Tiffany says relationship with NKOTB's Jonathan Knight caused 'rift' between her and female fans: 'I was shocked'

The "I Think We're Alone Now" singer said that fans often yelled at her and called her names while she was on tour with the boy band.

Tiffany is opening up about how her relationship with her female fans changed once she began dating New Kids on the Block’s Jonathan Knight. 

The "I Think We’re Alone Now" singer, 53, explained in the Paramount+ documentary Larger Than Life: Reign of Boybands that she began spending time with Knight, 55, after personally inviting New Kids on the Block to be the opening act of her 1988 tour.

“I started hanging out with Jonathan,” Tiffany recalled, “but it produced a little bit of a rift because a lot of my female fans wanted to, you know, be with him.”

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While it was widely reported that Tiffany and Knight were dating in 1989, the pair tried their best to keep their relationship quiet in order to avoid disappointing their respective fans. Still, their romance — combined with the rapidly-increasing popularity of New Kids on the Block — caused concertgoers to quickly turn on her.

“They’re the opening act of her tour, and the DJ said, ‘Are you ready for New Kids on the Block?’ And the place went crazy,” NKOTB's former manager Johnny Wright said. “And they’re like, ‘Are you ready for Tiffany?’ And all of a sudden, you could start to hear boos in the crowd.” 

As it turns out, the public reaction went much farther than just heckling her onstage. “When we would be on tour, the fans are screaming, yelling at me, calling me names, pull[ing] my hair,” Tiffany said. “I was shocked. The girls were very tough.”

The Blockheads had such an impact that New Kids on the Block actually ended up graduating from an opening act into a co-headliner of the tour, with Tiffany performing before them. She added, “The fanbase for a boy band is like, crazy.” 

Tiffany and Knight dated for nearly two years before going their separate ways. In 2011, she was accused of accidentally outing Knight — who is gay, but had not publicly spoken about his sexual orientation at the time — during an episode of Watch What Happens Live.

Related: Donnie Wahlberg swears he was never a 'bad boy' in New Kids on the Block: 'I'm good!'

“It had already been on Perez Hilton and magazines, so I was under the impression [everyone knew] he was gay,” Tiffany told Entertainment Tonight about the incident in 2019. “I just thought it wasn’t a big deal. I felt so bad after, so I immediately texted him, saying, ‘I’m so sorry. I’d never do anything to hurt you or say anything I didn’t think people knew already.’ He texted back, ‘I know you wouldn’t do that, so don’t worry about it!’”

Speaking to the outlet, Knight added, “The thing I hate the most is that she’s always quoted as the one who 'outed' me when in 2010 my ex-boyfriend sold pictures to The National Enquirer for $10,000. So, everybody already knew then!”

The pair, who remain good friends, went on to share the stage together as part of New Kids on the Block's 2019 Mixtape Tour. Tiffany told ET that hitting the road with the beloved boy band again was a "very full circle" experience for her, noting at the time that she enjoyed getting to spend time with Knight and his husband, Harley Rodriguez.

“It’s great to see him happy and Harley’s beautiful. They’re both gorgeous men!" She said. "I’m glad he’s living his life and being authentic. When I see him on the road, and all the boys now, it just brings a big smile to my face.”

Larger Than Life: Reign of Boybands is now streaming on Paramount+.