07 February 2024 , 12:58
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Jason Orange has been spotted looking in great shape in a rare public sighting.
The singer shocked fans when he quit Take That 10 years ago. He has since stepped away from the public eye and now lives "off-grid" in hid Cotswold country home. Jason was spotted out and about in London as he wrapped up against the cold. He strolled around Hampstead in a Dry Robe teamed with a grey hoodie, scarf and beanie.
The 53-year-old sported a salt and pepper beard and had headphones plugged in while keeping his hand wrapped up in fluffy mittens. At the time of Jason's departure from the group, he explained that there had been "no falling out", insisting he simply didn't want to be in the band anymore.
Jason was spotted in London in a rare public sighting (KP)
The singer quit Take That in 2014 (Getty Images)He is said to have rarely kept in touch with his former bandmates - Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Mark Owen and Robbie Williams. "I don't know where he is. He's difficult to get hold of," star Howard said. "I believe that's the way he wants it," he told The Sun. While Gary told the Metro: "We hear from Jason now and again. Then when you reply the email doesn’t work."
The singer added: "You have to respect the fact he doesn’t want to do this." Jason insisted he'd had the "best years of his life" with the chart-toppers, but he no longer wanted to be part of the band. “There have been no fallings out, only a decision on my part that I no longer wish to do this,” he said in an emotional statement.
Take That's Howard has so many cars he's run out of room to store them all
Describing Gary, Howard and Mark as his “brothers”, Jason said he told them during a band meeting that he wanted out. “There have been no fallings out, only a decision on my part that I no longer wish to do this. I know how much Mark, Gary and Howard enjoy writing and making music, and they know that they have my full support and encouragement to continue on with what is to be another chapter for the band.”
Both Robbie and Jason have stepped away from the band (Getty Images)In 2018, Howard revealed Jason had gone on to live a “normal life“ in the countryside. “Jason has gone off the grid. He's not taking emails or phone calls or stuff like that. That's good for him,“ he told the Loose Women panel. “That's where he wants to be. I think he wants to be a million miles away from this at the moment.“
Little is known about Jason's home life but in 2020, he was spotted queuing in a dry cleaners in the picturesque village of Chipping Norton. The former boy bander was said to be house hunting in nearby Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire. Last year he was also seen in North London on a bicycle looking carefree and relaxed.
The three remaining members of Take That - Gary, Howard and Mark - are set to embark on a world tour starting in Sheffield on 13 April and finishing in Auckland, New Zealand on 14 November.