Where Is She Now? Former Wonder Girls Member Sunye Gets Honest About Her Life Away From The Spotlight

Sunye was once a member of Wonder Girls, one of the iconic K-Pop girl groups of all time. While her career was soaring as an idol, she pulled the brakes to put her family first. In a recent interview, the singer revealed how she spent the past few years away from the glamor of a celebrity’s life.

Sunye as a member of Wonder Girls

Sunye was the first member to be revealed before the official debut of Wonder Girls in 2006. She was the group’s leader and main vocalist, and her skills earned her a loyal fan following along with a rising career. But fans were taken aback when in 2013, the group’s agency, JYP Entertainment, announced that she would stop her official promotions with the group to marry her then-fiancé, James Park.

Sunye with her husband James Park

Unfortunately, due to the existing standards of the idol industry, marriage often means the end of an idol’s career, especially if it is a female artist in question. But Sunye broke this regressive and baseless mold by continuing to be a part of Wonder Girls, even after her marriage. It wasn’t until 2015, two years after her marriage, that Sunye officially left the group and retired from the entertainment industry to focus on her family life.

After a long hiatus, Sunye finally made her comeback into the industry in 2021 with the show Mama The Idol. In the following year, she released multiple musical projects as a soloist. She also got her start in musicals with Ruth this year.

Sunye in “Ruth” | @sunye.m/Instagram

As exciting as her return to the limelight is for fans, many were pretty curious about how her life looked like during the long years she was gone from the public eye. On June 6, KST, the singer gave a surprising answer to this question on the KBS show The Return Of Superman.

Sunye appeared as a narrator on the show with actress So Yoo Jin, where the two talked about motherhood. Sunye is the mother of three daughters. Her oldest is nine years old, while her second daughter is seven years old, and the youngest one is only four years old. When So Yoo Jin asked if her kids know that their mother is a popular idol, she replied saying that for the past ten years, she has lived just as a mom. With her down-to-earth appearance at home, her children never had the chance to realize that their mother is a celebrity.

They really didn’t know. During the last ten years I was just a mom raising her kids wearing ragged t-shirts.

—Sunye

The idol also revealed that after she appeared on Mama The Idol, her daughters were taken aback to see their mother in the full glory of a performer for the first time!

Last year, when I performed on stage with full hair and makeup for ‘Mama The Idol,’ they seemed to be quite surprised.

—Sunye

It looks like now Sunye is ready to juggle her mommy duties with her career, as she revealed that beside her current musical, she is also planning to release a new album!