Here's What Each New Kids On The Block Member Is Up To Now

New Kids on the Block was huge in the late '80s and '90s. While the members of the iconic boy band – Donnie Wahlberg, Joey McIntyre, Danny Wood, and brothers Jonathan and Jordan Knight — still take pride in their roots, they've each gone their separate ways since dominating pop music decades ago. Of course, that's not to say that they don't still band together to offer musical performances to their fans. Before the 2020 pandemic, they had planned a NKOTB Cruise and they were ready to schedule their first post-lockdown show at Fenway Park in Boston in July 2021. 

Nevertheless, since their boy band personas are no longer their top priority, we thought it'd be fun to take a closer look at what is. Ahead, discover what your favorite New Kids on the Block members are up to now. Chances are, you'll be shocked by how different each of their lives have turned out. From acting and making YouTube videos to renovating and parenting, the New Kids do it all.

Donnie Wahlberg went from center stage in music to being an actor on one of the longest-running procedural TV shows. Wahlberg plays Detective Danny Reagan in the CBS series Blue Bloods. The police procedural has been on the air since 2010 and Wahlberg has played a pivotal role in every episode that has aired since then.

While Blue Bloods is a drastic change from his musical claim to fame, Wahlberg finds a way to stay true to his roots. In an interview with Showbiz CheatSheet, he shared that he snuck New Kids on the Block song titles into every episode of the first season. "So I would tell, like Bridget [Moynahan]'s character, 'Hey, hang tough' and 'Call It What You Want,' 'Step by Step,'" he shared. "I was speaking in song titles pretty much every episode and nobody was really catching it because of the way I did it. But my music fans and the [NKOTB] fans definitely were catching it. And every week they would hashtag whatever the song title was." He added that he loved seeing these little Easter eggs trend on Twitter.

Outside of his acting, Donnie Wahlberg also has his hand in the family restaurant business. Burger chain Wahlburgers is owned by Donnie, Mark, and Paul Wahlberg. The chain was opened in the greater Boston area (where the HQ is still located) and now serves cities all across the U.S., Canada, and Germany.

The chain became so famous that it actually got its own reality TV show on A&E, Wahlburgers, which aired from 2014 to 2019. While the show is off the air, the brothers continue to handle the logistics of the restaurants (via Screen Rant).

Part of why Wahlburgers is so successful is likely because the Wahlberg brothers already had ample restaurant experience. After all, they opened their first restaurant, Alma Nove, in 2010. According to Eater, the restaurant was named after their mother, Alma, and her nine ("nove" in Italian) children. The waterfront, Mediterranean-inspired restaurant continues to be a destination for folks (and fans) visiting the Boston area to this day.

Donnie Wahlberg married actress and TV personality Jenny McCarthy outside of Chicago on Aug. 31, 2014, as E! News reported. And as beautiful as the classic, black-and-white wedding was — and as entertaining as their reality show Donnie Loves Jenny was — nothing was sweeter than the way that the New Kids on the Block singer proposed to McCarthy.

While working on The View, McCarthy shared her big news in front of an audience, as reported by ABC News. "This weekend I was sitting with Donnie ... and he went into the other room and out came Evan with a card that said 'Will' and he handed it to me," she told the audience, noting how her son, Evan, helped with the proposal. "Then Evan ran away and Evan came in with a card that said 'You.'" Knowing exactly what was happening, McCarthy started tearing up. After her son ran back with a card that said "Marry," she could hardly contain herself for what was to come. "The last time, Donnie came out with Evan and Donnie's shirt said 'Me' ... and he got down on his knee," she excitedly shared.

After McCarthy's son played such a pivotal role in the proposal, it was only fitting that he gave his mom away during the actual wedding ceremony, too.

Before marrying actress and podcast host Jenny McCarthy, Donnie Wahlberg was married to Kimberly Fey, the mother of his two children, Elijah Hendrix and Xavier Alexander. He's also the stepfather to McCarthy's son, Evan Joseph Asher, as noted by Country Living. While all three of his sons are adults now, he still takes his role as a father very seriously. He tends to keep his children away from the limelight, but every once in a while he'll share a snippet of their lives.

