Mark Owen has had a life full of ups and downs – from Take That and tax avoidance, to love affairs and alcohol addiction.
To commemorate his 50th birthday, here at Daily Star we’re taking a look inside his life.
In 1989, the pop group was formed and shot to ultimate fame, becoming heart-throbs to millions of teens during the 1990s.
Made up of Mark, Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Jason Orange and Robbie Williams, the hit-making and heart-stopping boyband topped the charts with many classics like Could It Be Magic and A Million Love Songs.
Since shooting to fame, Mark has been through a number of trials and tribulations, but has come out of it all with his loyal wife and family stood firmly by his side.
More than 10 affairs
(Image: Getty Images)
Back in 2010 Mark Owen admitted to The Sun that he had cheated on his wife with “at least” 10 different women.
The then 38-year-old singer blamed a long battle with alcoholism for his infidelity and said he was “deeply sorry” for the pain he had caused his family and wife who he had been with for more than five years.
Speaking to the publication at the time he revealed: “I don’t know how many girls there were in all. Maybe 10.”
One of the ongoing affairs began when he started dating his now wife, and was with an account manager who was 24 at the time.
MailOnline reported in 2010 that Mark and the woman’s relationship started in 2004 when they met on a train station platform in Preston.
(Image: Getty Images)
The publication claimed that the pair went to LA together, before meeting at his Lake District home “where they smoked cannabis and drank vodka together before having sex”.
It was also alleged that they spent time together weeks before his first daughter was born, and again one month before he got hitched.
At the time, Take That singer Mark said of his infidelity: “Life was hard, I guess. I let Emma down. I was selfish and stubborn.”
Tax avoidance
(Image: Dave J Hogan/Getty Images for Take That)
In June 2012, it was revealed that along with Take That band members Howard Donald and Gary Barlow, the trio had invested around £26million in music industry investment schemes.
In 2016 it was reported that the trio paid back more than £20million owed to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) after the three members joined a tax-avoidance scheme.
Mark, Gary, Howard and their manager Jonathan Wild reportedly tucked away £66million into the artificial tax shelter Icebreaker.
Former Take That members Jason Orange and Robbie Williams were not involved in the scheme.
Months after the hearing, Gary Barlow tweeted: “I want to apologise to anyone who was offended by the tax stories earlier this year.”
Alcoholism battle
(Image: officialjasonorange/Instagram)
In March 2010 after being thrown out of home by his wife, who was allegedly “devastated” over his cheating confessions, Mark checked himself into a clinic so that he could receive treatment for his drink problem.
At the time of the star checking into rehab, a source told MailOnline that he “needed urgent help”.
The source also explained that at the time his wife was “so angry and devastated that she had thrown Mark out of their home and has taken off her wedding ring”.
While recovering in rehab it was reported that he had his phone taken off him and was unable to contact his wife or kids.
Moving to the states
In 2021 it was reported that Mark traded the English countryside for California after deciding to permanently move to America with his family.
Mark and his wife Emma Ferguson, who he married in 2009 and who has stood by him despite everything, decided to head across the pond with their three children.
The couple share: Willow Rose, 14, Fox India, 12, and Elwood Jack, nine.
(Image: Getty Images)
A source told The Sun that Mark’s departure from the UK wouldn’t impact Take That, stating: “Mark is only a 10-hour plane ride away and will return to the UK whenever the band needs him.”
According to the publication, the family flogged their home in Hampshire for a huge £6.5million – three times what he originally paid for it, when he and his wife moved from South West London to the English countryside.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
