Lance Bass isn’t big on regrets, but if he had the chance to do it all again, he’d enjoy the ride a little bit more. “My advice to my younger self would be: ‘Don’t worry so much. Everything’s going to happen the way it’s supposed to,’” says the 45-year-old, who joined ‘NSync at age 16. The super-successful boyband went on to sell more than 70 million records worldwide, but making the jump from music superstar to actor and host wasn’t exactly a walk in the park. (During the December 5 episode of the “Politickin’” podcast, Lance revealed that a TV show pilot he was working on for The CW network was scrapped after he came out in 2006.) “The entertainment business is insane. You’re constantly trying to reinvent yourself and figuring out where you belong,” he says. “I wish I’d learned as a younger person to not stress about things.” Here, the host of the “Frosted Tips With Lance Bass” podcast and dad of two (he and his husband of 10 years, Michael Turchin, 37, welcomed twins Violet and Alexander via surrogate in October 2021) talks to In Touch’s Lindsay Hoffman about silver linings, fatherhood – and what’s next for ‘NSync.
What else do you wish you’d known?
LB: The reason things didn’t work out a certain way is because another door will open up. Things are supposed to happen the way they’re supposed to happen.
Can you recall any specific examples?
LB: I have so many of those. Like I worked three years on a TV show, and I’m so excited about it and think it’s going to be a hit, and then all of a sudden it gets canceled. But then I got another show that was even better. It’s all about how you look at things.
What challenges have you faced lately?
LB: Becoming a parent was a huge life change. I went from being able to be selfish and having it be all about me to all of a sudden it became all about two other people. I had zero patience before I had kids. I’m still working on it, but they’ve definitely helped.
You recently revealed you have type 1.5 diabetes after being misdiagnosed with type 2. What was that like?
LB: It was tricky because nothing was working. Now, I understand the way I feel. Remembering everything is a full-time job — you have to remember to get your insulin out of the refrigerator before you leave the house every day, which I forget half the time. It’s not second nature yet, but I look at the silver lining, which is it’s made me a lot healthier.
How so?
LB: I am from the South; I love my sugar, my carbs, my fried foods. You just have to learn to deal without it. And I also drink way more water. It gives me more energy than drinking coffee.
“Bye Bye Bye” went viral after being featured in Deadpool & Wolverine. Any plans to get ’NSync together soon?
LB: Nothing specific right now, but we’re definitely going to be discussing it pretty soon. As soon as Justin [Timberlake] gets off the road, we’ll be able to really home in on what we want to do. There are lots of ideas being thrown at us, which I enjoy. Hopefully, we’ll have some answers for you guys soon — I want them, too!
