our lives?' When we got onstage, I was the one to announce to the crowd, 'Hey we're the Jonas Brothers.' Nice and simple," Joe told Vulture.
It Wasn't Supposed To Be The Three Of Them
Before they started the Jonas Brothers, it was originally Nick who was trying to start a music career. At the time, Joe and Kevin genuinely just wanted to help their little brother.
"So we wrote a song together in the living room called 'Please Be Mine,' which we thought would just be for Nick. But when our dad heard us, he said we should play it for David Massey, who was A&R-ing Nick's project at the time... when we went in and sang the song for him, he told us he wanted to sign us as a group," Joe recalled.
They Felt Enormous Pressure From Disney
For a majority of their career, they felt pressured to live up to Disney's expectations when it came to maintaining a certain image – especially after Vanessa Hudgens's photo scandal broke in 2007.
"We'd hear execs talking about it, and they would tell us that they were so proud of us for not making the same mistakes, which made us feel like we couldn't ever mess up. We didn't want to disappoint anyone – our parents, our fans, our employers – so we put incredible pressure on ourselves, the kind of pressure that no teenager should be under," Joe said.
Miley Cyrus And Demi Lovato Told Joe To Smoke
Even though working for Disney forced them to have a squeaky-clean image, it was during that time where they began experimenting with drugs and alcohol. Unsurprisingly, it was their fellow Disney stars that egged them on.
"The first time I smoked weed was with Demi and Miley. I must have been 17 or 18. They kept saying, 'Try it! Try it!' so I gave it a shot... I was caught drinking when I was 16 or 17, and I thought the world was going to collapse. But I was in another country, and it was legal there," Joe admitted.
Nick Made His Brothers ~Jealous~
Nick's own star was starting to shine a bit too bright for his brothers' comfort. Joe told Vulture, "Nick also had a louder voice than me and Kevin when it came to music and major decisions – he took a leadership role in the band, which got to us after a while."
He later confessed on Reddit about the break-up: "And maybe I was a little envious of Nick because I knew that he already had kind of a leg up and had plans to work on music already and he was creating and producing. So, I was probably mad at him, too."
It Was Nick Who Decided To End Things
Fans couldn't take it when the Jonas Brothers announced their break-up as a band. Things became increasingly difficult because they couldn't agree on the same things and eventually, the brothers got into a huge fight.
"The fight got loud. I was screaming. When Nick presented the idea of closing a chapter and moving on, I freaked out. I didn't know whether to pick up and leave or just punch something, because I was furious. I'd spent so long working with my brothers on this band, and in my mind, it felt like we were just giving up," Joe told Vulture.
Disagreements Were Tearing Their Family Apart
The break-up was so sour that at one point the brothers weren't on speaking terms. But in the end, it was what they needed to do since disagreements started to tear them apart as a family.
"The whole situation was breaking us up as a family, and we ultimately felt like we were holding each other back... once I started peeling back the layers, I understood. There were a lot of dysfunctional things going on... I didn't care about the money; I just wanted to figure out the right, healthy way for us to be good as a family," Joe said.
The Truth About The Purity Rings
One of the things that the Jonas Brothers were known for were their purity rings. They came from a religious home, so they had them even before they became famous. But soon, it became something the media wouldn't let go.
"There was a person in the church who at one point demanded that all the kids in the youth group put these purity rings on and make this commitment, so without a full understanding of what we were stepping into, we all made this commitment," Nick later said on Reddit. The rings came off once they learned to make their own choices.
They Weren't About It
It seemed that all anyone ever wanted to talk to the Jonas Brothers about was their purity rings. It even started affecting their fans, which is not something they wanted to happen.
"We couldn't escape it... we explained that we had made these promises to ourselves when we were younger. A few months later, it comes out that we're in some cult and that we're these little staged Mickey Mouse kids. People were coming up to us, saying, 'Thank you so much, I'm waiting because you guys are, too!' And we just thought, No! That's not what we're about," Joe said.
Jonas Wasn't What It Was Supposed To Be
The Jonas Brothers' popularity grew especially after Camp Rock, so it wasn't long before Disney decided to give the boys their own show. It was originally a spy sitcom titled J.O.N.A.S., which stood for "Junior Operatives Networking As Spies," but the premise was changed to mirror the plot of Hannah Montana.
They didn't like the writing on the show as it was mostly "weird slapstick humor that only a 10-year-old would laugh at." But they kept on, "because we thought Disney was our only real shot, and we were terrified that it could all be taken away," Joe once said.
Joe Has Dated Fans Before
Joe Jonas may be known for his famous exes but he has admitted to dating fans in the past. Whenever he did though, he always had to worry about the word getting out.
