The Untold Truth Of Jana Kramer

This article features descriptions of sex addiction. 

Jana Kramer is what's known in showbiz parlance as a double threat. On the one hand, she's an actor who has guest starred in numerous TV shows, held a recurring role on "One Tree Hill," and starred in several made-for-TV movies. On the other, she's a talented country singer and songwriter who has released numerous albums and singles and even won the New Female Vocalist accolade at the 2013 ACM Awards. She's also the host of the "Whine Down with Jana Kramer" podcast and competed in the 2016 season of "Dancing With the Stars" in which she was eliminated just ahead of the finale. 

In recent years she's also found herself a frequent target of the tabloids. That may be thanks to her often tumultuous personal life and propensity for openness on social media. 

Still, there's no denying that Kramer has attracted a major fanbase over the years, and she continues to be in high demand. According to her IMDb profile, as of September 2022, Kramer has two movies in the can waiting for release — the Christmas-themed rom-com, "Steppin' into the Holiday," and the gritty biker drama, "Riptide," in which she stars opposite Val Kilmer and Chace Crawford. It's a given that there's been a lot written about this talented multi-hyphenate over the years. Despite that, there's much that even her most ardent fans may not know about her, something that can be remedied by reading on to find out the untold truth of Jana Kramer.

In addition to her dual careers as a singer and an actor, Jana Kramer has another talent that may surprise some fans. As she revealed to Us Weekly, back in the day she used to be an accomplished figure skater. In fact, she told Taste of Country, that when she was in high school she performed in pre-game skating shows at Detroit Red Wings ice hockey matches. "It was cool," she gushed.

Having spent her formative years on ice, Kramer told The Boot that skating was no mere hobby, given that she trained as a figure skater for a full 13 years. And while she was no slouch on the rink, her skills weren't exactly Olympic-level. However, all that time on the ice led her to hold one sport in higher esteem than all others. "Hockey is my favorite because I'm from Michigan," she declared.

She may not approach ice skating with the passion that she once did, but it remains something that's close to her heart — so much so that she's eager to pass on her love of skating to her progeny. That was clear in a 2017 Instagram post, in which she shared a video of herself teaching her daughter Jolie, then a toddler, how to skate. "I grew up figure skating ... so this moment is everything to me right now," Kramer wrote in the caption.

Jana Kramer has racked up an extensive list of acting credits since making her screen debut with a bit part in the low-budget horror flick "Dead/Undead." In fact, she followed that up with a guest role in an episode of the beloved soap opera, "All My Children."

That opened the door for further acting roles, including a few more horror flicks like "Blood Games," "Blue Demon," and "Return of the Living Dead: Necropolis." However, before she could become typecast as a scream queen, Kramer then segued into television, with guest spots as different characters in "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," and its spinoff "CSI: NY," leading her to what would prove to be her breakthrough — a recurring role as Noelle Davenport on the critically acclaimed drama "Friday Night Lights." More roles followed, in TV series including "Grey's Anatomy," "90210," and "Entourage," and then Alex Dupré in "One Tree Hill" for the series' final three seasons.  

After the series ended its run in 2012, Kramer increasingly focused on her burgeoning career as a country music artist while also continuing to act. Post-"One Tree Hill" roles included the film "Heart of the Country," "Approaching Midnight," and "Country Crush." In 2017, Kramer starred in the Hallmark Channel TV movie "Love at First Bark." She followed that with several holiday-themed TV flicks, including "Christmas in Mississippi," "Christmas in Louisiana," "A Welcome Home Christmas," and "The Holiday Fix Up." 

As noted by Billboard, Jana Kramer has released four singles, "Why Ya Wanna," "I Got the Boy," "Whiskey," and "I Won't Give Up." When it comes to her musical inspiration, the multi-talented star has identified a bona fide country music icon as her earliest and arguably most significant influence. "Patsy Cline, I was just in love with," Kramer declared during a "BUILD Series" discussion. "I just thought she was fantastic." 

As she told All Access Music, the country star was first exposed to the legendary singer behind such timeless hits as "Crazy," and "I Fall to Pieces" when she was just a child. "I grew up spending time with my grandparents a lot and all they listened to was country mostly — Johnny Cash and Patsy Cline," Kramer said. While taping a performance for  "CMT Next Women of Country Live," she elaborated, "My grandma still has the little cassette tape in her kitchen. All she would do is listen to Patsy Cline."

