Black Eyed Peas explain why Fergie is no longer part of the group

The Black Eyed Peas are opening up about former band mate Fergie and the reason behind her departure from the hip-hop group in 2017.

In a recent interview with Billboard, band members Will.i.am, Taboo and Apl.de.ap said they're still on good terms with Fergie, who wanted to devote more time to parenting her 6-year-old son, Axl.

“We love her, and she’s focusing on being a mom. That's a hard job, and that’s what she really wants to do and we’re here for her, and she knows how to contact us for a retreat or a breakaway,” Will.i.am told the magazine.

“We try to keep in touch. We reach out every once in a while and say our hellos and happy birthdays and Merry Christmas and Happy Easter. She knows where we’re at! We’re at the studio.”

Earlier this month, the Black Eyed Peas released their eighth studio album, "Translation," a feat Fergie took to social media to share her congratulations.

“Fergie is our sister,” Apl.de.ap told Billboard. “So even with these small connections, she’s always going to be our sister. But unfortunately our schedule is displaced by (her) wanting to be a great mom, and she wants to focus on that. And like Will said, we support her 100%.”

Fergie joined the Black Eyed Peas in 2002 and was with the group as they released some of their biggest hits, including “Let’s Get It Started,” “I Gotta Feeling” and “My Humps.” She released her debut solo album, “The Dutchess,” in 2006.

The singer married “Transformers” actor Josh Duhamel in 2009 and their son, Axl Jack, was born in 2013.

Although the couple split in 2017, Duhamel said he and Fergie still have “a good relationship.”

“She is great," he told TODAY three years ago. “She is a great mom.”

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