The Real Reason The Jonas Brothers Called It Quits

The Jonas Brothers were the ultimate teen dream during the mid-to-late noughties, projecting a potent blend of hunkiness and virginal safety that proved irresistible to young women all over the world. After storming the charts with hits like "Year 3000," "Burnin' Up," and "Love Bug" — not to mention fronting their own hit Disney show entitled Jonas — the pop rock trio comprised of Kevin, Joe, and Nick Jonas unceremoniously called it quits in October 2013, devastating their fans. 

Of course, the group eventually returned in 2019 as full grown adult men, with their certified bop, "Sucker." Proving that they still had it, the Jonas Brothers' first hit in years rose to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, per Forbes, and their subsequent studio album, Happiness Begins, claimed the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 chart. No big deal.

In the intervening years, however, all three JoBros have settled down with their respective wives – Nick with Priyanka Chopra, Joe with Sophie Turner, and Kevin with Danielle Jonas — while focusing on other creative and business ventures. But the question remains: What killed the Jonas Brothers' joint musical dream in the first place?

When the band temporarily split in 2013, the Jonas Brothers were on the cusp of releasing their fifth album (and also their first in four years). At the time of the breakup announcement, Billboard cited "creative differences," while a source claimed to People that there was a "deep rift in the band." 

During an appearance on Good Morning America around this time, Kevin Jonas confirmed (via E!), "I think it was time, and for us it took some time getting there, but we feel like it's time that the Jonas Brothers come to an end." Meanwhile, Joe Jonas told People it was a "unanimous decision," while Nick Jonas admitted to initiating the conversation about going their separate ways, saying he was feeling "trapped" and "needed to share [his] heart with [his] brothers."

Nick later advised in a 2019 interview with Paper magazine, "We understood that our level of success and fame had reached a point, where our musicianship and writing and performing abilities needed time to grow and catch up to it." So, Nick enjoyed a solo career with hits like "Jealous" and landed some acting gigs, and Joe experimented with his funkier side via his other band, DNCE — best known for its ear-worm hit, "Cake by the Ocean" — while also nabbing some screen time. Meanwhile, Kevin kept the lowest profile, getting hitched and starting his very own construction company, Jonas Werner Fine Custom Homes.

As Joe Jonas admitted during his 2016 Reddit AMA, he was working through some personal issues with a therapist and wasn't even speaking to his fellow famous brothers at the time. But while the Jonas Brothers previously couldn't agree on their musical direction, it seems that taking some time out ultimately did all three a world of good as they rediscovered what they wanted to do. Indeed, it was their shared love of music and each other that brought them back together six years after their 2013 breakup. 

During a joint 2019 appearance on Carpool Karaoke with James Corden, Kevin, Joe, and Nick Jonas candidly opened up further about what went wrong the first time around. All three pit the blame on Nick, who quickly noted, "I got [the band] back together." During an explosive lie detector test, it even became clear that Kevin wanted to punch Nick "because he split up the band." Yikes. Thankfully, the JoBros also revealed that they'd undergone therapy together to work through their issues. 

As for coming back, Nick noted that it was about feeling that "magic" they felt while working together the first time again. Evidently, they did, as they've been enjoying making music together more now than ever before — meaning that the only way for the "What A Man Gotta Do" hitmakers at this point appears to be up.