He spoke of his deep remorse after it emerged he had repeatedly cheated on his wife.
And yesterday Mark Owen took a further step to rebuild his marriage by revealing that Take That would have a creche on their latest tour so he could be joined by his wife and children.
The band yesterday announced the dates of a 20-date tour that could earn them £50million – and for the first time in 16 years they will be joined by former bandmate Robbie Williams.
Back in the fold: The tour will feature all the band's hits plus songs from Robbie's solo career
But it was the revelation that the band’s wives and children will be travelling with them that raised eyebrows at yesterday’s press conference.
Asked about the possibility of families coming along, Owen, 38, said: ‘That’s up to them. We are talking about having a creche backstage. But some of the kids have got school. They’ll be in trouble if they take more than a few days off.’
In March, Owen was forced to publicly admit affairs with ten women, conducted while he was dating his then girlfriend, Emma Ferguson, the mother of his children Elwood, four, and 23-month-old Willow Rose.
Progress Live 2011: Take That pose for a photo call in London today after announcing their tour. Tickets go on sale Friday
He had married actress Emma in a Scottish castle just six months before the revelations. However, the singer fought hard for a reconciliation and recently claimed he has put his marriage difficulties behind him.
Both Williams, 36, and Barlow, 39, are also married and Barlow has three children.
But it is unlikely that any of the Take That wives will have any objections to their husbands taking to the road next year. A music industry source said each member will earn more than £4million, or £200,000 for each show.
Reunion: The band have not performed together for 15 yearsGossip: The tour is one of the industry's worst-kept secrets, with Robbie letting slip several times in recent weeks that one was in the works
‘One sold-out stadium will gross £2million for the band and costs will swallow £1million per show,’ the source said.
On top of that the five will get some £5million each from record sales, royalties and TV rights. Their album, Progress, will be released next month and has been tipped to be the Christmas number one. Tickets for the tour are likely to sell out fast.
Their last tour, Circus, broke British box office records when it sold 600,000 tickets in less than five hours in 2009. It was seen by more than one million people.
Breaking up: Take That (minus Robbie) announcing their split in 1996As they were: The band in their heyday
The UK leg of their Progress Live tour will commence in May in Sunderland and culminate in four nights at Wembley Stadium before six dates in Europe taking in Italy, Germany, Holland and Denmark. Tickets go on sale at 9am on Friday.
Take That formed in 1990, but Williams quit in 1995 to pursue a solo career.
The group split the next year, but Barlow, Owen, Howard Donald, 42, and Jason Orange, 40, reformed in 2005, and have released two hit albums since.
Williams and Barlow became close again in recent months, writing and performing their current single Shame.
Progress Live 2011 UK tour datesMonday May 30 Sunderland Stadium of Light Friday June 3 City of Manchester Stadium Saturday June 4 City of Manchester Stadium Sunday June 5 City of Manchester Stadium Tuesday June 7 City of Manchester Stadium Tuesday June 14 Cardiff Millennium Stadium Saturday June 18 Dublin Croke Park Wednesday June 22 Glasgow Hampden Park Thursday June 23 Glasgow Hampden Park Monday June 27 Birmingham Villa Park Friday July 1 Wembley Stadium Saturday July 2 Wembley Stadium Sunday July 3 Wembley StadiumTuesday July 5 Wembley Stadium
