DURING THE HARDEST THREE MONTHS OF HIS LIFE, STEPHEN GATELY 
STAYED SILENT, BUT WHEN HE DECIDED TO TELL THE FULL STORY, SMASH HITS' 
JORDAN PARAMOR WAS THERE TO LISTEN. . . 

It's a bright, sunny day in London and Stephen Gately's skin is glowing. 
Swamped in baggy black Gucci trousers, designer T-shirt and chunky boots, 
Stephen's face breaks into his huge trademark smile as he strides into the 
studio.  The smile gets wider still when Stephen spots the huge box of 
letters from Smash Hits readers.  He dives in and starts reading them, 
looking more and more pleased with each envelope he rips open. 
Watching Stephen happily read your letters of support it's easy to forget 
the past few months have been, in his own words, "a very emotional time". 
After discovering that someone was trying to sell a story about his 
sexuality,  Stephen took the huge step of telling the world he was gay.  To 
this day Stephen doesn't know who had the story to tell, and he doesn't 
want to know.  But there was one thing Stephen did know, if people were 
going to find out, he wanted to be the one to tell them, and so he agreed 
to an interview with The Sun newspaper. . . 

A DAY IN THE SUN 

SH: You've done the interview.  How did you feel the night before The Sun 
story came out? 

(He takes a deep breath) Eloy (Stephen's boyfriend) and I were in Milan, 
and obviously I knew that the story would be out the next day, but we 
didn't know how big a thing it was going to be.  So we were watching Sky 
News and it said, "Now here are tomorrow's newspapers", and it was on the 
front pages of four newspapers!  I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so 
I laughed.  I said to Eloy, (raises his hands helplessly) "Well, this is 
it.  Let's hope people's reactions are good".  Thankfully all the papers 
were very supportive. 

SH: How did it feel to wake up knowing that the whole world knew? 

It felt very. . . weird.  Terrifying, I suppose.  I was in Amsterdam (where 
Eloy lives) the actual day the story broke, and I got tons of calls from 
people saying, "Fair play to ya, congratulations".  Victoria from the Spice 
Girls called a press agency to say, "Tell Stephen not to worry, everything 
will be fine".  I got a message from the Backstreet Boys, (his eyes widen) 
Sinead O'Connor left a message saying she thought it was great.  Not one 
person let me down.  I got flowers from Elton John and his boyfriend David, 
a phone call from George Michael.  Graham Norton sent me a lovely letter, 
Lily Savage called and Boy George said some really nice things.  It made me 
feel really supported.  And the fans have been just amazing. . .

SH: In what way? 

(Looking over at the letters) I keep getting big packets of letters from 
them, and I'm trying to read all of them, or at least most of them.  I'm 
reading them wherever I can and going around smiling to myself because 
they've been so incredible.  So uplifting.  They're from fans, parents of 
fans, young kids. . . you name it.  I couldn't have asked for a better response. 

SH: Were you scared when it was all happening? 

(Wrinkles his brows and nods) I was sooo scared.  It's a big, big thing. 
My family and my close friends knew, but it was a shock for the fans.  I'm 
so glad they heard it from me and not someone else, I had to be upfront. 
It was a very emotional time, lots of ups and downs. I'd laugh, then I 
would cry, and I'd constantly question what was happening.  But Eloy and I 
decided we had to be really, really strong and be there for each other. 

SH: And were you? 

Totally.  It was a big thing for Eloy as well, especally in places like 
Germany where his band (Caught In The Act) is big.  We decided it was 
better to come out at the same time, then for the next few days we were 
very down 'cos we were scared how everyone would react.  But we said we'd 
get through it, and we have. 

SH: What did the rest of Boyzone think when they found out the story was 
breaking? 

I told them I was gay five years ago and they said, "So what?"  And they 
were the same about this.  They've been absolutely wonderful.  Wonderful!

* * *
Stephen knew that he was gay from his early teens.  He describes it as an 
incredibly hard time, and realises there are a lot of other teenagers going 
through similar things.  He looks heartbroken as he reads a letter from a 
girl whose friend committed suicide because he was gay and couldn't stand 
the bullying he endured.  "It's shocking," he says, looking away. 
"Terrible."  With this kind of prejudice it's no wonder Stephen, or 
anybody, takes their time before 'comiing out'.

