Band leader will.i.am tells Billboard his former sidekick hasn't even heard the group's new album, Translation, though he explained they left things on good terms.

"She's going to hear it (new album) when everybody else hears it. I hope she likes it," he shared. "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. And 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. It's really the way Fergie designed it, so we're respecting her design. We love Fergie, and we don't want anything but awesomeness for her."

Fergie is mum to six-year-old Axl, her son from her marriage to ex-husband Josh Duhamel.

Bandmate apl.de.ap added: "Fergie is our sister. 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 per cent."

The Glamorous singer first ventured away from the band in 2006 when she released solo album The Dutchess.

In 2017 it was reported she had left the Black Eyed Peas for good, though the rest of the group initially dismissed the story, saying she was only taking a break.