ABBA 50 years after Eurovision - Marriage collapses, stalker lover and restraining order

It has been 50 years since ABBA performed at the Eurovision Song Contest. In the decades since, the Swedish group has maintained its status as one of the most iconic acts of the 20th century - with their popularity exploding once more after the Mamma Mia! musical first hit the stage in 1999.

The wildly successful 2008 film adaptation starring Meryl Streep, and the 2018 sequel, ensured the band secured a firm place in the hearts of those who weren't even born when the UK was first wowed by Waterloo on the Eurovision stage.

2021 proved to be an especially exciting year for ABBA - whose comeback album Voyage proved to be an enormous success.

The following year, music lovers were thrilled to see all four members reunited onstage for the launch of ABBA Voyage in London - marking their first public appearance in 40 years.

Glitz and glamour aside, the foursome's lives have changed beyond measure since the 1974 contest, rocked by divorce, stalkers, and the difficulties that come with being known all across the globe.

As ABBA fans don their grooviest bell-bottom flares in tribute, Express.co.uk takes a look at what Agnetha Faltskog, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad are all up to now.

Agnetha Faltskog

Agnetha is now 74 years old and the mother of two adult children - Linda and Peter Ulvaeus - who she shares with ex-husband and band member Bjorn. Following the break up of ABBA, Agnetha launched a successful solo career, producing three hit albums - but she experienced difficulties in her personal life.

As well as two failed marriages, Agnetha had to contend with a traumatic car accident in 1983, her mum's suicide in 1994, and a series of terrifying stalking incidents.

At a particularly low point in her life, Agnetha began a secret relationship with one of her stalkers - an obsessive Dutch forklift driver Gert van der Graaf.

After becoming frightened by Gert's behaviour, Agnetha complained to police about him but has admitted, as reported by The Mirror: "It was a very intense attention from him and after a while I felt I could not resist anymore. I wanted to know him."

The relationship ended in 2000 and Agnetha later had to take out a restraining order against Gert, who bombarded her with alarming letters, according to Amazon Prime documentary Take A Chance.

The pressures of fame took their toll on Agnetha, who has previously described herself as a "recluse".

In a 2021 interview for New Zealand Women's Weekly, Agnetha shed some light on this difficult period of her life, explaining: "Much has been written that I am a recluse and a mysterious woman. Maybe I was a recluse for some years. I was so tired once ABBA was over, and just wanted to be calm and with my children. I married, was in ABBA, had my children, divorced, all in 10 years. I wonder how I managed it, but I was young."

In 2013, Agnetha reentered the public eye to perform her first live performance in 25 years with Gary Barlow for BBC's Children in Need. In recent years, the singer has enjoyed a quieter life, living on a farm in Stockholm.

Bjorn Ulvaeus

78-year-old Bjorn shares children Linda and Peter Ulvaeus with ex-wife and bandmate Agnetha, going on to welcome two more daughters, Anna and Emma Ulvaeus, with his second wife, Lena Kallersjo - whom he divorced in 2022 after 41 years of marriage.

In a joint statement, Bjorn and music journalist Lena announced their plans to divorce "after many fine and eventful years", adding: "We remain close and good friends and will continue to celebrate our grandchildren's birthdays and other family celebrations together."

The ex-couple married in 1981, two years after Bjorn had split from his former bandmate Agnetha.

On top of some solo work, Bjorn, who is reportedly worth a staggering £90 million has helped create the musicals Chess and Mamma Mia!

Benny Andersson

77-year-old Benny is believed to be the wealthiest ABBA member - with an astonishing net worth of £100 million. The singer has two children, Peter and Helene Gronvall with ex-partner Christina Gronvall, whom he met before his marriage to Anni-Frid.

Speaking about his painful divorce from Anni-Frid with Expressen in 1981, Benny shared: "I don't know how other people deal with things like this. Frida and I are still friends and I'm still a member of ABBA. We are still good friends, but we are not married anymore."

Benny, who won the Ivor Novello Award alongside Bjorn in 2008, went on to marry Mona Norklit, welcoming son Ludvig Andersson in 1992. Producer Ludvig went on to follow in his famous father's footsteps, starting up his own band Atlas, and taking on the role of producer for the ABBA Voyage show.

Anni-Frid Lyngstad

Now 78 years of age, Norweigen-born Anni-Frid - who also goes by Frida - welcomed two children, Hans and Ann Lise-Lotte Fredriksson with ex-husband Ragnar Fredriksson.

Frida and Ragnar filed for divorce in 1970 and, famously, Anni-Frid went on to marry former band member, Benny in 1978.

In 1981, one year before the band split, the couple called time on their marriage, after Benny told Anni-Frid he had met TV producer Mona Norklit, whom he married the same year of their divorce.

Opening up to Expressen at the time, Anni-Frid said: "Now that Benny and I have broken up, we are able to work much better together. Our relationship is not as intense as it was, but we are still in contact. We have chosen to be completely honest with each other. We have always been very honest about relationships and after long and hard talks we decided to go our separate ways.

"We simply grew out of each other. It came down to our different goals in life. We have always been honest and talked about everything. We talked and talked and finally, we agreed that a divorce would be the best solution. There was a lot of tears and a lot of discussions. But there was no way back. Breaking up became a necessity."

After the pressure of the double divorces ultimately drove the group apart, Anni-Frid embarked on a solo career, selling more than 1.5 million copies of her debut album Something's Going On.

In 1992, Anni-Frid married her third husband Prince Heinrich Ruzzo Reuss von Plauen, who died of lymphoma in 1999 at the age of just 49.

The singer suffered yet another tragedy when, a year later, her daughter Ann Lise-Lotte tragically died in a car crash. She was only 30 years old.

In the years since, Anni-Frid has kept a relatively low profile, and now lives in Switzerland with her British partner, Henry Smith 5th Viscount Hambleden.