Ah, the '90s. Everything was just so much simpler back then, wasn't it? We were all Livin' La Vida Loca, aligning our entire identity with one Spice Girl and our biggest responsibility was cleaning up our Tamagotchi's poo. Dreamy. And the soundtrack to those carefree years? A bunch of boybands (Blue, 5ive, A1, 98 Degrees, Boys II Men, Take That, New Kids On The Block, Backstreet Boys, N'Sync...) with enough hairspray to give a Ru Girl a run for her money.
The vast majority of us looked at boybands like 5ive as living the dream, but it's safe to say, the darker side of fame, fortune and celebrity has become a clearer reality decades on - as showcased in the new BBC documentary series, Boybands Forever.
Now our personal fave was 5ive (who star in episode two of the series); what with that tough lad swagger, head-to-toe Hilfiger and catchy af bops like When the Lights Go Out (which still slaps, btw).
But what exactly are Abz Love, Ritchie Neville, Jason 'J' Brown, Scott Robinson and Sean Conlon up to now? Well, as with a handful of bands who made the mistake of including the number of band members in their name, said number has depleted...
Check out what 5ive look like now:
5ive: where are they now?
1 of 10Abz Love then
We don't care what anybody says, Abz's Everybody Get Up and Slam Dunk Da Funk raps in particular are easily on par with Stormzy's best bars. Go back and listen - they'll bring you all the '90s feels.
2 of 10Abz Love now
Following 5ive's split in 2001, Abz signed with Simon Cowell on Sony BMG and his debut solo album - Abstract Theory - spawned three UK top ten hits (What You Got being our fave). Sadly, Abz was dropped after said album failed to set the charts alight - and his journey since has been quite the rollercoaster. While he rejoined the group in the name of ITV2 reality telly show The Big Reunion back in 2013, he later quit and opted to appear on E4's Celebs Go Dating alongside Made in Chelsea's Miles Nazaire, TOWIE star Chloe Brockett and TV presenter Ulrika Jonsson.
3 of 10Ritchie Neville then
Back in the day, Ritchie found his name carved into our pencil case thanks to his oh-so-turn-of-the-millennium curtains and voice that could melt the most stone of hearts. Could we have been more jealous of Billie Piper when we found out they were a thing? COUPLE GOALS.
4 of 10Ritchie Neville now
Ritchie took a break from running his restaurant in Sydney, Australia to rejoin Sean, Abz and Scott on The Big Reunion; from which he began dating Atomic Kitten's Natasha Hamilton with whom he has a child. They've since split, and Ritchie continues to tour with the band in their current three-piece formation.
5 of 10Jason 'J' Brown then
Jason Brown - more affectionately known as 'J' (think H from Steps vibes) - was the undisputed bad boy of the band and found himself in British pop's most high-profile relationship with the Spice Girls' Melanie C. Power couple, much?J has since kept a pretty low profile since the group's split; appearing on the seventh series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! in 2007 and refusing to rejoin 5ive for The Big Reunion; citing that he no longer wanted to be in the public eye. We miss you, hun.
6 of 10Jason 'J' Brown now
Despite staying firmly out of the limelight, in 2014 J's ex Mel C uploaded this screenshot of 'Lovely Jason Brown' - without much context. She's since said they're still pals, telling Celebrity Search Engine podcast with Abbie McCarthy in June 2021, '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.'
7 of 10Scott Robinson then
He did the whole gravity-defying hair spikes thing way before Elphaba and Gareth Gates, and while he might've not had the most prominent vocal (to put it politely) Scott was plastered all over our bedroom wall. Also, his performance in the Don't Wanna Let You Go music vid deserved a BAFTA. Real talk.
8 of 10Scott Robinson now
Scott's now married to wife Kerry Oaker, with whom he has four children. After a stint on reality telly show Celebrity Scissorhands back in 2008 (nope, us neither), Scott continues to perform in the band with Sean and Ritchie. He's also dabbled in theatre, with a role in Boogie Nights 2 between 2004 and 2005.
9 of 10Sean Conlon then
Leeds lad Sean was the youngest - and quietest - of the bunch. Remember when he was replaced with an actual cardboard cutout towards the end of the band's reign in the Let's Dance music video? Odd.
10 of 10Sean Conlon now
After an ill-fated audition on The Voice back in 2012, which saw all four coaches refuse to turn their chairs for him, Leeds lad Sean continues to tour with Scott and Ritchie in 5ive.