Jana Kramer and Mike Caussin's Bombshell Tell All: Read Every Revelation From Their New Memoir

In their new memoir titled The Good Fight, Jana Kramer and Mike Caussin open up about infidelity, sex addiction and the power of love. Keep scrolling for the biggest revelations.

By Mike Vulpo Sep 22, 2020 1:00 PMTags
Watch: 6 Bombshells In Jana Kramer & Mike Caussin's New Book

We love these products, and we hope you do too. E! has affiliate relationships, so we may get a small share of the revenue from your purchases. Items are sold by the retailer, not E!.

Jana Kramer and Mike Caussin have always been an open book. 

Whether through their iHeartRadio Whine Down podcast or on social media, the Hollywood couple isn't afraid to keep it real and show the highs and lows of relationships. So perhaps it's only fitting that the pair decided to write a personal memoir together titled The Good Fight: Wanting to Leave, Choosing to Stay, and the Powerful Practice for Loving Faithfully.

Available starting today, Sept. 22, the book explores the raw and real moments of their marriage, which has included infidelity and addiction, but also love and forgiveness.

"As you read this book, I encourage you to not compare your relationship to my and Mike's relationship," Jana, who married the former NFL tight end in 2015, wrote at the beginning of The Good Fight. "You might read some of our arguments and think, ‘Whoa, they're a mess!'—or better yet, ‘a hot mess.' Or you might read a particularly awesome moment for us and feel like s--t about your love life—and then the next thing you know, you're picking a fight with your loved one because of it."

read
Sink Your Teeth Into These 49 Juicy Celebrity Tell-Alls From Gabrielle Union, Hannah Brown & More

The One Tree Hill alum and country singer continued, "The point is that comparing isn't fun, and in the long run it's not going to make you feel better or your relationship any stronger."

The Good Fight: Wanting to Leave, Choosing to Stay, and the Powerful Practice for Loving Faithfully

The Good Fight tells the true story of how Jana and Mike decided to honor their forever love by battling it out and staying together. 

According to the couple, who have two kids together include Jolie, 4, and Jace, 1, what the book could provide is spiritual guidance and practical advice for anyone seeking stronger, more fulfilling love.

Keep scrolling below to see some moments from the book that will have you wanting more. And hear more from Jana and Mike when they appear on E!'s Daily Pop on Sept. 24.

Sparks Fly

When you know, you know.

In the book's introduction, Jana and Mike revealed that they both said "I love you" after 10 days of knowing each other. They moved in together after three months, were engaged at six and married at 11. According to Mike, "It was a love like we never imagined." 

"I jokingly said that I hoped we wouldn't be one of those couples who fight all the time," the former NFL player recalled of early on in the relationship. "In that moment—I s--t you not—we both smiled, looked into each other's eyes, and actually said to one another at the same time, 'But what will we ever fight about?'"

Claim Her Baggage

Growing up, Jana remembered her parents fighting and her mom trying to make her marriage work despite infidelity. When Jana was in ninth grade, her mom ultimately filed for divorce and her dad "started his new family faster than I could blink."

"I entered high school wanting men to pay attention to me and tell me that I was 'good enough,'" Jana wrote. "To this day, that's my biggest struggle—constantly wanting validation from men." 

Claim His Baggage

Jana isn't the only person in the relationship who had some "baggage."

In The Good Fight, Mike opened up about his childhood and the effects of getting his heartbroken in high school at 16. 

"The summer lovin' was over and I slowly became jaded and more selfish, reconciling this heartbreak by resolving to never let it happen again," he explained. "So I've dated only a few women in my life. Most of my relationships can be more described as 'talking to,' which essentially means we were sleeping together but I never committed enough to get my feelings involved. And when I did commit, I inevitably cheated. I couldn't be alone." 

Overcoming Resentment

When Jana first met Mike, he was on his way out of the NFL after a five-year career. According to the athlete, he quickly went from being known as an NFL tight end to Jana's husband. 

According to Mike, it had an affect on him. "I lost my sense of self and identity," he shared in the book. "A lot of professional athletes struggle with that transition when they retire from their athletic careers but the added layer for me was being married to a celebrity with a certain amount of notoriety. Now, I loved and still love being Jana's husband, but early in the relationship I had no idea who I was anymore." 

It Takes Two

While competing on Dancing With the Stars in the fall of 2016, Jana remembered the day she got a call from her publicist warning her that Us Weekly was going to write about Mike's infidelity. The headline would be "Married to a Sex Addict." 

According to Jana, she knows exactly who told the publication about her husband. "I know because when I was reading the article, there was a piece of information that I had told only ONE person," she wrote. "To make matters worse, he had been in our wedding. At the time, it felt like another kick in the gut from someone I loved and someone I thought I knew."

Pray On It

In The Good Fight, Mike opened up about his sex addiction and identified himself as a "sex addict." Before you question the validity of the term, he has a message. 

"I want to be very clear about something: society has had the nerve to call sex addiction a 'married man's excuse' to which I say bull...(wait for it)...s--t," he wrote. "Addiction is not an excuse at all, and I make sure to never use it as such. However it is an explanation."

As fans may recall, Mike previously recalled on the Whine Down podcast that he sought treatment in an inpatient treatment facility. "Jana kind of gave me an ultimatum when everything came out, and she discovered everything, and she looked at me and said, 'You need to go somewhere. Basically, you need to figure out what's going on and what this is, or I'm gone, period,'" he explained.

Clean Your Side of the Streets

While she was competing on Dancing With the Stars—and separated from Mike—in the fall of 2016, Jana claimed that she had some "flings and flirts."

"I held back putting this in the book because, well, I never truly thought I did anything wrong," Jana wrote. "Correction. I knew it was wrong; I just didn't want to be the bad guy. I justified my actions in my mind just as I suppose Mike had done all along too." 

As much as Jana enjoyed DWTS, she now believes it "prolonged our suffering and delayed our healing." The couple would ultimately reconcile and renew their vows in Dec. 2017

Trust the Process

After coming in fourth on Dancing With the Stars and after Mike checked into rehab for sex addition, the couple's therapist shared some advice that shocked each of them.

"She said, 'No major life changes for a year.' To which I replied, 'Are you kidding?'" Jana wrote. "She went on to say that in her experience, it's best to not make any huge life decisions for a year after a traumatic event so you have time to process all the information and to cool down."

While Jana immediately questioned how she was going to stay in the relationship for that long, she's so glad she did.

Truth

The No. 1 question Jana receives from fans is, "Do you trust Mike?" After all, the athlete has been open and honest about being unfaithful to his wife. Jana's answer, however, may surprise you.

"The answer is, 'Yes, today I do,'" she wrote. "Today I see him working his program, I see him showing up as a father and a husband, and I see his words matching his actions. How he is showing up looks different than before, which helps me trust him." 

Make the Time

Jana and Mike are big advocates for knowing your love language as well as your spouses. After studying Gary Chapman's book titled The Five Love Languages, the couple shared what they identify with. 

Jana's top two are physical touch and quality time while Mike's are acts of service and words of affirmation. 

"If you show up for your partner and love that person using the love language she or he understands, you'll be showing a deeper appreciation for your loved one," the couple advised. "You're showing that you're willing to make that extra effort." 

Start Talking

Every night, Jana and Mike do a nightly check-in they call FANOS—an abbreviation for feelings, affirmations, needs, own and sobriety.

"These check-ins set us up for success," the couple explained. "They provide a neutral ground for us to discuss whatever may be going on. We're able to set aside feelings of defensiveness and listen from a supportive, loving place. Doing them has helped us be in real time more than we ever thought we were capable of."