Ronan Keating marks Stephen Gately death anniversary with heartfelt message
Singer Ronan Keating has posted a heartfelt message on the seventh anniversary of Stephen Gately’s death.
Gately enjoyed success in the 1990s with the boyband, but was forced to come out in gay in 1999 after The Sun newspaper printed a story about him.
The singer tied the knot to partner Andrew Cowles in 2003, but died of a congenital heart defect aged just 33, on 10 October 2009.
Keating and Gately appeared together in Boyzone along with Keith Duffy, Mikey Graham and Shane Lynch.
Posting today, Keating included a photograph of Gately and wrote: “Hey Steo. ‘A true hero isn’t measured by the size of his strength but by the strength of his heart,” adding “Miss ya bro”.
The quote is from Disney’s Hercules.
Louis Walsh earlier this year revealed he had a role in covering up the sexual orientation of late singer Gately.
Keating previously said that he still misses the star, describing Stephen Gately as his “best friend”.
He also spoke of how proud he, and everyone in Boyzone was, when Stephen came out in 1999.