A LIFE OF FEAR 

SH: What stopped you from admitting you were gay before now? 

(Thinks) I was at an age where I wanted to be successful, and 
unfortunately, if people know you're gay they think twice about you.  I was 
determined to be famous and I didn't want people judging me.  Plus, I was 
still finding out who I was, I genuinely don't think I could've handled 
this before.

SH: Was The Sun story inevitable? 

I think the newspaper articles happened at a time when something was going 
to happen anyway.  The rest of Boyzone were getting married and having kids 
and I was still single.  It was lonely, and I was thinking, "What am I 
going to do?  People are going to talk".  It was building up and I felt it 
was going to break at any time. 

SH: Did you always fear someone else would 'out' you? 

Yep.  Every day.  Some nights I'd go to bed and (takes a deep breath) I'd 
be nervous about the next day, about what the papers would say.  That's no 
way to live.  I read a lot of spiritual books which made me stronger.  I 
pray to God, and get on with things.  I'm the exact same person I always 
was.  My personality hasn't changed, or the way I look, I just feel good in 
myself.  (Smiles) I don't have to worry anymore.  You can't imagine how 
relieved I feel not having it all hanging over my head. 

SH: But if there hadn't been the threat of exposure, would you have waited 
to tell everyone? 

(Pauses) I don't know.  I probably would have waited until the very last 
minute I could.  But looking at things now I wouldn't change a thing.

* * *

Smiling once again, it appears Stephen's not just happy, but happier than 
ever.  Could it be love?  Just as he's about to reply to our probing 
question, Stephen's 'saved by the bell.'  Someone is buzzing his 
mini-mobile and the huge grin across Stephen's face, tells us who it is... Eloy.
 "Yep, I'm doing the interview," he tells his concerned boyfriend, 
"don't worry, it's going really well."  The couple go on to discuss how 
their dog's been swimming again, and Steve signs off by promising to take a 
pic of the shoot home for Eloy to see.  When the conversation's over, Steve 
laughs when Smash Hits points out the ear-to-ear grin he had on his face 
the whole time.  "Did I?" he says coyly, blushing slightly.  Next he takes 
out a photo of his boyfriend to show us and looks on proudly as Smash Hits 
peruses Eloy's perfect features.  Our question is answered.  Stephen's in love. 

A BOY IN LOVE

SH: Where did you meet Eloy? 

At a party, but we'd met in the business before, travelling, y'know- we'd 
seen each other around! We've known each other for a long time, and we've 
been together for a year now.

SH: You seem very settled. . . 

I am.  We've just bought a dog.  He's a black and white shih-tzu called 
Joey.  We took him for a walk yesterday and we were just sitting down 
together chatting, getting away  from it all.  It's wonderful.
(PS Here's a picture of Joey)

SH: It must seem funny looking back at you old 'lurve' interviews now. . . 

It is because. . . (laughs)  I always dreaded interviews because i knew 
that people would say, "So Stephen, why aren't you going out with a girl?". 

SH: But you never said you hadn't met the right girl, you always said the 
right person.

Yes, I didn't want to lie, so I chose my words carefully! 

SH: Has 'coming out' affected your relationship with Eloy? 

Yeah, I can walk down the street with him now.  I don't have to be careful 
about everything.  (Rolls his eyes) What a relief!

* * *
Interview over, Stephen plays us his upcoming solo single, the classic 
Bright Eyes taken from the new Watership Down cartoon in which Steve will 
voice one of the bunnies.  Everyone in the studio is stunned when a mature, 
rich voice blasts out of the stereo: "I always sing in high keys in 
Boyzone," explains Stephen, "but with this I've been able to try out 
different voice styles, whcih is really exciting."  The single sounds 
great, but after all he's been through Stephen wasn't really worried about 
the small matter of a solo career. . . was he?  "Oh yeah, I'm very 
nervous," he blushes, "I don't know what to expect from Bright Eyes.  If it 
just gets into the charts I'll be happy!"  He pauses.  "If people knock me, 
they kncok me, at least I know that I've tried."  So you do feel stronger 
now?  "I know one thing, I'm more ready for all this," he says, throwing 
his hands out wide, "than I ever was."  And with that final flourish, 
Stephen collects his post, says his goodbyes, and walks out the door.  Head 
held high.