Jonathan Rashleigh Knight-Rodriguez (born November 29, 1968) is an American singer. He is best known for being a member of the

boy band A boy band is loosely defined as a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform love songs marketed towards girls and young women. Ma ...

New Kids on the Block New Kids on the Block (also initialized as NKOTB) is an American boy band from Dorchester, Massachusetts. The band consists of brothers Jonathan and Jordan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, and Danny Wood. New Kids on the Block enjoy ...

. It also includes Donnie Wahlberg, Joey McIntyre, Danny Wood and his younger brother

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

. He is the oldest member of the band and the first to leave it in 1994 prior to their official split.

Early life

Jonathan Knight was born in Boston, Massachusetts. His parents are Canadian, his father from

Meaford, Ontario Meaford is a municipality in Grey County, Ontario, Canada. Meaford is located on Nottawasaga Bay, a sub-basin of Georgian Bay and Owen Sound Bay, in the traditional territory of the Saugeen Ojibway Nation in southern Ontario. The municipality' ...

and his mother from

Dunnville, Ontario Dunnville is an unincorporated community located near the mouth of the Grand River in Haldimand County, Ontario, Canada near the historic Talbot Trail. It was formerly an incorporated town encompassing the surrounding area with a total populat ...

. He is one of six children: Allison, Sharon, David, Christopher and Jordan. His father is an Episcopal priest.

New Kids on the Block

From 1986 until 1994, Knight was a member of the American boy band New Kids on the Block. They went on to sell over 80 million records worldwide before splitting in 1994 after he left during the tour for their 1994 album '' Face the Music''. The group attempted to continue the tour claiming Jonathan had been badly hurt by a

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...

, but in a

press conference A press conference or news conference is a media event in which notable individuals or organizations invite journalists to hear them speak and ask questions. Press conferences are often held by politicians, corporations, non-governmental organ ...

a few weeks later, they revealed that they were actually splitting. In the spring of 2008, Knight returned to show business, reuniting with the other four members of New Kids on the Block. They released their seventh album (and first in 14 years), '' The Block'', on September 2, 2008. To confirm their reunion and announce the new album, they performed live together on May 16, 2008 for the first time in fifteen years on the ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now'' * Current era, present * The current calendar date Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 ...

'' show. A world tour was scheduled to follow the new release and began in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

on September 18, 2008. The first single from it, " Summertime", performed well worldwide peaking as #9 in Canada and breaking the top 30 in the U.S. charts (#24 as a digital download). They released " Single", their second single from ''The Block'' in August 2008.

Personal life

Jonathan is the older brother of Jordan Knight. In the years after the group first disbanded, Knight worked as a

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more genera ...

investor living in

Essex, Massachusetts Essex is a coastal town in Essex County, Massachusetts, 26 miles (42 km) north of Boston and 13 miles (21 km) southeast of Newburyport. It is known for its former role as a center of shipbuilding. The population was 3,675 at the 2020 ...

; no longer in the spotlight, he rarely made public appearances or gave interviews. In 2000, he revealed that he suffered from generalized anxiety disorder since his early career with New Kids on the Block. He has since sought medical help and his health has improved. In 2011, he appeared on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

reality series '' True Life'' to help a fan suffering from panic disorder. In 2009, the ''

National Enquirer The ''National Enquirer'' is an American tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1926, the newspaper has undergone a number of changes over the years. The ''National Enquirer'' openly acknowledges that it pays sources for tips, a common practice in t ...

'' published an article from his ex-boyfriend Kyle Wilker, who outed him as gay without his consent. Jonathan Knight said, "I have lived my life very openly and have never hidden the fact that I am gay." In a statement on the New Kids on the Block blog, he added "Apparently the prerequisite to being a gay public figure is to appear on the cover of a magazine with the caption 'I am gay'. I apologize for not doing so if this is what was expected!" Knight has been in a relationship with Harley Rodriguez since 2008. The two participated in the 26th season of the reality competition series ''

The Amazing Race ''The Amazing Race'' is an adventure reality game show franchise in which teams of two people race around the world in competition with other teams. The ''Race'' is split into legs, with teams tasked to deduce clues, navigate themselves in fore ...

'', which aired on CBS in early 2015, where they placed 9th. The two became engaged when Knight proposed on November 15, 2016 while they vacationed in Africa. In March 2021, Knight began hosting the

HGTV HGTV (an initialism for Home & Garden Television) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The network primarily broadcasts reality programming related to home improvement and real estate. As of February 2015, app ...

television show ''Farmhouse Fixer'', in which he restores centuries-old New England farmhouses for clients. On August 25, 2022, it was revealed that Knight and Rodriguez are married.

Discography

;New Kids on the Block albums * ''

'' (1986) * '' Hangin' Tough'' (1988) * '' Step by Step'' (1990) * '' Face the Music'' (1994) * '' The Block'' (2008) * '' 10'' (2013) * '' Thankful'' (2017)

References

External links

New Kids On The Block official websiteNew Kids On The Block videos
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, Jonathan 1968 births Living people 20th-century American singers 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century American singers 21st-century LGBT people American gay musicians American male dancers American male pop singers American male singers American people of Canadian descent American real estate brokers American television hosts Columbia Records artists Interscope Records artists LGBT people from Massachusetts American LGBT singers Musicians from Boston Musicians from Worcester, Massachusetts New Kids on the Block members NKOTBSB members People from Dorchester, Massachusetts Singers from Massachusetts The Amazing Race (American TV series) contestants