JoJo Announced Engagement to Dexter Darden a Year after Confessing to Cheating on Her Ex-boyfriend

Singer Jojo is engaged a year after her previous relationship failed. After confessing to being unfaithful to her former boyfriend, JoJo revealed she did not feel worthy of a loving, lasting relationship at the time.

JoJo, born Joanna Noelle Blagden Levesque, announced on Christmas Day that she is engaged to boyfriend Dexter Darden on Instagram and captioned the post:

“Celebrating a whole Christmas, a whole fiancée!! The most thoughtful, creative, positive, handsome, strong, loving, uplifting human being asked me to marry him. So, I said YESSS!”

‘I SAID YES!’

Darden proposed in Puerto Rico and surprised JoJo at the La Concha Resort. “Thank you for the most epic birthday surprise ever and for flying out my mom, your mom, and both of our best friends to share in that incredible moment with us. You are one of one. LFG @dexterdarden,” she wrote.

The post was accompanied by a series of photos and videos from the happy couple's special night, including a clip of JoJo flaunting her sparkling engagement ring.

BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE

Darden replied in the comments section: “Yuppp, thank you for being my forever,” alongside fire emojis. Earlier this month, the 30-year-old honored his love on her birthday with a sweet Instagram tribute stating she was his brightest star, a beat to his heart, and a woman he had been praying for.

He thanked the singer-songwriter for challenging him, pushing him to be the best man he can be, and for putting a smile on his face when no one else could.

KNOWING DARDEN

Born on June 24, 1991, Darden is an actor and stars in “Saved by The Bell” reboot as DeVante. His first ever movie was the 2006 film “My Brother.”

On top of his acting abilities, the New Jersey native is also a singer and a dancer. He once said that he took pride in dancing, acting, and singing.

CHEATING EXPERIENCE

Darden and JoJo have been dating for over a year. Jojo has come a long way to find happiness and expressed that through her music.

In her song “Good to Know,” the 31-year-old sings about the lowest point in her life when she cheated on her then-boyfriend while drunk.

She shared in an exclusive interview with People in April 2020 that the experience led to an epiphany and revealed what she discovered about herself then:

“I self-sabotaged because I didn’t feel worthy of a loving, lasting relationship. I didn’t love myself. I am actively practicing self-love.”

DATING HISTORY

Meanwhile, her last public relationship was when she dated American soccer player Freddy Adu from 2005 to 2006 when they were just teenagers.

The pair met on the MTV show “Fake ID Club” and hit it off instantly. The actress was then linked to singer Jeremih McConico and had not been with anyone publicly since.

ALCOHOL ADDICTION

While battling self-appreciation, JoJo also struggled with immense pain within her family. She revealed in 2016 that her parents battled addiction and that she grew up learning the principles of Alcoholics Anonymous.

In recent years, the former child prodigy also found herself battling addiction and admitted that she felt inadequate and could fall into depression.

As a coping mechanism, she resorted to drinking because she wanted an escape. But she later sought help and got on medication.

In essence, JoJo found healing in her music, notably her fifteen-track album called Mad Love. The Vermont native said she refuses to be a victim of alcohol addiction.