TikTok Sumner Stroh.
Sumner Stroh is an Instagram model and influencer who accused Adam Levine of cheating on his wife with her in a viral TikTok video. The 23-year-old is a Texas native and University of Texas alum.
Stroh posted a video on TiKTok on September 19, 2022, saying she was the former “The Voice” coach and Maroon 5 singer’s mistress and revealed texts she says he sent her asking about naming his unborn child Sumner. Levine has been married to Victoria’s Secret model Behati Prinsloo since 2014 and they have two young children together and a third on the way.
Levine, 43, has denied having an affair. Stroh said she posted the video because a friend she thought she trusted was trying to sell screenshots of her messages with Levine to a tabloid. Stroh did not reveal a lot of details about the relationship she says she had with Levine, other than that they were “seeing each other” for about a year. She didn’t give exact dates.
Levine responded to the video in an Instagram story on September 20, writing, “A lot is being said about me right now and I want to clear the air. I used poor judgment in speaking with anyone other than my wife in ANY kind of flirtatious manner. I did not have an affair, nevertheless, I crossed the line during a regrettable period in my life. In certain instances it became inappropriate; I have addressed that and taken proactive steps to remedy this with my family.”
He added, “My wife and family is all I care about in this world. To be this naive and stupid enough to risk the only thing that truly matters to me was the greatest mistake I could ever make. I will never make it again. I take full responsibility. We will get through it. And we will get through it together.
Here’s what you need to know about Sumner Stroh:
1. Sumner Stroh Said She Was Under the Impression Adam Levine’s Marriage Was Over
@sumnerstroh embarrassed I was involved w a man with this utter lack of remorse and respect. #greenscreen ♬ original sound – Sumner Stroh
Sumner Stroh’s TikTok video spread quickly on TikTok and elsewhere on social media. It had more than two million views in just about three hours. Adam Levine’s name began trending on Twitter as people reacted to the video and fans flooded his Instagram with negative comments.
In her video, Stroh said, “At the time, you know, I was young, I was naive, and, I mean, quite frankly I feel exploited. I wasn’t in the scene like I am now. So I was definitely very easily manipulated. … My morals were unknowingly compromised.” Stroh said in replies to TikTok comments that she “tried” to reach out to Prinsloo. She said she had felt “sick about” the situation before coming forward. She also replied to a commenter who wrote “no one looks good in this story,” with “I’m aware.”
Stroh wrote in an Instagram story, amid photos from a trip to Costa Rica with her models she is currently on, “Aware people are going to try to fill in the gaps with many false assumptions. I don’t feel like I’m doing any favors considering the manner this had to go about. … It’s a lot to digest but hopefully, at the very least, the truth being out can do some good.”
Stroh posted a second video on September 19 responding to comments on her first video. She said, “Hindsight is 2020. I initially wanted to go in and talk about how remorseful I feel and how embarassed and disgusted I am with myself, but I didn’t want people to look at it and think, like, ‘Oh she’s playing the victim. But in reality it had the opposite effect.”
She said, “The most important part that I definitely did gloss over was the fact that I was under the impression that their marriage was over. I believe that they were keeping it quiet to avoid the negative press, because as I said, I was new to LA. So I just assumed with celebrities of that caliber, that’s just how it was. And that’s why I feel exploited. Because he knew I believed everything he said because of my vulnerable position of being new to LA. Also, he was DMing me straight from his verified Instagram account, so I didn’t have any reason to question it. But I now realize that was likely a manipulation tactic of his. Just hiding in plain sight.”
Stroh said, “As soon as I had realized that was not the case, I had cut things off with him. In retrospect, I wish I had questioned things more, I wish I wasn’t so naive. But, you know, being naive is not an excuse for what I did in the role I played in this. Again, in no way was I trying to gain sympathy and I fully realize I am not the victim in this. I’m not the one who is really getting hurt here. It is Behati and her children and for that I am so, so sorry.”
2. Stroh Graduated From the University of Texas in 2020
Sumner Stroh was born in Houston, Texas, according to her Facebook page. She graduated from New Braunfels High School and then the University of Texas at Austin in 2020. She studied business and advertising. Stroh has also lived in Branson, Missouri, and is often in Los Angeles, according to her Instagram.
