Bulgarian man sells story of final hours with Stephen Gately

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Georgi Dochev, the Bulgarian student who was at the Majorca apartment where gay Boyzone singer Stephen Gately died, has sold his story to a newspaper.

Gately died last month while on holiday with his civil partner Andrew Cowles. He died of a pulmonary oedema, or fluid on the lungs.

Dochev told the Sunday Mirror that he and Cowles had slept together in the bedroom, believing that Gately was sleeping off a hangover.

He said: “It wasn’t sleazy. It was three consenting adults.”

Dochev also claimed he and Cowles had an “unbreakable bond”, although Cowles reportedly will have nothing to do with him.

Boyzone’s management have refused to comment on the claims, which came as band member Ronan Keating gave his first interview since Gately’s death.

In it, he said he was experiencing anxiety attacks and panic.

Keating told the Guardian: “You just feel crushed… It’s been horrible. We’ve all been feeling the same way since Stephen passed. Mentally I’m absolutely exhausted.”

He also commented on the now infamous Daily Mail article on Gately’s death by Jan Moir. The article garnered unprecedented complaints.

Keating said: “It was just wrong; one, for her to write it, and two, for the paper to print it. It shouldn’t have been allowed. It was wrong. It looked to me like someone trying to make a name for themselves out of a terrible situation, a devastating situation.

“And what was worse was the apology – the alleged apology that was written a week later was her defending herself. It’s just disgraceful. Again, for her to do it and for the paper to allow it. I’m dumbfounded. It’s bizarre.

“But anyway, again, I wouldn’t dwell on it. I wouldn’t want to give her any publicity for that. He was a human being. A human being with feelings; a husband, a family that have feelings. At what point do people cross that line?”

It has also been announced that Boyzone, along with Cowles, are to finish Gately’s memoir.

The book, titled The Tree of Seasons, was left unfinished by the star. It is expected to be released in April with a foreword by Elton John.

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