There was a moment when a member of NSYNC couldn't even pay his electric bill.
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Joey Fatone recently shared that the lights in his house were shut off due to financial constraints, underscoring just how dire his situation had become. The reality star almost filed for bankruptcy.
Why Did This NSYNC Member Almost File for Bankruptcy?
Entertainment Weekly reports that on an upcoming episode of the docuseries Boy Band Confidential, Fatone shares what led to his money troubles.
The issue began in 2002 when NSYNC went on hiatus, shortly after Fatone bought a 10,000-square-foot home on four acres.
"Money was coming in. I asked my accountant, 'Hey, are we good?' 'Yeah, we're great.' 'I'm OK to buy this house, right?' He goes, 'Your kids' kids' kids will be fine.' Now, he was saying that as if money was probably still coming in," Fatone shared.
He then added, "You go 10 years later after that conversation, and when I go to a new accountant, I say, 'Hey man, can you look at my finances and what's going on?' And he goes, 'You need to get out of that house, or you're gonna go bankrupt.' I went, 'I'm sorry, what?'"
The Lights Went Out for Joey Fatone on Christmas
Fatone's family had gathered for Christmas one year. Then, before the presents were unwrapped, the lights went out.
"This is when I am married, I have two kids," said Fatone. "These are certain things that happen in normal people's lives as well, but then you have to figure out, for me, how do I do this without the public even watching what's going on?"
He added, "We're cooking Christmas Eve dinner kind of thing. So all my family was there, cousins and aunts. And I was like, 'We need to call these people up right now to get this thing back on. This is not smart.'"
Fatone began asking people for money, but they declined to help out the NSYNC star. He said he had to "put my tail between my legs as a man to try to figure this out."
As a result, he sold his house and moved his then-wife and two daughters to his parents' home for a year. During this period, he also learned not to trust accountants blindly and became more financially secure.
"I lived in Vegas for almost a year, busted my ass to slowly build back up kind of a career in a sense," he said. "And thank goodness, Lord, things were able to roll. Things came out better."
