Updates to the “Hiatus” Timeline have ceased effective 10/01/25. All citations in Timeline posts reflect the state of public information as it appeared during the timeline’s active reconstruction.
Welcome to Riddle On Her Mind—a longform visual and research archive exploring the timeline, group dynamics, and post-hiatus history of NSYNC.
This WordPress blog serves as a companion space to the Riddle On Her Mind Instagram Visual Archive, where the visual timeline and curated graphics help unpack the group’s disbandment through layered research.
Launched with a single guiding question—what really happened with *NSYNC’s breakup?—the project became a deep dive into press coverage, archival materials, fan recollections, and firsthand interviews. It explores how the group’s so-called “hiatus” in 2002 gradually gave way to disbandment, how member narratives shifted over time, and how public perception was shaped by uneven media visibility.
If you’re new here, start with the Introduction to Riddle On Her Mind. It outlines how the research began, what questions shaped its direction, and why unpacking the group’s final years in order offers new clarity.
DISCLAIMER: The sources featured in the Riddle On Her Mind (ROHM) timeline are a combination of news, rumors and speculation. Readers are encouraged to use their own judgment and draw their own conclusions as the owner of the ROHM page makes no claims that all historical content is valid, accurate, or true. The opinions expressed by the sources featured in the ROHM timeline are those of the authors/creators and do not necessarily represent the opinions of ROHM.
Latest Posts
After the Timeline: A Quick Goodbye Before Moving On
After 5½ years of research, design, and archival storytelling, I’m finally closing the door on posts for the Riddle on Her Mind visual archive on Instagram and WordPress. Forty-five visual posts spanning four years in NSYNC’s history may seem like a finite measure of this project’s scope, but the real work—the late-night research spirals, the…
2004 Reflections
This reflection post commemorates the completion of the core timeline (i.e., 2001-2004) for Riddle On Her Mind on Instagram and WordPress. On a personal note, it is somewhat bittersweet but I’m still celebrating this milestone: after five and a half years of digging and five years of maintaining a public visual archive, the research has…
September 2004
People Magazine published two features surrounding Joey Fatone’s wedding to longtime partner Kelly Baldwin. The first, posted online on September 8, noted that *NSYNC had “recently been dealt a blow” by Justin Timberlake’s decision not to participate in a new album. The second, a two-page spread in the September 27 print issue, confirmed that all…
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