Unsurprisingly, Cline's influence can readily be heard in Kramer's music, particularly her 2017 single, "I Got the Boy." In her BUILD Series chat, Kramer revealed that she had recently been listening to a mix of the artist's music on Pandora when Cline's "She's Got You" popped up. "I was like, 'Oh my gosh, I didn't realize how similar that was to 'I Got the Boy,'" she recalled. "She even talks about the class ring. I was like, 'Whoa!'"

Jana Kramer may have been struck by the musical similarities between her single, "I Got the Boy" and Patsy Cline's "She Got You," but the story behind the song is deeply rooted in her own past. "It's a very true and honest song about my high school sweetheart, Matthew," she told Billboard. "It's one of those that is as true as it can get."

In fact, Kramer revealed her former flame was aware she was telling their story in song. "I sent it to him. I told him I was probably going to be saying his name, FYI," she said. According to Kramer, he loved the song. "It's like the lyrics say: I got the boy. He's married to a lovely girl now, and they have two kids, so she got the man."

Interestingly, even though the song was pulled from her own life, she didn't actually write "I Got the Boy." Per Rolling Stone, that honor went to songwriters Connie Harrington, Tim Nichols, and Jamie Lynn Spears, the younger sister of Britney Spears. Still, Kramer admitted she was awestruck by how well the songwriters captured that time in her life. "The first time I heard 'I Got the Boy,' I instantly became just a puddle of tears," Kramer told Taste of Country. "This was a song that I've been trying to write for years, and these writers wrote exactly my story."

Despite being a celebrity herself, Jana Kramer has not been immune from developing crushes on various stars. As she told Us Weekly, her very first celeb crush was "Home Improvement" star Jonathan Taylor Thomas. "Like every girl in the '90s," she joked. The star recalled that she'd plaster her bedroom with posters of the teen idol that she'd tear out from magazines. "I had the Big Bopper and Bop magazine posters on my walls," she said.

As she's matured, so has her celebrity crushing. "My current celebrity crush is Charlie Hunnam," she said, referencing the British-born star of "Sons of Anarchy." She also quipped that her then-husband, former NFL player Mike Caussin, was suitably cautious about letting Kramer get too close to the actor. "[He] said he'll never let me do a movie with him ever, and I was like, 'It's probably a good thing.'"

Kramer's celebrity crushes haven't been confined solely to members of the opposite sex, either. On Twitter in 2013, the star wrote, "Beyoncé is now my lesbian crush! Holy smokes!!!" 

For fans of "One Tree Hill," Jana Kramer will always be associated with Alex Dupre, the character she played for the final three seasons of the beloved teen drama. While viewers may have fond memories of the show, Kramer's own recollections are far more complicated. 

In a 2021 episode of the podcast, "Whine Down with Jana Kramer and Michael Caussin," hosted with her then-husband, she welcomed her former "One Tree Hill" co-stars James Lafferty and Stephen Colletti. She alleged that there was one person — whom she chose not to identify — who created a negative experience for everyone else who worked on the teen drama. "When I was on the show ... there was just some, not cattiness, but just, 'You can't talk to this person if you're friends with this person,'" she said. "So I wasn't very close to James because of certain situations on the set at the time."

Kramer claimed that this person manipulated everyone's relationships to the point that it was particularly difficult for the newbies such as her, who had joined the long-running show in the midst of its run. While she and her co-stars have since become friends, she expressed frustration that it couldn't happen when they had worked together. "One person literally made it hell for us, because if we chose the wrong friend, we would be destroyed," she claimed.

In 2015, Jana Kramer tied the knot with the football player, Mike Caussin, who played for the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Buffalo Bills, and the team now known as the Washington Commanders. The NFL star was her third husband. While she alleged that her first marriage to Michael Gambino was abusive, her second marriage to Jonathan Schaech apparently fell apart after just 12 days. 

Kramer and Caussin had been married for just over a year and were now parents of a baby daughter when ET reported they'd separated. The reason for the split was his purportedly rampant infidelity, with a source claiming to Us Weekly, "Mike cheated on her multiple times with multiple women." The outlet alleged that the final straw was when a friend claimed Caussin had been bedding down with a paid escort.

Kramer and Caussin ultimately reconciled, and in 2017 renewed their wedding vows. Reflecting on the experience with Us Weekly, Kramer insisted, "It has made us so much stronger ... I think for us, renewing our vows, was something like we're both committed to each other and letting the past be something that fuels us to be better people." On Instagram in June 2018, they announced that they were expecting a second child and welcomed a son, Jace, later that year. 

