En Vogue have insisted they have "always" wanted Dawn Robinson back in the group.

The Don't Let Go group parted ways with the singer in 1997 but she has reunited with them for a number of one-off events over the years, and while remaining members Cindy Herron, Terry Ellis and Maxine Jones have received a backlash after Dawn revealed last year she had been living in her car for three years, they insisted it was her choice not to work with them.

Cindy told People magazine: "You're letting the world in on what should be private moments and then they take that and run with it."

Terry added: "People are like 'how dare you guys, she's living in her car,' but they have no idea.

"She's told us multiple times, 'I'll never come back.' The door has never been closed to Dawn. We've always wanted her back. We wish her the best."

Dawn left the band when contract negotiations reached a stalemate just before the group released their third LP EV3, and her former bandmates recalled "begging" her not to quit, despite her desire to be the "star".

Terry said: "Never in a million years would I have thought that she would leave.

"She would just have moments of upset and 99% of the time, we didn't even know why."

Maxine added: "I remember when she left, me calling her up and saying, 'Are you crazy? Why?' I literally begged her."

And Terry said: "Dawn's platform for the longest has been that we've been broke, that we never made any money, that we got two pennies per album. And that's not the case. Ours was a standard contract, we all signed off on it."

Maxine noted: "Egos got bigger. She became adamant about being solo. She's the star. Dawn has been that girl since day one. The wild one. She's never changed."

Dawn moved into her car after leaving her parents' home due to arguments with her mother, and she previously insisted she found it "healing".

She told People magazine: "This is a very healing time for me. I literally pray a lot. I talk to God. I cry about my mother. I get a lot of that out because I have to heal that part of me.

"When I build my career to where I want it to be, and when I have a resurgence of my career, that's when I'll decide that it's going to be enough of my car life, and I will be in my house or my apartment."