The Jonas Brothers are acknowledging just how uncomfortable it was to be asked about their sex lives as young teenagers in the early days of their fame.
Kevin, 37, Joe, 35, and Nick, 32, appeared on the Thursday, July 24 episode of Penn Badgley’s “Podcrushed” podcast and reflected on what happened when they chose to wear “purity rings” as a promise to save themselves for marriage.
For the brothers, who signed a record deal when Kevin was 17, Joe was 15, and Nick was 12, many headlines were written about their purity ring choice during the height of their Disney Channel fame.
“Famously we were known for like purity rings, which were something in the community of a church where that was like what everybody else our age were doing around 10, 11 years old, like, we’re going to wait for the right person,” Joe said on the podcast.
He added, “One person on an interview when you’re 15, 16 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.’”
Nick also weighed in on how invasive it felt to be asked about his sex life at such a young age, and reflected that those types of questions were unlikely to be asked these days.
“I think it’s really a good thing,” Nick said, adding, “Where it would be like so outside of the realm of possibilities or something someone would do to ask at that time a 14-year-old about their sex life.”
The brothers, who no longer wear purity rings as adults, have previously been candid about the jewelry choice. In 2016, Nick admitted he was too young to know “what he was stepping into” when he made that choice.
“I’ve got a lot of perspective and real care about sex from those days, and specifically because people were watching us, because it was such a strange thing to a lot of people to wear these purity rings, especially as young men in a pop boy band,” he said via a Reddit Ask Me Anything forum in March 2016.
“But I think when I’m looking back on it, although it was challenging to live with that, to be seen and have that attached to our name was very tough,” he continued. “I think it was a good thing. It gave me a really good perspective, to whereas now my main thing is about being OK with who I am as a man and the choices I’ve made, and I think everyone should have a good and solid conversation with either their parents or loved ones about sex and about what they want to do with their life, because it shouldn’t be taboo. It’s a big part of who we are and what makes us human, and if we can’t address these things head on, then I think that it can really be challenging.”
