British boy band Five were everywhere in the '90s. Here's what their lives look like now.

British boy bands are my bread and butter. And you best believe Five is well up there in the boy band stakes. 

Five (sometimes referred to as 5ive, cos that was cool in the '90s) consisted of members Sean Conlon, Ritchie Neville, Scott Robinson, Abz Love and Jason "J" Brown.

They were formed in 1997 by the same team that actually managed the Spice Girls before they launched their career. And with around 20 million albums sold worldwide, the boy band did pretty well for themselves, with absolute tunes such as 'When the Lights Go Out', 'If Ya Gettin Down' and 'Keep On Movin'.

22 years since disbanding, here's what the group's lives look like now from a reunion to struggles with fame.  

Watch: Yo '90s kids - Remember these? Post continues below.

Sean Conlon from Five now.

Conlon was the first one to leave the band back in the day.

He said to The Guardian that the reason behind that decision was mental health related. 

"I found it hard being away from my family. I was only 15 when I left, so I used to cry quite a bit. I was a child and felt totally overwhelmed. I'd do signings in shops and could barely look up at the fans. The boys knew I was struggling," he explained.

"They were supportive of me, but I had a bit of a breakdown. Eventually, I started to go to counselling and they suggested I shouldn't go back to the group. The record company told the press I had glandular fever and ended up using a cardboard cutout of me for the 'Let's Dance' video. After that, the band split up."

In 2012, the group announced they were planning another reunion, this time with Conlon on board.

Last year, Conlon, Robinson and Neville wrote and released their first album in 20 years, called Time. They released it under the Five name, as the trio has been doing reunion shows as part of the band.

Reflecting on the very first concert they had back in the early days, Conlon said: "I remember our first big show. It was a Radio 1 roadshow and I was petrified. I tried to get out of it, as I was that scared. But somehow I got through it. The first step is always the hardest."

Conlon is married and they have a daughter together – Conlon chooses not to share his wife's identity in the public eye as she wishes to remain anonymous. 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Five Official (@itsfiveofficial)

Ritchie Neville from Five now.

When Five disbanded, Neville moved to Australia and worked as a sommelier. In 2008, Neville dated and married Australian model and DJ Emily Scott. 

Four months after the wedding they split, with Scott later saying on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here
"there was an incident which marked the end of our marriage".

In 2013, Neville started dating Atomic Kitten singer Natasha Hamilton, and in 2014 they confirmed they were expecting their first child together. At the end of 2014, they welcomed a daughter Ella Rose. By 2016 however, the couple had split. 

As for being a parent, Neville said "It's a complete mental shift", and that he and Hamilton do 50-50 parenting. 

"When people say it's a life-changing thing to do I think it's actually an understatement," he said to The Sun. "You've got somebody else you are not just responsible for to feed and clothe, just to bring up, to shape and nurture and love. You're daddy – that's a big commitment and a big thing to take on."

In terms of work in the public eye, he has appeared on a few reality TV shows and continues to perform with Robinson and Conlon under Five. These days Neville posts a lot of shirtless or 'thirst trap' photos on Instagram. 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ritchie Neville (@ritchieneville)

Scott Robinson now.

Robinson was certainly known for his gel-spiked hair back in the day.

Nowadays he has a beard and two full tattoo sleeves on his arms. Iconic. Robinson also stayed in the entertainment industry, working as a radio presenter in Essex. He has also made a few reality TV show appearances over the years, as well as having a leading role in the UK musical Boogie Nights 2. 

Reflecting on the band's success, he said to Pedestrian TV recently: "The fact that we're still going strong and we got together in '97, I think we're a testament to the '90s, really. I just think that '90s music was just, better. It's happy, go-lucky – it's what people wanna listen to."

As for his personal life, it's all very wholesome. 

Only a few days after Five officially split up, Robinson married his long-term girlfriend Kerry Oaker. The pair are still married and are parents to four children.

"It was brilliant actually, to have Kerry all the way through really grounded me and kept me completely normal and sane and I didn't get carried away and think that I was something that I wasn't," he said. "It was actually really good, no problems at all."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Scott Robinson (@scottrobinsonofficial)

Abz Love from Five now.

Richard Abidin Breen, better known as Abz Love, was the band's resident rapper.

In recent years, he's done a bunch of reality TV gigs, including featuring in The Big Reunion in 2012, and he was the runner-up for Celebrity Big Brother. In 2015, Love starred in the BBC Two documentary series Country Strife: Abz on the Farm. And while single, he then appeared on Celebs Go Dating in 2022. 

When Five initially split, Love said he was left devastated. Love was dropped by his solo artist music label in 2003, following his life spiralling out of control due to partying, drinking and drug use, before being declared bankrupt. When the band reunited years later, Love was again a part of it – but then in 2014, he announced via Twitter that he had left Five.

"As of today I am no longer a member of Five, thank you to all the fans who supported. I love you all," he wrote.

Abz Love. Image: Instagram.

For Love, he said that fame in the '90s was an incredible experience, but it also left him very vulnerable.

"Literally overnight you're a success. You have too much too soon. I was 16 then when I got in the band, and my life was already rocky before then," he said on Loose Women. "Those guys were like my family. My lifeline."

Jason "J" Brown from Five now.

Jason "J" Brown is no longer interested in the spotlight.

Brown was the band's lead singer, and also at the time found himself in a very high-profile relationship with the Spice Girls' Melanie C. 

Speaking on the Celebrity Search Engine podcast recently, Mel C reflected: "J from Five! We dated for a little while and he's lovely and he's still a friend. We don't see each other very often, but we stay in touch."

Brown decided to no longer have anything to do with Five following the band's split, which reportedly caused frustration with his fellow band members.

vi do la buonanotte con una fotina di come è adesso jason brown dei 5ive. non serve che mi ringraziate. pic.twitter.com/0o51t2oq1R

— Donnie DeeDee (@staseranonesco) December 17, 2014

Years later, Brown spoke to ITV, saying that he was struggling mentally before, during and prior to his time in the band. 

"When I was 19 or 20, leading up to when I got into Five, I was actually in a really desperate way, psychologically. Being in that band just wouldn't work for me. I actually couldn't do that now. I'd be lying to myself and lying to other people if I tried to put myself on stage," he said in 2013.

Ever since, Brown has stayed away from the public eye, saying he's now keen on a much quieter life. 

Who was your favourite band member from Five? Let us know in the comments below!

Feature Image: Getty.

Love watching TV and movies? Take our survey now to go in the running to win a $100 gift voucher.