After *NSYNC went on an indefinite hiatus in 2002, Joey Fatone had no idea he would be saying “Bye, Bye, Bye” to his finances.
The entertainer is now the executive producer of IDs new docuseries, “Boy Band Confidential,” premiering April 13 and April 14. Featuring new interviews with fellow *NSYNC member Lance Bass, as well as Backstreet Boys member AJ McLean, among others, it explores the dark side of boy band fame at the height of the 1990s pop boom.
Fatone, 49, told Fox News Digital he was completely blindsided by his financial troubles.
“… I started talking to the accountant who I had at the moment, and I thought that person was looking out for my best interests,” he said. “… I started watching the numbers deplete quicker and quicker than normal. Im going, This is not right. And then it was almost like a snowball effect.”
“When youre starting to do things, and youre in the heat of it, you dont really realize it,” he said. “… Im like, Wait a minute. I have all this stuff, and now its like your mortgage, your loan and everything â youre not able to pay it anymore.”
“I wasnt paying attention to what exactly was going on,” Fatone admitted. “You start digging into it, and you go, Im 20 years old, buying a couch, and I wanted each sofa cushion to be different. And thats going to cost $5,000 to $7,000. I mean, what was I thinking?”
WATCH: JOEY FATONE REFLECTS ON *NSYNC FAME, MONEY STRUGGLES AND COMEBACK
“[But] we all do it. Everybody who comes into money does the same thing. I dont care who you are. The first thing you probably buy is a car or a house. And then it just trickles away if youre able to get that money. And lets be real, certain people in their lives [are] never really taught how to manage or handle money.”
Fatone recalls just how dire things became.
“During Christmas, they shut off the lights because I didn’t pay the bill,” he said.
His then-wife and their two children moved into his parents home. He lived in Las Vegas for about a year, seeking work.
“I had to live away for a while because I had to bust my a– and work, and we were on a tight budget,” said Fatone. “… , doing the live show of The Price Is Right at Ballys. At that moment in time, youve got to say yes to everything. I was buying $2 tacos at Ballys because I just tried to save money.”
“Was I making a little bit of money? Yes, of course, but it wasnt enough to even take care of some of the bills of my monstrosity house that I had,” said Fatone. “So many people go bankrupt. So many people have downfalls. Its just that mines in the spotlight.”
“When you have a normal job, people have 401(k)s,” Fatone explained. “In my field, you dont have a 401(k) if you dont have your own business and your own LLC. Youve got to figure out your own business and retirement plan.”
Before relocating to Las Vegas for work while his family stayed behind, Fatone turned to friends for help. He was met with a response that stunned him.
“I swallowed my pride and said, I need a little bit of help,” Fatone recalled. “‘This is the navigation I need. I dont need anything astronomical, but I need a little bit of guidance. It was interesting to see where , Sure, Id love to help you. And certain people were like, Nope. And theyre close friends.
“You just go, OK, now I know who my real friends are and what they really wanted out of me. Was it because I was famous, and thats why they hung out with me? Now that I didnt have a pot to p— in, now they dont care about me.”
“I just nodded and did what I had to do,” said Fatone. “I moved on and pretty much never talked to those people again.”
Fatones manager and executive producer, Joe Mulvihill, who was previously *NSYNCs assistant, told Fox News Digital that fans dont always understand what really happens to boy band wealth behind the scenes.
“The biggest myth about boy band wealth? I think people think its ridicu
