Frida From ABBA Is 75 Nowadays And Living With British Partner Henry Smith

Sep 06, 2021

The famous pop group ABBA formed in Stockholm, Sweden in the 1970s and went on to global success. Made up of two men and two women, the group achieved international stardom and topped the charts from 1974 to 1983 around the world. 

To date, ABBA has sold 385 million albums and singles worldwide, which makes them one of the top-selling artists in history. But since the band went their separate ways, each of its members has continued to work as musicians and artists in their own right. The four members of the group were Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad, who was more commonly known by the nickname Frida. 

After ABBA's breakup in 1982, Ulvaeus and Andersson continued to make music together, teaming up to make musicals and more. Meanwhile, Fältskog and Lyngstad each pursued solo careers. Then in 1999 some of the members got together once again when they worked to promote the musical "Mamma Mia!," which was created based on ABBA's rich catalog of music.

In the last few years, the group has reunited and is set to release their first new album in 40 years in November, titled "Voyage." It will be exciting to see them together once again, as in the last few years some of the members have withdrawn from the public eye, despite having led successful solo careers in the decades after ABBA broke up.

One of those members is Lyngstad, who had taken a hiatus from music and receded from the spotlight. Now aged 75, let's take a look at what she's up to these days.

ABBA was formed when Björn Ulvaeus and Agnetha Fältskog began dating and later married in 1971. Their relationship and mutual friendship with Anni-Frid "Frida" Lyngstad and Benny Andersson, who were also a couple, led to the formation of ABBA. In 1974, the group’s song “Waterloo" was chosen for and won the Eurovision Song Contest.

The members of the pop band all seemed to get along well and were genuine friends. Fältskog said in an interview on the Skavlan television show that no one person acted as a leader. With their music they took the world by storm, pumping out hit after hit including such songs as "Mamma Mia," "Dancing Queen," "Money, Money, Money" and many more. 

They toured the world and Ulvaeus and Fältskog even started a family together as ABBA's success soared. But just as relationships end in real life, so did Lyngstad and Andersson's. After living together since 1971 and marrying in 1978, the couple would only last two more years, separating in 1980 before divorcing in 1981. 

However, as the true artists that they were, they didn't let their personal differences come between their professional relationships. In a 2014 interview with The Guardian, Lyngstad explained that since she didn't want to leave the band, she decided to reinvent her image instead, changing up her hair and style. Meanwhile, in the same interview Ulvaeus stated why the band didn't split:

“We felt like we had something so valuable in the group that, even though it was difficult, we didn’t want to break that up. And to prove it, we did some of our best stuff after that.”

Despite never officially announcing a break-up, ABBA didn't perform together again after a December performance in 1982 and instead began to focus more on solo projects. Lyngstad had already released solo albums in her native Swedish language before, but in 1982 she released her first solo album in English, followed by another in 1984. She also lent her voice to some other musical projects around this time.

But it was after these two albums that Lyngstad began to recede from the spotlight. In fact, it took her another 12 years to release another solo album in 1996. To this day, the musician hasn't released another one since then. So what exactly had Lyngstad been doing during that time? Increasingly, Lyngstad began to focus on environmental activism and other charity work.

But Lyngstad also went through some tough personal times during those years. In 1998 her daughter passed away following a car accident, while her third husband, Prince Heinrich Ruzzo Reuss of Plauen also died just one year after that. Devastated by the losses, Lyngstad has spoken of how difficult that period was for her.

But since then she's found love once again with British businessman Henry Smith and together the couple lives in Zermatt, Switzerland. Happy in her new partnership, what else could be in store for the 75-year-old? Incidentally, a return to her ABBA roots it seems. With "Voyage," the group's ninth studio album and first in 40 years is due out in November, as it seems the best might even be still to come.

Are you a fan of ABBA? Were you aware of the personal troubles Frida Lyngstad went through in the decades after the band broke up? Pass this on to the ABBA fans in your life so they can read about it too.