Michael Franti has revealed he cheated on his wife seven years ago with a younger woman whom he invited to join him on a headline tour.

The US musician and frontman of the band Michael Franti and Spearhead released a statement to his more than 262,000 Instagram fans that detailed a secret romantic relationship that only ended once his wife found out.

Franti said the relationship was with an artist who toured with him seven years ago and was “the most regrettable mistake”.

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“I broke my wedding vows, I broke my wife’s trust, I broke her heart and for that I am deeply sorry for the pain my actions have caused her,” he said.

“My wife found out about it and to save my marriage, we ended the relationship.”

The statement came after singer-songwriter Victoria Canal exposed a year-long relationship she had with an older and “very powerful” man in the music industry, who she claimed was abusive.

Canal made the allegation in an Instagram post last Monday, and while she did not name the man involved, she also alleged she was groomed and manipulated.

Canal did not name Franti, but she has credited him with discovering her on Instagram in 2018, when she was 19, and inviting her on his headline tour.

“This is something I’ve never spoken about publicly, and have been holding for eight years now — it has plagued my body, spirit, and mind, in subliminal and overt ways, for my entire 20s,” Canal said.

She described the man as “loving, charismatic, and principled” in public, but controlling and abusive in private, alleging that he touched and photographed her without consent and gradually cut her off from others.

“At the time, this person made me believe that if I ever told anyone what he was doing, my career would be over before it started.”

Franti said in his statement that he was “aware of the recent posts this artist made about our relationship”.

“While I support her need to express herself publicly, the relationship was completely consensual, based on mutual feelings and attraction,” he said.

“I vehemently dispute any version of the story that says otherwise.”

The 59-year-old went on to apologise to his wife Sara, with whom he has since had two kids, welcoming a baby girl in May.

“During the last seven years, my wife and I have done an incredible amount of work for me to repair the damage that I did,” he said.

“I have and continue to apologise to my wife Sara and my family for the pain that I have caused you.

“I am also apologising to the artist for the pain that you are going through.”

Franti is currently touring America with his band.

He was set to perform on the Soulshine at Sea music cruise in November but the event was cancelled in light of the allegations.