Paloma Faith might be changing her tune when it comes to her career.
The 42-year-old singer admitted her latest album could be her last before she pivots to teaching in order to spend more time with her kids.
She told Jamie Laing’s Great Company podcast her Mum is always pushing her to ditch the microphone and pick up the books instead.
“She’s like, ‘You’ve had kids, you’ve done the pop star thing. Go and do PGCE [teacher training] because then you can have the same holidays as your kids’. I’m considering it. I just might put one more record out.”
Paloma wouldn’t be the only superstar to trade her life of luxury for something a little more run of the mill.
From running gourmet food trucks to setting up construction companies, we look at the noughties stars who have swapped pop stardom for yearly salaries.
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Cheeky car dealers
After skyrocketing to fame with a bizarre appearance on the reality TV show Popstars: The Rivals, the Cheeky Girls were topping the charts with tunes such as “Cheeky Song (Touch My Bum)’.
But for the Romanian twins Monica Taylor and Gabriela Irimia, a need for stability drove the pair to the car yards. Both twins are now working as car saleswomen with Monica in Lincolnshire and Gabriela in York.
Monica told the Sun in 2021 that cars were a stable career path after Covid destroyed the music industry.
“Me and Gaby need a solid business for our future and cars will always be good business.
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“Being an entertainer is fantastic, but like it was with Covid, if you don’t have a solid job or business how do you survive?”
They do occasionally slip back into the limelight – and last week teamed up with Irn Bru to surprise shoppers in Glasgow.
Kitten turned to catering
Jenny Frost, the former star of iconic noughties girl band Atomic Kitten, made the switch from fame to food when she opened a restaurant in Ibiza.
The stunning 46-year-old joined the band in 2001 and stayed through until they split in 2008.
She now owns the affordable luxury restaurant Sundara on Ibiza’s San Antonio Bay which opened last year.
Atomic changes
Another Atomic Kitten star, Natasha Hamilton, has tried her hand at a couple of different careers – most recently, therapy.
The 41-year-old mum-of-five announced in 2021 she was retraining as an “unconscious mind therapist” to try and help people through their trauma.
A source told the Sun “Natasha has been completely blown away by this different way of working with the mind and now wants to help others thrive, helping them break free of their self-limiting beliefs.”
It’s not the first time the former Kitten has tried her hand at a new career path. The flame haired beauty also retrained as a beauty therapist in 2019 and opened The Beauty Studio in Farndon, Chester the same year.
Boy band departure to Kent-loving farmer
JB Gill is best known for his chart-topping boy band JLS which shot to fame in 2006 – but when the band split in 2013 he gave up the microphone and picked up the keys for the tractor.
The 37-year-old put his hand to farming after buying a Kent property with 13 acres of land in 2012. He now lives on the farm with his wife Chloe, 34, and their two children, Ace, 8, and Chiara, 5.
He said he loves all parts of the farming life – even the gross parts.
“I love some of the more mundane tasks – mucking out is like mindfulness meditation to me. Most people turn their nose up at it, but it gives me time to think,” he told OK.
While he will continue to revel in his rural life the band recently announced a reunion tour.
Stepping up to teach
After a glitzy career in showbiz which included 14 top-five singles, Steps star Lisa Scott-Lee has stepped away from the stage and into school.
The 48-year-old now runs her own performing arts academy in Dubai where upwards of 600 students come to learn the ropes of the art world.
She set up the school in 2014 with her husband Johnny Shentall and regularly posts snaps of the children performing on her Instagram.
The family moved to Dubai with their children in 2011 and haven’t looked back.
Lisa said in 2021 that Steps was ‘her life” but the academy was her day job.
“I can never switch off. Even when I’m with Steps, rehearsing or shooting a video, I’ll be working on my laptop. It’s become a bit of a running joke. I have to flip between my Steps hat and principal hat, which can be really hard and stressful at times.”
Jonas Brother turned builder
Once upon a time Kevin Jonas spent his days touring with his brothers, playing top ten hits to stadiums packed with thousands of screaming fans. Now, the 36-year-old has left the Jonas Brothers behind and focuses more on building a life for his family.
In 2013 he launched Jonas Werner Homes – a luxury construction company for “discerning clients” according to its website.
Alongside running the construction firm the eldest Jonas Brother is also the chief executive of The Blu Market – a communications firm which has launched several apps including a food search app called Yood.
In between all these jobs, Kevin still finds time to tour with his brothers – most recently last year when the brothers announced they intend to do another tour in 2025 to celebrate 25 years of the Jonas Brothers.
X-Factor to contractor
X Factor runner up Ray Quinn now lives a life completely different to the fame he experienced in the early 2000s.
The singer finished up second in the 2006 series, coming in behind Leona Lewis and made history as the youngest ever male artist to enter the UK album chart at number 1 without having released a single.
After a dizzying rise to fame he appeared on Dancing on Ice, which he won twice – once in 2009 and then again in the allstars competition in 2014. He also was cast in the iconic soap Hollyoakes where he played right wing nutter Jonny Baxter, and starred in a play at Liverpool’s Royal court.
But after a “nightmare year” in 2020, the entertainment work dried up entirely and the 35-year-old went back to manual labour to keep food on the table.
When he lost his beloved father to cancer in 2020, he decided to go back to the family business of carpet laying. Up until this he had been delivering mail for Hermes.
“It’s good to have another trade under your belt, especially during these times. It’s good to have a back-up plan.
“You shouldn’t pigeon-hole yourself – I’ve never done that.
Boy band star to coffee connoisseur
Westlife was at the top of the entertainment world in the noughties. The group had dozens of top ten hits, and were raking in millions in album sales – but now one member has given up the music to serve coffee and crepes.
Mark Feehily launched his catering van in 2015, while still balancing a solo music career on the side.
He said at the time the business was going “really well” and had been booked for several events. “We’ve got loads of interest and we’ve booked it in with a lot of the music festivals and we’re talking about doing some Irish ones as well.”
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He said it worked well for him, because he loved festivals so “why not?”