"[There] were times when I definitely took advantage of the opportunities I had. I remember I invited a fan to a movie, and we just made out the entire time... I must have been 16 or so. Afterward, I was kind of freaking out, because I thought she'd go public and the whole world would find out. Luckily, she never did," Joe recalled to Vulture.
Joe And Demi Could Only Stay Friends
One of Joe's most infamous relationships was the one he had with fellow Disney star Demi Lovato. The two have long been friends even before they dated, which only lasted a month. The relationship wasn't easy for either of them.
"I really got to know her and got to see the ins and outs of what she was struggling with, like drug abuse. I felt like I needed to take care of her, but at the same time I was living a lie, because I wasn't happy but felt like I had to stay in it for her, because she needed help," he admitted.
Nick Ruined Selena Gomez's Central Park Experience
Back when she was still starting out, Selena Gomez was one of the lucky Disney ladies to have dated Nick Jonas. The relationship obviously didn't last and it might be because of how Nick acted around her at the time. Nick recalled to BBC Radio 1 taking her to see Central Park for the first time.
"[We] were very private about our relationship and she was unhappy that her Central Park experience was ruined by the fact that I walked about 20 feet away from her even though [fans and paparazzi] were taking pictures of us and obviously we were together," he recalled.
Nick Dumped A Girl When Demi Told Him To
Before marrying Priyanka Chopra, Nick's most high-profile relationship was with former Miss Universe Olivia Culpo. Nick's third studio album, Last Year Was Complicated, was about their breakup, which might have happened at Demi Lovato's suggestion.
"He's a guy in his 20s and he's famous and he likes to have a lot of fun. Listen, even when he was in a relationship, I was like, 'Get out of that...' It's not because she's mean or anything, but he has such a great sense of humor and I want him to be with someone that makes him laugh. I can tell if something's up because he'll close off," she told Billboard.
Joe Had A Hard Time On His Own
Life for Joe wasn't easy after the band split up and when he tried to make it as a solo artist, things didn't work out. He told Vulture that it was one of the biggest disappointments in his career.
"[The] album was kind of Hall & Oates-y. Had a Freddie Mercury vibe... I handed the songs in, and Hollywood Records was like, 'This doesn't work.' They said the songs were too weird and sounded like demos. The record company wanted me to use a team of Disney hit-makers... But it felt so fake to me," he said.
Kevin Got Married And Entered The Tech Industry
After the Jonas Brothers, eldest brother Kevin took on other ventures outside of music. He married his wife Dani, with whom he shares two daughters. In 2012, they had an E! reality show called Married to Jonas, that lasted for two seasons.
Since then, he became a tech entrepreneur, co-founding an influencer marketing company called The Blu Market and using his knowledge of the entertainment business to help build the We Heart It platform. "I've always had a passion for the tech industry and I like to help build interesting products," Kevin told Forbes.
The Bonus Jonas Was Caught Red-Handed
Die-hard Jonas Brothers fans are well aware of the "Bonus Jonas." The trio's youngest brother Frankie has been an adorable addition when the band was at their height but as he grew older, he found himself crossing paths with the law.
In 2016, TMZ reported that Frankie Jonas was cited for possession of marijuana outside of a convenience store in Nashville, Tennessee. At the time, he was only 16 years old. As a kid, Frankie made appearances alongside his brothers in the Camp Rock series and provided the voice for the American dub of Ponyo.
Nick Was Diagnosed With Type 1 Diabetes
Just as the Jonas Brothers were becoming famous, Nick was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Thirteen years later in 2018, Nick shared that he was barely 100 pounds before he found out what was actually wrong with him. But the incurable condition obviously hasn't held him back from living a fruitful life.
"I have full control of my day to day life with this disease, and I'm so grateful to my family and loved ones who have helped me every step of the way. Never let anything hold you back from living your best life," Nick told his followers on Instagram.
They All Had To Go To Therapy
On splitting up the band, Nick told Tidal, "There were probably some family issues that needed to be sorted out. At some point, I needed to be able to look at it with a positive angle." He and Joe eventually sought therapy to help them through that rough time.
They even returned to therapy before officially deciding to bring the band back together. "We literally spent a year basically doing therapy, working through some things, and figuring out what this chapter would look like," Nick said told James Corden in 2019.
They Left The Church Behind
The Jonas Brothers grew up in a religious home and their father was the pastor of their local church. After coming onto the Disney scene and letting the world know about their purity rings, for a time they were known for their faith. But a scandal in their church forced them to leave it all behind.
"We eventually left our church, Assembly of God, when I was 14. A scandal had erupted involving stolen money, and it caused a big rift in the church. After that the concept of church really upset me for a long time. I mean, I believe in God... but I'm not religious in any way," Joe told Vulture.
