Jonathan Knight: From Boy Band Heartthrob To HGTV Star
Lifestyle News
By ALEX CENEVIVA
NKOTB
Jonathan Knight was just 16 when he joined the boy band New Kids on the Block along with his brother, Jordan Knight. While NKOTB went on to sell millions of albums and go on several world tours, there were pitfalls of being in a popular boy band — for Knight, it was the frenzied fans.
First To Go
Knight sort of initiated the New Kids on the Block breakup in 1994 when he left in the middle of the "Face The Music" tour. He said, "I felt that we had done it long enough. I was the first to jump ship. The others were angry at first, but they understood."
Real Estate
Once Knight's first stint on New Kids on the Block ended, he started flipping houses and became a real estate developer, launching a firm with a friend in Massachusetts. At some point, Knight realized that he wasn't fulfilled with the restorations that he was doing, so he shifted gears to work on historic houses instead.
Reunited
In 2008, New Kids On The Block reunited, and Knight had some concerns, explaining, "I went into a whole different career after leaving the group and that was my life, so going back into rehearsals, living on a bus and being in front of an audience had become foreign to me." Knight performed with NKOTB, even while busy with HGTV.
Outed
While with New Kids on the Block, his manager insisted he keep his sexuality a secret, and this was one reason why he was hesitant to reunite in 2008. An ex had sold photos of them together to the National Enquirer, and pop singer Tiffany outed Knight as gay in 2011, but Knight said he was no longer hiding anything.