COMING OUT WAS THE BEST THING I EVER DID  
Interview by Larrissa Nolan  
 

Stephen tells of his love for hunky boyfriend Eloy  
'He's absolutely perfect for me… and my family loves him'  

SUPPORT: Stephen Gately was bowled over with the level of support he  
received from his fellow band members  (below) and the thousands of fans  
who stood by him when it was revealed he is gay. The Boyzone star says  
he would now love to adopt children with his lovely Eloy de Jong.  

THIS time last year, Stephen Gately could have never have dreamed of the  
happiness that lay ahead for him.  
To outsiders, the Boyzone heart-throb appeared to have everything in  
life - a great job, huge success and plenty of money.  
But for all his wealth and fame, Stephen Gately was miserable at heart.  
He had a dark secret that could ruin his career if it ever came out -  
and the strain of hiding it was killing him.  
While the other members of Boyzone were settling down and having babies,  
Stephen seemed to be the lonely odd-man out.  
But he too had found his special someone, a person he describes as  
"absolutely perfect for me ". The only problem was… that person was a man.  
With millions of female fans all over the globe, Stephen thought he  
couldn't afford to admit he was gay.  
Boyzone would surely be finished if the world had found out that Stephen  
Gately was dating strapping hunk Eloy de Jong of the Dutch boy band  
Caught In The Act.  
The 23-year-old Dubliner spent his days worrying about what would happen  
when his homosexuality finally became known.  
He didn't have long to wait. Last June, Gately found himself on the  
front page of an English newspaper under the headline: 'Boyzone Stephen:  
I'm Gay And In Love.'  

Warned  

It certainly wasn't the way the star wanted to break the news but he'd  
had no choice, once the paper warned him that a former security guard  
was trying to sell the story to tabloids.  
Gately gave the paper and interview and then sat back and waited for the  
storm to break.  
It turned out to be the best move of his life. He's currently enjoying  
the new-found joy of no longer having to pretend and the freedom to sing  
out about his love for Eloy.  
It's Gately's first major relationship and he is in love. They moved in  
together in Amsterdam and have exchanged gold commitment rings.  
"He's six-foot-three, brown eyes, brown hair, 26 and very kind. We've  
been going out for 15 months and he's absolutely perfect for me. My  
family loves him," says Stephen.  
The couple would like to have kids. "If there was a way open to adopt,  
I'd do it. I'd love love to give a kid an opportunity," he says.  
The only downside to Steve's relationship with a man is the fact that he  
can never be a dad.  
Backstage at a UK concert this week, Stephen told the Sunday World that  
his greatest wish is to be allowed to adopt children. "I feel I am good  
with them and I have great fun with my sister's child and my brother's  
child, so yes, I would like to have them in my own life.  
"I've been very fortunate in my life that my career in pop has been so  
successful and I'm now financially secure. I would love to be allowed to  
give a child an opportunity."  
Keith, who is sitting in the background, interrupts to champion Steve's  
ability to rear children. "You should see him with kids, he brilliant.  
My Jordan loves him."  
Although the decision to "come out" was difficult at the time, Gately is  
now glad that everyone knows he's gay.  
"I was really nervous because I didn't know which way it would go," he  
says. "It could have been really bad or really positive. The worst-case  
scenario was that the public wouldn't support me."  
The worst-case scenario never happened. Boyzone fans are fiercely  
protective and they rallied around Gately in his hour of need.  
"I couldn't believe the reaction. I got millions of e-mails and letters  
from people in all walks of life - young, old, gay, straight, some from  
gay people who hadn't come out and didn't know what to do.  
"All these letters, I've got boxes of them. When I feel a bit down in  
the morning, I'll get up and have some toast and coffee and read a  
couple. That much support for an individual is incredible."  
Even his celebrity friends sent words of comfort. "Graham Norton sent a  
beautiful letter, Elton sent flowers, George Michael rang and … um …even  
Billy Connolly said 'Who gives a shit?'  
"There's been no homophobia at all except from the odd slagging from the  
lads in the street, but let them."  
Gately, who is the second youngest of a family of five from Sheriff  
Street, says he was "quiet and reflective" as a youngster.  
"I was into life and scenery and snowfalls. I would sit wrapped up in a  
duvet, watching the rain. I still like to. It costs nothing to walk  
around the park or read a book," he says.  

Dating  

Although he tried dating girls, he know by the age of 16 that there was  
something different about himself.  
"I wasn't quite sure, but there were tell-tale signs.  I'd think: 'That  
guy is good-looking' or I'd notice someone on television. It's  very  
difficult for a young person. I didn't really know any gay people as a kid."  
Around this time, he answered an ad for five boys to perform in a pop  
group. He had taken singing and dancing lessons since the age of 12 but  
he clinched the audition with his rendition of George Michael's Careless Whisper.  
He says he was never troubled by guilt. "I never thought of it. I never  
thought God would come down and say that I can't do this or that. I went  
to church and sang at Christmas mass, but I stopped going because I  
couldn't sit there bored out of my head for an hour.  
"God forgives everything. This is the only life I have and in a hundred  
years time, who'll give a shit?"  
Gately confided in his sister about his sexuality. She wasn't surprised,  
saying : "I always thought you were."  
However, he kept the secret from the rest of Boyzone for the first five  
months, afraid that outing himself "would mean good-bye to any chance of fame".  
When he finally told them, he was relieved at their reaction - the four  
other Boyz assured him that it made no difference.  

Feared  

But they decided to keep the matter within the group as they feared it  
might affect their popularity.  
So Stephen was forced into a life of pretence. Wary of starting a  
relationship, he had "a few romances" but avoided involvement because  
"people would have found out".  
He says he thought about his sexuality every day but just tried to get  
on with things.  
"The first couple of years were mad anyway. We were constantly working  
in Japan, Europe, everywhere," he recalls.  
It was during this time that he met Eloy from Caught In The Act, who can  
boast the status of being big in Germany.  
They ran into each other at awards ceremonies and parties and became  
friends, although it took a few years before love blossomed.  
But while he was falling in love. Gately had to put up with the constant  
stress of hiding his sexuality.  
"Sometimes I'd be grouchy and friends would say 'Are you OK Stephen?'  
and I'd be thinking 'no, there's a problem but I can't tell you'," he says.  
"For the first few years it wasn't so much of a problem but in the last  
few, when we got bigger with more attention, it got harder."  
To cover for Stephen's lack of girlfriends, his name was often linked  
with high-profile women.  
"There were so-called links between myself and Emma Bunton and one of  
the girls from Eternal and Mandy Smith," he says. "We were just mates,  
but when you're seen going for a drink with somebody, you get seen as a couple.  
"When a story would break with Mandy or Emma, it would certainly take  
the pressure off for a while."  
Steve points out proudly that he never actually lied to the public when  
questioned about his love life.  
"People would ask about my favourite girls and I'd describe a man I  
fancied - blue eyes, brown hair, whatever," he says.  
"I always said 'the right person' never 'the girl'. But I used to be  
paranoid that people would know. I'd e down in the dumps, being in the  
public for six years and always having to explain why I didn't have a girlfriend."  
The newspaper story revealing his sexuality changed all that though. But  
since the subterfuge ended, he says he's never been happier.  
"The story breaks and I couldn't believe it - little me from Sheriff  
Street on the cover of four papers," Stephen recalls.  
"There are earthquakes in the world and bad things everywhere, and  
instead they put me on the cover. But people love to read about famous people."  
Stephen Gately's next project is his new album, aptly titled New  
Beginning. He says it won't be a radical change from the Boyzone sound,  
but he promises "a few surprises".