On Father's Day 2019, the New Kid on the Block member took to Instagram to express his gratitude for being his sons' father. "#HappyFathersDay to the millions of other lucky guys (like myself) who have the honor of calling themselves a dad and sharing in the most important responsibility that a man will ever have in his lifetime — fatherhood," he captioned the post. "Keep doing your very best! It will always be good enough!"

New Kids on the Block's Joey McIntyre stuck to his musical roots by becoming a Broadway actor. In 2004, he took the stage as Fiyero in Wicked. But that wasn't McIntyre's only Broadway gig. In 2018, he joined the cast of Waitress, portraying Dr. Pomatter from February to April of that year, as noted by Playbill.

Before starting his run in the cast of Waitress, McIntyre moved to New York City in 2019 with hopes of pursuing theater and making more regular Broadway appearances, according to Billboard. Of course, then the 2020 pandemic happened, which closed Broadway and brought McIntyre's theater dreams to a halt for the time being. Presumably as a result, McIntyre listed his Upper West Side apartment for sale and moved to the Hancock Park neighborhood of Los Angeles that spring, as Variety reported.

While his parts in Waitress and Wicked were two of McIntyre's most notable roles, he's also performed off-Broadway, appearing in tick, tick...BOOM! in Los Angeles and Cabaret in Alaska.

Joey McIntyre is married to Barrett McIntyre, with whom he shares three children: Griffin Thomas, Rhys Edward, and Kira Katherine. Following in his father's famous footsteps, Griffin went after an entertainment career and joined the cast of the Netflix series Country Comfort. A music-centered family comedy, the series follows the life of a country music singer-turned-nanny, played by American Idol runner-up Katharine McPhee. Griffin is one of the kids that she takes care of.

But the McIntyres haven't only had child acting to deal with. Son Rhys unfortunately suffers from extreme hearing loss. In an interview with People, the McIntyres shared that they'll never know for certain just how much their son can actually hear or what those sounds actually sound like to him. "It feels like you're holding your breath," Joey said, regarding when he and his wife first learned of their son's hearing loss. "And that feeling lasted for a few days, until you get educated." The New Kids on the Block singer added, "Rhys' hearing loss is part of who he is. His life is going to be as special as Griffin's. There's just work involved."

At one point in time, Joey McIntyre had his very own podcast, entitled The Move With Joey McIntyre. However, instead of the podcast focusing on music or theater acting, as some fans might have assumed, he centered the entire show around the concept of moving — what motivates it, the emotions associated with it, and how it impacts life as a whole. While only 14 episodes aired between 2017 and 2018 before the podcast came to a halt, McIntyre had the opportunity to chat with the likes of mixed martial artist David Heath, actor Chet Dixon, and comedian Adam Ray, among others.

Besides his podcast, McIntyre has also continued his entertainment career by acting on the small screen, appearing on shows like Boston Public, The McCarthys, and his own Pop TV series Return of the Mac. "It's about me, in between jobs, doing school pickups for my kids, but really wanting out of the house. 'Cause when Daddy has a job, it's good for everybody!" he shared when discussing Return of the Mac with CBS's Watch! magazine.

New Kids on the Block member Danny Wood now spends a lot of his time producing new content for his channel, The Wood Works. The singer uses his platform to share food, fitness, and all-around fun content with his followers and fans. Wood shares everything from workouts to music to a look at his life behind the scenes. More than anything, though, he uses his online space to share his favorite recipes, including delicious options like turkey meatballs, homemade pizza dough, and "Danny's Big A** Scones."

In addition to creating new content each week — he releases new episodes every Tuesday at noon EST — Wood designed a very creative teaser video for his channel, and the theme song will undoubtedly get stuck in your head. What's more, he does live streams, which he's dubbed "Danny After Dark," every once in a while, offering even more content to his fans.

Since launching his channel, Wood has amassed nearly 15,000 subscribers.

At this point, it's clear that Danny Wood likes to cook. After all, the majority of his YouTube channel is dedicated to it. While he has videos making some of his favorite recipes on YouTube, he also has recipe content on his website, sharing tips to make everything from turkey sausage and peppers to Betty's Easy Pumpkin Pie.

Beyond his YouTube and website, Wood regularly shares what he's cooking on Instagram. As a single dad, he's often whipping up delicious (and healthy!) family meals that his followers wish they could enjoy alongside him at his table. Think homemade granola, turkey chili, empanadas, and more.