Stroh talked to BuzzFeed News in December 2020 about her status as an Instagram model and influencer led to her being recruited to help market and promote The U Experience, a startup that planned to have college students living together in a bubble amid the pandemic. The failed company was compared to Fyre Festival, according to BuzzFeed.
Stroh told BuzzFeed, “They emailed me and asked if I could post their promo video in a story back in early August, I was kind of interested in it. They said they’d be down to have me, so I went ahead and applied and we discussed some terms. I got accepted. I’ve been bored, to be completely honest. I’ve been sitting home with family. I was in need of that social life again. Committing to quarantining the entire time will be difficult. I’m a model and influencer so sometimes I fly to LA. [The founders] said if I do go to LA, I would have to quarantine for two weeks after. They’re more lenient with me.”
She added, “I don’t get Fyre Fest vibes at all — I’m excited for it. I saw Fyre Fest and I’m not sure why they’re saying that. Everything looks planned out; everything looks great.”
3. Stroh Has More Than 300,000 Followers on Her Instagram & Also Has an OnlyFans Page
Stroh is represented by the talent management company The Verge Agency, according to the company’s website. Her page on the company’s site features photos of Stroh from her Instagram in lingerie and bathing suits.
Stroh has more than 300,000 followers on Instagram, a number that doubled in the hours after her video was posted to TikTok. She also has hundreds of thousands of followers on her TikTok page and has a smaller presence on YouTube, where she posted videos from modeling trips along with makeup tutorials and videos of her trying on different clothes.
Stroh gained some attention earlier in September when she posted a photo in a rolled up Texas Longhorns jersey and bikini bottoms ahead of her alma mater’s football team’s game against Alabama. Some sports websites highlighted the photo, like Outkick and The Spun, which called it “racy.”
Stroh also has an OnlyFans page, where her fans can follow her for free and pay for additional photos and videos, including through a $100 VIP program. Stroh wrote on her OnlyFans, “Never say never lol. Now the only place you can access my exclusive content!!! Let’s get to know each other 💓”
4. Along With Being a Model, Stroh Has Worked at Her Sister’s Company
According to her LinkedIn page, Stroh has also pursued a career in marketing along with being a model. While she was at Texas, Stroh was a digital influencer as part of an internship for the Boohoo Group PLC, a fashion brand. She also had an internship as a media manager for the dating app Bumble.
Stroh began working alongside her sister, Baylen Stroh, as the marketing manager for her jewelry company, Strung by Stroh. Baylen Stroh founded the company in 2016, according to its website. They make necklaces, earrings, rings, hats, bracelets, sunglasses, custom jewelry and more, according to the company’s website.
Stroh and her sister did a Q&A video to promote the company on YouTube and Instagram in 2020. In the video, Stroh said she was in a relationship at the time. Stroh also opened up about plastic surgery she has had, saying she gets lip fillers.
5. Stroh Says She Didn’t Want to Come Forward Because of the ‘Stereotypes’ About Her Career
Stroh said in her TikTok video she decided to post it because she thought the story would be in the news soon. She said in the video, ” I was going to handle this privately, I never wanted to come forward, because obviously, I understand the implications that come with doing what I do, making money the way I do, and being an Instagram model. So being tagged in a story like this, I know the stereotype.”
Stroh added, “I had sent some screenshots recklessly to some friends I thought I trusted and one of them had attempted to sell to a tabloid. So here I am.” Stroh could not be reached for additional comment by Heavy and has not posted any other videos about the accusations.
Stroh added in her follow-up video, “Something I now realize I didn’t touch on enough was the fact that one of my friends had attempted to sell it, which I realized yesterday.” She said the tabloid reached out to her for comment. Stroh continued, “I was completely frantic. That is why that video is, for one, so all over the place, and two, why I didn’t touch on some of the things I initially liked. … I only came forward because I wanted to kill whatever story the tabloid had.”
Levine and Prinsloo have also not commented about the viral video. Heavy has reached out to their representatives for comment. In her video, Stroh said Levine reached back out to her in June to ask how she would feel about him naming his third child Sumner if the baby is a boy. Stroh said in the TikTok video his messages made her feel like she was “in hell.”