What Happened to Milli Vanilli? Inside Their Lives After Controversy

Milli Vanilli achieved overnight success — only for it to unravel just as quickly.

The R&B duo, led by Fabrice Morvan and Rob Pilatus, rose to stardom after releasing their debut album Girl You Know It’s True in March 1989. However, later that year, they were caught lip-syncing at a live concert, and in November 1990, their record producer, Frank Farian, revealed that Morvan and Pilatus weren’t the ones singing on their album. As a result, the two were forced to return their Best New Artist Grammy Awards, making them the first artists to ever have to do so. 

“We went from being these loved characters to being laughed at and ridiculed,” Morvan told PEOPLE in October 2023. “We were the butt of all the jokes and easy targets.” The duo also experienced racism, which Morvan noted Pilatus took “really personally.” In 1998, Pilatus died of a suspected overdose.

In his own way, Morvan is rewriting history. In November 2025, he earned a Grammy nomination for Best Audio Book, Narration & Storytelling Recording for the reading of his memoir, You Know It’s True: The Real Story of Milli Vanilli — exactly 35 years after his trophy was revoked.

So, what happened to Milli Vanilli? Here’s everything to know about Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus’ lip-syncing controversy. 

What happened to Milli Vanilli?

Everything changed for Milli Vanilli following their concert in Bristol, Conn., which was broadcast live on MTV in July 1989. During that show, the track for their hit song “Girl You Know It’s True” jammed and skipped, repeating the same lyric, “Girl you know it’s,” over and over again.

Morvan and Pilatus continued to dance and pretended to sing for a few moments before they ran offstage.

“I knew right then and there, it was the beginning of the end for Milli Vanilli,” Pilatus told the Los Angeles Times in November 1990. “When my voice got stuck in the computer, and it just kept repeating and repeating, I panicked. I didn’t know what to do. I just ran off the stage.”

Nearly six months later in December of that year, singer Charles Shaw came forward as one of the real vocalists behind Milli Vanilli’s music, per Entertainment Weekly.

Shaw’s claims were confirmed a year later by the group’s record producer, Farian, in a November 1990 press conference. There, Farian revealed that Morvan and Pilatus’ voices do not appear anywhere in Milli Vanilli’s catalog and that they were solely hired for promotional purposes.

Pilatus and Morvan had been pushing to sing on their second record — something they allegedly hadn’t been allowed to do on the first, according to the Los Angeles Times. When Farian refused, the duo threatened to reveal their secret; Farian then beat them to the punch, per the 2023 documentary Milli Vanilli.

“Rob and I never meant for it to go this way,” Morvan claimed to the Los Angeles Times. “Our producer tricked us. We signed contracts as singers but were never allowed to contribute. It was a nightmare. We were living a lie. The psychological pressure was very hard. It was like we were trapped in some golden prison.”

As a result, Morvan and Pilatus were stripped of their 1990 Best New Artist Grammy — the first and only time this has ever happened — and dropped from their U.S. label, Arista Records. They were also hit with class-action lawsuits by frustrated fans, which ultimately resulted in a settlement for those who attended Milli Vanilli concerts or bought their recordings. Up to 10 million American fans were eligible to file a claim, per The New York Times.

In their Los Angeles Times interview, Pilatus said he felt remorse for disappointing fans.

“I know it’s going to be hard for the kids to stand behind us. But I hope they understand that we are just two human guys who were so hungry for success that we allowed ourselves to be manipulated,” he said.

Morvan added, “We’ve always wanted to sing. We made the mistake ourselves, but it’s true, we let our fans down. For them, we are idols and they loved our videos and bought the records and we let them down. It’s very hard, I know. I just hope they will forgive us.”

What has the duo said about the lip-syncing scandal?

Morvan opened about the lip-synching scandal in Paramount+’s 2023 documentary Milli Vanilli, which was executive produced by Morvan’s then-wife Kim Marlowe. (She filed for divorce a year later in January 2024.) The film follows Milli Vanilli’s rise to fame and subsequent downfall.

“People always thought they knew the story,” Morvan told PEOPLE leading up to the release. “But my story has never been told.”

In the documentary, Morvan alleged that he and Pilatus signed their record deal without reading it, enticed by the gold record plaques in Farian’s studio. However, shortly after, they realized that Farian had no plans to let them sing, and agreed to lip-sync to vocals from musicians Shaw, John Davis and Brad Howell, who were kept separate, according to Morvan.

“Every time we came to the studio, we tried to look for people. There was nobody there,” Morvan claimed to PEOPLE. “They made sure that we never came in contact.”

The secret became too much to bear for the duo. “It was always just like this weight,” he added. “That was nerve-wracking.”

Did Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus go on to release more music?

Following the scandal, the pair attempted a comeback under the name Rob & Fab. They released one self-titled album in 1993; however, it failed to chart.

Morvan has since pursued his own solo career, dropping his debut album, Love Revolution, in 2003. Other singles of his include “Anytime” and “See the Light.”

In a November 2025 Billboard interview, Morvan hinted at coming to New York to do “30 to 50 shows.”

What happened to Rob Pilatus?

After the two left Milli Vanilli, Pilatus began struggling with addiction and was arrested several times. In November 1990, he was arrested for an investigation of sexual battery, per the Los Angeles Times; in April 1996, he was sentenced to 90 days in jail and 180 days of drug rehabilitation after pleading no contest to criminal charges connected to three separate attacks, according to UPI.

In April 1998, Pilatus died of a suspected alcohol and drug overdose at 32 years old. His body was found in his hotel room in Germany.

“He’d gone way too deep with addiction to get out of the hole,” Morvan told PEOPLE in October 2023. “When Rob died, I was like, ‘Wow, no one will ever know what it was like.’ ”

Where is Fab Morvan now?

Morvan has since relocated to Amsterdam, where he resides with partner Tessa van der Steen and their four children: Sacha, Solange and twins Paris and Vince. In October 2023, Morvan told PEOPLE fatherhood brought new meaning to his life.

“It healed me, because suddenly they became the focal point,” he said.

Morvan is still devoted to his music career — but now writes, sings and plays instruments himself.

“I said to myself, ‘Hey, let’s go for it. You’ve got nothing to lose,’ ” he told PEOPLE. “I saw the light at the end of the tunnel.”

He’s also made peace with Milli Vanilli’s controversial legacy. “Without this music and this journey, I wouldn’t be who I am today,” he said.