Every once in a while, Wood's love of cooking makes its way over to the New Kids on the Block YouTube channel, where the members of the band each share things that are important to them in their daily lives. In fact, back in April 2020, Wood took to the band's YouTube to share his go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe. 

Considering how much Danny Wood eats, it's only fitting that he puts just as much energy into working out. In fact, when he's not posting food or New Kids on the Block content, he's typically sharing his favorite workouts — or photos of his body, which only further prove just how much he lifts.

Wood has even shared his go-to routine on social media. He focuses on shoulders and legs on Mondays; cardio, chest, back, and abs on Tuesdays; biceps and triceps on Wednesdays and Saturdays; shoulders, legs, and abs on Thursdays and Sundays; and chest and back on Fridays. He also tackles the StairMaster each day. In other words, he takes no days off from fitness, so it's no wonder his physique is as toned as it is.

For fans looking to recreate his workouts, you're in luck! Wood shares some of his favorite workouts on his YouTube channel so that fans can incorporate his exact movements into their daily routines.

After stepping back from singing, Jonathan Knight focused his energy into home remodeling. He honed his skills while remodeling over 200 houses over the past two decades, and he eventually joined forces with HGTV to release his very own show with the network, Farmhouse Fixer. The series, which premiered on March 3, 2021, follows Knight as he restores — rather than tears down — classic farmhouses.

"Restoring the American farmhouse is not just a hobby for me — it's my passion, my obsession and I've been doing it for more than 25 years," Knight said in an HGTV press release. "It's so easy to just go knock down an old house. It's way harder to renovate them so that families can enjoy them for years to come. That's the reason this work is so worth it."

He spoke further on this with Boston.com, mentioning that, for him, older houses have always had more appeal than newer structures. "I just always liked an older house growing up," he told the outlet. "So it just got to a point where I was done with doing new construction and really wanted to get back to where my heart was, with the older houses."

Jonathan Knight is gay and proud. Though, not everyone knew it until 2011, when he confirmed his sexuality after '80s pop star Tiffany brought it up while on Watch What Happens Live, according to The Hollywood Reporter. In the eyes of fans, Tiffany outed him when she mentioned that she had dated one of the New Kids on the Block singers back when she had been touring with them, noting that he later revealed he was gay. While fans immediately jumped to Knight's defense, he made it clear that she was not to blame and took the opportunity to confirm that he is, in fact, gay. "I have never been outed by anyone but myself!" he said. "I did so almost twenty years ago."

In 2008, Jonathan met his partner, Harley Rodriguez. While they had planned to get married in 2021 (after getting engaged in 2016), thanks to COVID-19, their plans were canceled. While they could absolutely wait until things simmered down, Knight revealed they were considering an elopement to make things official between the two of them. "We're on the fence if we just go elope," Knight told People. "Or, we just wait it out a couple more years and have a really good celebration with our families."

While Jonathan Knight is planning on tying the knot, his younger brother, Jordan Knight, has already said his vows. He and his wife, Evelyn, have had two children since they married: Eric Jacob and Dante Jordan (via People). To ensure his kids had a happy, fun life, Knight actually filled the role of stay-at-home dad.

"I'm a hockey dad," he said in a 2012 interview with Twin Cities Pioneer Press. "Actually, today, I'm a basketball dad. I get up with the kids, get them dressed, take them to school. All that good, fun stuff. That's what life is about, the little moments."

So, given his happy life as a dad, will he and his wife add another youngster to their brood? It's possible. "Our hands are full with two," Knight told People in a 2007 interview. "But we'll see. Fatherhood is the best thing I've ever done."

When he's not only taking care of his sons, Jordan Knight spends his time, energy, and money on restaurants — not to eat out at, but rather to invest in. 

In a 2016 interview with Boston magazine, the New Kid on the Block singer shared that he wanted to be involved with Italian restaurant Novara as soon as he saw it. "While I was looking at the place, I was like, 'Man, I wish I was involved in this thing.' It just seemed like such a home run," he told the outlet. "It looked like Newbury Street is coming to East Milton Square. I knew Vance and his team run a tight ship, and the chef is great."

Thankfully, Novara survived the 2020 pandemic by becoming a takeout and delivery restaurant during the peak of the virus. So, what should you order at the restaurant? "The pizza is amazing. The tortellini was really good, the calamari was really good," Knight advised.