Lee Ryan has become the fourth and final member of the boyband Blue to declare himself bankrupt. The 31-year-old, who reportedly once had a fortune of £10million, is believed to have been forced to declare his bankruptcy by a debt collection company, and will now have all of his assets frozen. "Lee has tried to manage his financial commitments from over the years to the best of his abilities but ultimately concedes that bankruptcy is the best way forward in order for him to provide the best future for his children," a representative for star said in a statement.
Lee Ryan has filed for bankruptcy
All four members of Blue have now declared themselves bankrupt. Duncan James was the first; he filed in September 2013, shortly after the band's company Blueworld Ltd went into administration. He blamed his financial struggles on bad property investments. "I always wanted to give my loved ones roofs over their heads and make sure they were taken care of, so that's what I did," Duncan said at the time. "Now I've had to sell the home I bought for my mum. And that's been the most heartbreaking part for me. I so wanted to take care of her. "Just a few weeks later, Simon Webbe declared himself bankrupt, quickly followed by Antony Costa."I wasn't saving any of my money along the way and I had champagne taste with lemonade money in the end," Antony said. "I thought Blue was going to last forever and any money I did have left at the end of Blue, I wasn't advised how to save it. But I don't blame anyone for that."
Blue (from left): Duncan James, Simon Webbe, Anthony Costa and Lee Ryan
Blue formed in 2000 and had more than 40 No 1 hits around the world, and sold 15 million records. Simon has previously stated that the band made £82million in its first three years, but "we hardly saw a penny of it".In May 2013, the band's company Blueworld Ltd collapsed, with the quartet owing thousands of pounds to creditors.Blue reformed in 2011 after a six-year hiatus – but announced last month that they would release future music independently after being dropped by Sony Music. Hitting out at negative press coverage, they wrote on Facebook: "Let the haters hate and in the meantime we are going to keep on doing what we love for everyone that enjoys Blue and what we stand for – our music."