In 2019, Caussin revealed that he was a sex addict, and shared the confession on the couple's podcast. He added that he'd been receiving treatment for his addiction since 2016. 

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

In April 2021, Jana Kramer took to Instagram to reveal she was filing for divorce, declaring, "I've given everything I have, and now I have nothing else to give." A source suggested to E! News that Mike Caussin's infidelity was once again at the heart of their marital woes. "Mike broke her trust yet again," claimed the source. "He had so many chances to make this right and she tried and tried, but she was really left with no choice."

Speaking with She Knows, Kramer admitted that the initial phase of the divorce was particularly tough on her. "The first month I was just like, there's no way I'll be able to get through this," she admitted. "But you just find a way, you just do, it's amazing. I mean, granted, I still have really hard days and I cried yesterday — but you will get through it, and every day gets a little easier ..."

She wasn't kidding about things getting easier as time passed. In a June 2021 episode of "Whine Down with Jana Kramer," she revealed that she'd found a cathartic way to pay for some home renovations. "I sold my ring, and that money from the ring paid for the furniture and the new additions to the house," she said. With the help of some interior decorators, she was able to change the energy in her home — something which she noted brought her a great deal of happiness.

As a celebrity mother of two, Jana Kramer is not immune to the phenomenon known as mom-shaming, when her so-called fans criticized some of her parenting choices. That was the case when she was hit with backlash for feeding her second child, son Jace, with a bottle. When she began being questioned about whether she was feeding her baby formula or breast milk, she took to Instagram to offer a pithy response. "I have wanted to explain myself because I felt like I had to, especially in a world of shaming," she wrote. "But here's my decision ... I don't have to explain s***. I'm doing what's best for me and my baby!"

Kramer continued to defend her decision to feed her kids with formula during a 2020 episode of "Whine Down with Jana Kramer." "I had no desire [to breastfeed]. I wasn't breastfed. I didn't feel like I had to have that connection with my baby," she explained. "Personally, I don't like my nipples being touched. I don't like it. I don't want someone sucking on them." She also noted that another reason behind her decision was that her own breast milk had been slow to come, and when it finally did they'd already settled on using formula, instead. However, she still faced accusations of being a bad mother because of that decision. "I remember getting so much shame and so much hate," she recalled.

In September 2021, following her divorce from Mike Caussin, Us Weekly reported that Jana Kramer was spotted on a date with Jay Cutler, the ex-husband of "The Hills" star, Kristin Cavallari. The rumored romance didn't last long. A subsequent report the following month claimed the whole thing was over, with a source telling Us Weekly, "She and Jay went on a few dates, but things seemed to fizzle out between them."

Four months later, she went public with her new boyfriend, Ian Schinelli, with People reporting she shared a photo of herself and her new beau on Instagram. She subsequently deleted that post after they split in April 2022. In an interview with Us Weekly, Schinelli suggested his ex was afraid to be alone and accused her of enacting toxic patterns of behavior. "I had talked to a few people and realized that there was just a very strong, anxious attachment she has, and this may be due in part to her ex, which OK, be that as it may, it went on for the entire relationship," Schinelli said. "I got to a breaking point where I just could not handle it." For her part, Kramer accused Schinelli of having cheated on her with several women during their brief relationship.

Schinelli also claimed Kramer had an affair with her "Dancing with the Stars" partner Gleb Savchenko when she competed on the show and was legally separated from Mike Casussin. Savchenko has always denied the rumors. 

Jana Kramer can never be accused of resting on her laurels. The single mother of two has managed to juggle her family life with her busy music career, ample acting work, and regular podcast duties. Sadly, that work ethic may not be fully evident in her net worth. In 2022, Celebrity Net Worth estimated her total assets at $2 million — not an insignificant number by any stretch, but also not as large as is regularly associated with people of her career path and industry.  

One possible reason underscoring her comparatively low net worth could be the financial fallout from her divorce from Mike Caussin. According to court documents obtained by TMZ, Kramer was ordered to pay her ex $3,200 per month. That amount was apparently because of the vast disparity in their respective incomes, with Kramer raking in $166,000 per month while Caussin — who had retired from pro football — made just $8,000 per month.

Kramer took to social media to share her thoughts on the financial arrangement that had been imposed upon her. "It doesn't make sense to me either but I would rather be at peace," she mused on Twitter, taking a rather circumspect view of the situation. "In the end, I'll make it back because karma always comes around."