Despite an on-off relationship with Atomic Kitten Liz, Blue's Lee says boybands should keep their girlfriends tucked away. Does he have a point? If so, was Westlife's Shane right to hide Gillian from his fans for so long?
It's not a good idea to be seen out with a girlfriend, because that's going to lose you fans," says the outspoken Lee Ryan from Blue. "I mean, your female fans all want to be your girlfriend." He should know he's had a rocky ride during his relationship with Atomic Kitten Liz McLarnon.
- SECRETS
The couple, who got it together while working in New York last September, went to great lengths to keep their snag shenanigans secret, but finally, at Bryan McFadden and Kerry Katona's wedding, they admitted all. Lee had another reason for keeping their relationship quiet. "I don't want the fans to start being horrible to her like they were with Billie when she went out with Ritchie from Five. That'd kill me."
- SHOCKING
But should pop stars keep their fans in the dark to protect their love lives? When Westlife's Shane Filan admitted last year he was dating bandmate Kian Egan's cousin, Gillian Walsh, fans were shocked. Not just because Shane became 'unavailable', but also because their idol had covered up the fact he was in a serious relationship. Shane, from Sligo, admits he's known Gillian, a business studies student, for over ten years. He also suggests they've been dating since early 2001, but some fans say it's longer than that, claiming he could have even been seeing her since 1999!
- BETRAYAL
So why, when Westlife's Nicky Byrne has always been open about his fiancee, Georgina Aherne, has Shane been so secretive? And was that decision a betrayal of his fans?
- UNDER WRAPS
Shane says Gillian insisted on keeping their relationship under wraps for so long. He claims: "The reason I didn't say anything is that I didn't want her to have a different kind of life. She just wanted to be Gillian from Sligo when she was at college – not Shane from Westlife's girlfriend." He insists Gillian's "very shy" and adds: "She didn't want to be judged by other students."
- CAMERA SHY
When the press and TV cameras are out Gillian and Shane are careful not to be seen together. Their reclusive lifestyle has certainly helped: "Going to parties and PR events is not our thing. We prefer to sit in a pub in Sligo and have a laugh with our mates, says Shane. And on the rare occasions they have attended showbiz bashes, such as the World Of Our Own album launch party, the pair have been careful to arrive and leave separately. Cunning!
- MIXED UP
The Irish tabloids had been trying to uncover the truth about Shane's love life for months. And they've often reached the wrong conclusions - once publishing a photo of Shane and his sister, saying she was in fact Gillian!
Shane relished the fact that they've kept one step ahead of the press. "The papers thought Gillian was dating Kian because she used to come to our concerts," he says. "But they didn't know she's his cousin and we're the ones who've been dating. Ha ha!" Last October when Shane confessed he'd been seeing Gillian, he said they'd been dating for "a year" and admitted that he had known her since he was 12.
- FURIOUS FANS
"I've been out with a couple of girls for a month or six weeks – never anything too serious," he said. It's possible Gillian was one of these girls because some reports suggest the pair dated for a couple of weeks when they were in their teens. However, according to several Westlife fans, Gillian and Shane have been loved-up for a long time.
"I've heard that Shane has been going out with her on and off since he was about 17, and also that he was going out with her well before Westlife got really successful," says one fan. "I don't believe this ‘I've been with her for just over a year' thing. I've been following Westlife since the beginning of '99 and I'm sure he was going out with her then." Could this be true or simply a reaction from an angry fan? Pick up any recent magazine and you may find a quote from Shane suggesting he's still single.
But he's always avoided outright deception. A year ago, referring to the possibility of settling down with a girl, he said: "If I meet a girl, 75% of the time she's only interested because of the band." It's not a lie, but it's hardly the real story, either. And if the truth was bound to come out, would Shane have been better off coming clean in the first place? Or should his loyalty be to his girlfriend? •
SNEAK SAYS
OK, so Shane told a few porkie pies to cover up his romance with Gillian, and Lee and Liz attempted to keep their love hush-hush at the start. But – although it's unfair to deceive fans – both couples felt the need for privacy in the early days to give their relationships a real chance. "If they're true fans they'll be happy for us,” says Lee. "And we're not going to start shoving our lives down people’s throats like Posh and Becks."
Let's hope their hectic schedules don't ruin their romance. As for Shane's girl, well, she gets a big thumbs-up from Sneak – and he gets the go-ahead from Kian, who jokes: "I totally trust him with my cousin – he wouldn't be with her if I didn't!" And do we hear wedding bells? Shane says: "I can't see myself ever being happy without her. I call her the perfect package."
article ©Sneak magazine 2002