Ever wondered what happened to the group City High?

A few weeks ago group member Robbie Pardlo was featured on an episode of A&E Intervention. According to his side of the story, Claudette Ortiz was his high school sweetheart and she eventually left him for fellow group member Ryan Toby in the middle of a tour. The betrayal from his group members made him turn to alcohol and the group eventually disbanded. However, Claudette has a different story. Here’s a few excerpts from a recent interview with She Is:

On Why She’s Speaking Out:Initially I wasn’t going to say anything… & I think that stemmed from fear because of the relationship I had with Robbie… it was an abusive one. He portrayed it like it was a “lovely romance” & it wasn’t. I just want to move on & put things behind me. Other people may be in the same position I was in… & if you don’t eventually stand up for yourself it can carry on for the next 12 years… like in my case. It was time to tell the truth… the truth that he so conveniently left out in the intervention.

On how she felt after watching the intervention:I didn’t watch it when it came on but then all this stuff started popping up on the internet & when I decided that I was going to do this interview I had to watch it… I’m being used a scapegoat for his failure… he didn’t appreciate me, City High… I saw him on there talking about the red carpet… he didn’t appreciate the red carpet… I’m 18 years old living my dream, we were nominated for a Grammy & here is Robbie drunk… drunker than I’ve ever seen, I’m hoping we don’t win because I didn’t think he could control himself if we had to go on stage an accept the award.

On how she linked up with Ryan:Ryan was always a good friend to me… when Robbie & I broke up people were always saying things about me & Ryan would defend me so I was looking at him like he was my hero. It got to the point where I didn’t even want to be alone with Robbie… One time he threw a champagne bottle & again I had to move out of the way to prevent from getting hit. People thought he was going to hurt me because of how he treated me. Ryan was the total opposite… he has a lot of respect for women.

On her relationship with Ryan and Robbie:They weren’t best friends like Robbie likes to try & make it seem… Robbie was my teenage boyfriend & it wasn’t like I just hopped from one to the other… I married Ryan & was with him for 9.5 years. I got with Ryan because Robbie was an alcoholic… & the way he treated me. If I had a man now that had problems with alcoholism but treated me good, I’d stick around & help him through it.

On the group’s break up:I left the group in June 2003… he knows my reasons… he wanted to stay in the group… maybe that’s why he blames me. But if me leaving because I didn’t want to deal with the nightmare anymore is a bad thing, then I’ll take that. I’d been dealing with it since 1998 all the way through to 2003. I don’t know many solid women that can deal with that for so long… I even initially took the blame… I remember doing the Wendy Williams show & accepting all responsibility for the breakup because I didn’t want to talk about the truth… I don’t think he expected me to say anything… but I’m not that little girl anymore. I’m not weak, I’m a grown woman. I have children, got married, divorced… you have to stand up for yourself & that’s what I’m doing.

Claudette also claims that she broke up with Robbie before they put out their first single and had been broken up with him for a year before starting a romance with Ryan, which contradicts Robbie’s story on A&E. She states that she wants to leave all of the negativity behind her and is now focused on her own solo career. She is currently managed by Anton Marchand and plans to release her music through an independent label. She is no longer married to Ryan but they remain good friends.