CL has revealed that she was informed about 2NE1‘s disbandment through the news.

In a recent interview with AP Entertainment, the K-pop idol spoke about the iconic girl group’s disbandment in November 2016 after seven years as a quartet, as well as how she personally had found out about 2NE1’s end.

The interviewer noted how fellow ex-2NE1 member Minzy had revealed “ages ago” that she first find out about the new “though media” rather than straight from their company at the time, YG Enterterianment. Cl then replied with a laugh, “Well… I did too, to be honest”.

“I was at a Thanksgiving dinner and my phone blew up,” she reminisced, visibly emotional. “But yeah, those situations…” she trailed off, before adding that the moment had been “very heartbreaking for me”.

Despite the shocking revelation, CL says she has since moved on and is focusing on her burgeoning solo career. “Now I have a lot of freedom and control over, at least, what I choose to do,” she said. “So, it’s a very exciting chapter for me.”

HEARTBREAKING: Former 2NEI member CL (@chaelinCL), who is working hard on her solo career, looks back on the disbandment of the group. pic.twitter.com/1i8yb5NsQ7

— AP Entertainment (@APEntertainment) December 15, 2021

In a previous interview with Harper’s Bazaar, CL had also recalled how 2NE1’s image had been “very organic” from their beiginning, explaining how the group had defined their signature style and image despite being under a major label at the time.

“There were very few people in the companies,” she explained. “It would be me and my creative director, and we were all friends, and we were just in the studio coming up with what we liked and finding references.”

CL dropped her debut studio album ‘ALPHA’ in October, featuring singles such as ‘Tie A Cherry’ and the English-language song ‘Lover Like Me’. The album also included her 2020 singles, ‘HWA’ and ‘5 STAR’.