A drug arrest and going 'into hiding'. What happened after the Young Divas split in 2007.

Paulini, Ricki-Lee Coulter, Emily Williams, Kate DeAraugo… and then Jessica Mauboy as a replacement for Coulter. Now that's a lineup. 

The Young Divas were not so much a girl band and as an Australian Idol supergroup. 

Formed in 2006, and only ever meant to stay together for one tour, their first single, 'This Time I Know It's For Real', hit number two in the charts.

They recorded an album, Young Divas, which went double platinum. But there were rumours of feuds between the women. Coulter sensationally quit, and soon after The Young Divas disbanded. 

In a recent interview on the podcast A Journey Through Aussie Pop, the singer said it was a fight with a manager of the band that resulted in her stepping away.

After multiple gigs, Coulter ended up losing her voice and was told by her doctor that bedrest and not singing was the best course of action – which left her manager very upset. 

"He lost his mind. I'm a 20-year-old girl, having an adult conversation with a grown-ass man. He was yelling, screaming, and then he threw a sandwich in my face. That was very much the end of it for me. My voice is my career, and that's how you're going to react? I thought it was so embarrassing for him," she reflected.

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And although it had overall been a "wonderful" experience, she said she began to feel exploited. 

"We were doing the AFL, the tennis, all those things… I knew how much I was getting paid for those gigs [solo] the year before, but then we were getting told that it was all for free, that they were promo. That didn't sit well with me."

By mid-2007, Coulter had decided it was time for her to leave the group.

"For the most part, we really got on," she said about her bandmates. "I just felt like I was a bit different – I have an insane work ethic and I'll do whatever it takes to get the job done. At times, I felt like other people weren't taking it as seriously as me and weren't as respectful of time. But there was no real dirt."

As for former Idol runner-up Emily Williams, she is still performing and releasing music.

Williams remembers The Young Divas as being "such a pressure cooker, filled with all the talent and all the emotions".

"I honestly believe that any time you put a group of strong women in a close-knit situation for long periods of time, emotions are going to spill over about one thing or another," she told Mamamia. 

"Throw in the long hours, the egos, and also everyone fighting for what they want in the line-up… you know. Also, we were so young. We really were 'young divas'!"

Reflecting on Coulter quitting, Williams said: "At the time I remember I felt so shocked that I didn't know how to feel. Now, though, I know that Ricki was only doing what she thought was best, and more power to her for that! I will always love and respect her."

Williams' older sister Lavina, another Idol finalist, briefly filled in for Coulter – "she really saved our asses" – before Mauboy was announced as the new Young Diva. 

Williams said Mauboy brought "such a fresh energy" to the group. 

"She is such a happy and bubbly person and I think the group's dynamic really benefited from her. Jess's talent was obviously outstanding, but being the baby of the group meant she could find her way in the industry with support from her big sisters."

The Young Divas disbanded in 2008, and Williams said it was time.   

"We all wanted it. We were so hungry for solo careers."

Image: Getty.

Mauboy went straight from The Young Divas into a massively successful solo career, with hits like 'Running Back' and 'Burn'. 

As well as a string of top 10 albums and singles, she's represented Australia at Eurovision and toured with Beyonce. She's starred in The Sapphires and The Secret Daughter, and will be a judge on The Voice this year. 

In 2016, Mauboy talked to The Fix about how hard she found joining The Young Divas. 

"It was a scary, difficult time being the new girl," she said. 

Coulter had her biggest single, 'Can't Touch It', the same year she left The Young Divas. She's now best known for her TV work, returning to the Australian Idol reboot as a host and also being a radio presenter. 

In 2019 Coulter said on 97.3FM Breakfast that she never really "got on" with DeAraugo, saying: "I would just rather be anywhere but with her."

Paulini kept releasing albums after The Young Divas but didn't score any major hits. She has been super successful in theatre though, starring in a number of hit Australian musicals.

She starred in the stage musical The Bodyguard in 2017, and that same year, she was given a suspended sentence for buying a fake driver’s licence. 

Recently, she appeared on I'm A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! and revealed she'd been in an abusive relationship while in The Young Divas, once arriving at a gig with a "massive black eye". 

"I was just like making up all types of s**t, like, 'I got hit in the face with a ball,' but everyone was like, 'That's bulls**t'," she told fellow contestant Grant Denyer.

DeAraugo's music career faltered after The Young Divas. 

She appeared on the weight-loss show Excess Baggage in 2012, and then, in 2017, was charged with drugs and weapons offences, after police in Shepparton pulled her over and found ice, a tomahawk and a large knife in her car. She pleaded guilty and avoided conviction. 

In 2015, she told KIIS FM's Kyle and Jackie O that once The Young Divas disbanded, she was "out of control" in every aspect of her life. 

"Basically, after The Young Divas lost the plot, I went into hiding. After that, I really lost the plot and just ate myself into a mess."

In February 2021, in an interview on The Morning Show, she revealed that she was now sober and pursuing a career in the construction industry.

"The good news is that I’m nearly three years in recovery now," she told Larry Emdur and Kylie Gillies. "It was a dark time but an incredible learning experience now that I’m out the other end. My life has completely changed in the last three years — it looks very different."

DeAraugo said she struggled with the public scrutiny when she was arrested.

She said: "It would have been nice for nobody to know my name when things got really dark."

As she spoke about moving on with her life and her new career, DeAraugo said: "It is what it is and what happened happened. The last three years I’ve been pretty off the radar and really in my own word and it’s been a pretty personal time."

As for Williams, she's released music independently and shared the lead with Paulini in The Bodyguard. She also had a role in the horror movie Boar, which starred John Jarratt and Hugh Sheridan, as well as Ricci G.  

Williams says she doesn't stay in touch with the rest of The Young Divas as much as she would like, but there's always a possibility of a reunion.

"We were together in such an important time of my life. I'll always cherish the memories. And who knows? Maybe one day we will all meet up and belt out a few bangers!"

This article was originally published in February 2021, and has since been updated with new information.

Feature Image: Getty.