Boyzone Member Stephen Gately Feared Being 'Outed'

06/17/1999 4:00 AM, Yahoo! Music
Craig Rosen

(6/17/99, 1 a.m. PDT) - Boyzone singer Stephen Gately has announced that he is gay and currently has a boyfriend.

The news was relayed in a statement on Tuesday evening (June 15) and posted on Boyzone's official website, www.boyzone.co.uk. Gately apparently feared a former friend of the group was attempting to sell the story to a newspaper.

"Stephen today confirmed that he is gay," read the statement on the group's official site. "Stephen recently discovered that someone was trying to sell this story to newspapers. He made the decision to tell the fans himself and has chosen to do so in tomorrow's Sun newspaper. He hopes tomorrow's interview will explain all to the fans and bring an end to the matter--we will bring you more when we can."

Boyzone currently has the U.K.'s No. 1 album, a greatest-hits collection called By Request. Gately told The Sun he is in a relationship with Eloy De Jong, a 26-year-old singer with the ironically named Dutch boy band Caught In The Act. "I'm gay and I have had gay romances, but now, for the first time in my life, I am in a relationship with someone I love," Gately said in the interview with The Sun newspaper.

Gately recently told LAUNCH that the five members of the Irish pop band always attempt to discuss their problems with one another. "If we have any problems within the band, any conflict, we tend to sort it out there and then, it's very important that we have a chat, and just drop everything and go back to it," he said. "We're walking around each other 24 hours a day and it's very important that we get on well with each other in interviews and just hanging out with each other...We're very good friends. We're very close."

Gately said the public revelation will not affect his career with Boyzone, and fans have reacted with an overwhelming outpouring of support for the popular singer's decision.

-- Jason Gelman, New York

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