The Real Reason Most Men Avoid the Hard Conversations in Their Marriage featuring JoJo Simmons

I'll be honest with you — this conversation gave me chills more than once. JoJo Simmons grew up with one of the most recognizable names in music history, the son of Joseph "Run" Simmons, co-founder of Run-D.M.C. and a pioneer of hip hop culture. But what I've always respected about JoJo is that he's never coasted on that name. He's spent years carving out his own path in music, entertainment, and now podcasting, while quietly doing the harder work of becoming a present father and a committed husband.

We went everywhere in this conversation. We talked about what it was like growing up under a microscope, making the kinds of mistakes every teenager makes except having them show up on TMZ. We talked about his parents, how they kept love intact through divorce, how his mother made one of the hardest decisions a parent can make to protect her son, and how his dad evolved from tough love to open communication in a way that shaped the father JoJo is today. This episode is filled with wisdom I didn't expect and moments that made me stop and think about my own home.

JoJo has been married to his wife Denise for nearly seven years, together for 17. They're raising a ten-year-old daughter named Mia and a four-year-old son, Joseph, who is nonverbal and receiving occupational therapy. Watching JoJo talk about both of his kids, the way he's learning to hold space for his daughter as she grows into her own person, and the way he's modeling confidence and calm for his son, you can see a man who is fully in it. Not perfect. Fully in it.

He's also building something. His podcast and media community, For Good, launched just a year ago and it's already growing fast. The name says everything: it represents forever, and it represents putting good into the world. JoJo's vision for it goes beyond episodes and downloads. He wants festivals. He wants a movement. He wants people from every walk of life sitting in a room together feeling heard and seen. After spending an hour with him, I believe he'll build it.

 

Timeline Summary

[1:02] Growing up as the son of Run from Run-D.M.C. — the good and the hard of a very public childhood

[3:47] How JoJo's parents stayed committed to their kids' wellbeing despite divorce, and why he never felt an absence of love

[5:07] The arrest that showed up in the New York Times and TMZ, and the moment JoJo knew he had gone too far

[10:24] What his dad did specifically that shaped the father JoJo wants to be, including the shift from discipline to conversation

[14:28] Dad Edge June offer — signed copy of The Pursuit of Legendary Fatherhood, the Patience course, and more at thedadedge.com/join

[17:28] JoJo's mom: a single mother with a doctorate who ground every day, never spoke ill of his father, and made the hard call to send JoJo to live with his dad at 13

[22:23] How JoJo met Denise at McDonald's — two vegetarians, one bold move, and a phone call to her mother

[28:38] Ten years of dating, a breakup, a promise ring, and why the time apart made the relationship real

[32:21] How communication and being willing to ask "are we really this bad?" has kept their marriage intact through seven years

[36:56] Raising a ten-year-old daughter — learning to listen instead of lead, and why how you treat her now shapes who she'll accept later

[40:44] JoJo's morning routine: up at 5:30 a.m., candle lit, meditation music, 20–30 minutes of emotional regulation before the household wakes up

[44:54] Raising his four-year-old son Joseph — teaching both kids that they are the value in every room they walk into

[46:30] How JoJo thinks about raising kids in the public eye, protecting them from attaching their worth to fame

[49:39] How the For Good podcast started, what the name means, and the community and movement JoJo is building

[57:38] A ten-year dinner table visualization — what JoJo wants his wife and kids to say when they look back

 

Five Key Takeaways

1. Growing up in the spotlight teaches you fast that public mistakes carry a different weight — JoJo's arrest at a pivotal teenage moment became front-page news, and he now uses that experience to stay honest with his own kids about consequence and accountability without shame.

2. The way your parents handle their relationship with each other after a split shapes your children more than you realize — JoJo's parents never let him see the turmoil between them, and that protection of the family unit became one of the greatest gifts they gave him.

3. Marriage takes courage from both people — brushing arguments under the rug feels like peace in the short term but builds into the bigger blowups, and JoJo has learned to address issues in the moment rather than let them accumulate.

4. As a father of a daughter, your emotional regulation sets the template for what she will tolerate and accept in her own relationships — staying calm, listening deeply, and being the safe place she can come to at 2 a.m. at age 20 is the whole job.

5. You are the thermostat in your home, not the thermometer — JoJo wakes up at 5:30 every morning before the household starts because he knows the energy he brings into the day is the energy the whole family will operate in.

 

Links & Resources

• Join the Dad Edge Alliance (June offer — signed book, Patience course, marriage course, and more) — https://www.thedadedge.com/join
• Kid Questions resource — https://www.thedadedge.com/kidquestions
• Full show notes for this episode — https://www.thedadedge.com/1493
• For Good Podcast website — https://www.forgooduniverse.com
• JoJo Simmons on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/jojo_simmons
• For Good Podcast on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/forgoodpodcast
• For Good Podcast on YouTube — https://www.youtube.com/@ForGoodPodcast

 

Closing

JoJo came into this conversation humble, honest, and more self-aware than I expected from someone who's been in the public eye since he was a teenager. That moment where he talked about looking back ten years from now at the dinner table — not asking for perfection, just asking that every person around that table felt seen, heard, and not forced into anything — that hit me. That's the goal. That's the whole thing. If this episode spoke to something you're working through in your own home, share it with another dad who needs to hear it. And if you haven't already, please follow The Dad Edge, leave a rating, and drop a review. Go out and live legendary.