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Interview
taken from Smash Hits Magazine - September 22nd 1999
DURING THE HARDEST THREE MONTHS OF HIS LIFE OF HIS LIFE, STEPHEN
GATELY STAYED SILENT, BUT WHEN HE DECIDED TO TELL THE FULL STORY,
SMASH HITS' JORDAN PARAMOR WAS THERE TO LISTEN. . .
It's a bright, sunny day in London and Stephen Gately's skin
is glowing. Swamped in baggy black Gucci trousers, designer
T-shirt and chunky boots, Stephen's face breaks into his huge
trademark smile as he strides into the studio. The smile gets
wider still when Stephen spots the huge box of letters from Smash
Hits readers. He dives in and starts reading them, looking more
and more pleased with each envelope he rips open.
Watching Stephen happily read your letters of support it's easy
to forget the past few months have been, in his own words,
"a very emotional time". After discovering that someone
was trying to sell a story about his sexuality, Stephen took the
huge step of telling the world he was gay. To this day Stephen
doesn't know who had the story to tell, and he doesn't want to
know. But there was one thing Stephen did know, if people were
going to find out, he wanted to be the one to tell them, and so
he agreed to an interview with The Sun newspaper.
A DAY IN THE SUN
SH: You've done the interview. How did you feel the night before
The Sun story came out?
(He takes a deep breath) Eloy (Stephen's boyfriend) and I were in
Milan, and obviously I knew that the story would be out the next
day, but we didn't know how big a thing it was going to be. So we
were watching Sky News and it said, "Now here are tomorrow's
newspapers", and it was on the front pages of four
newspapers! I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so I laughed.
I said to Eloy, (raises his hands helplessly) "Well, this is
it. Let's hope people's reactions are good". Thankfully all
the papers were very supportive.
SH: How did it feel to wake up knowing that the whole world knew?
It felt very. . . weird. Terrifying, I suppose. I was in
Amsterdam (where Eloy lives) the actual day the story broke, and
I got tons of calls from people saying, "Fair play to ya,
congratulations". Victoria from the Spice Girls called a
press agency to say, "Tell Stephen not to worry, everything
will be fine". I got a message from the Backstreet Boys,
(his eyes widen) Sinead O'Connor left a message saying she
thought it was great. Not one person let me down. I got flowers
from Elton John and his boyfriend David, a phone call from George
Michael. Graham Norton sent me a lovely letter, Lily Savage
called and Boy George said some really nice things. It made me
feel really supported. And the fans have been just amazing. .
SH: In what way?
(Looking over at the letters) I keep getting big packets of
letters from them, and I'm trying to read all of them, or at
least most of them. I'm reading them wherever I can and going
around smiling to myself because they've been so incredible. So
uplifting. They're from fans, parents of fans, young kids. . .
you name it. I couldn't have asked for a better response.
SH: Were you scared when it was all happening?
(Wrinkles his brows and nods) I was sooo scared. It's a big, big
thing. My family and my close friends knew, but it was a shock
for the fans. I'm so glad they heard it from me and not someone
else, I had to be upfront. It was a very emotional time, lots of
ups and downs. I'd laugh, then I would cry, and I'd constantly
question what was happening. But Eloy and I decided we had to be
really, really strong and be there for each other.
SH: And were you?
Totally. It was a big thing for Eloy as well, especally in places
like Germany where his band (Caught In The Act) is big. We
decided it was better to come out at the same time, then for the
next few days we were very down 'cos we were scared how everyone
would react. But we said we'd get through it, and we have.
SH: What did the rest of Boyzone think when they found out the
story was breaking?
I told them I was gay five years ago and they said, "So
what?" And they were the same about this. They've been
absolutely wonderful. Wonderful!
Stephen knew that he was gay from his early teens. He
describes it as an incredibly hard time, and realises there are a
lot of other teenagers going through similar things. He looks
heartbroken as he reads a letter from a girl whose friend
committed suicide because he was gay and couldn't stand the
bullying he endured. "It's shocking," he says, looking
away. "Terrible." With this kind of prejudice it's no
wonder Stephen, or anybody, takes their time before 'coming out'.
A LIFE OF FEAR
SH: What stopped you from admitting you were gay before now?
(Thinks) I was at an age where I wanted to be successful, and
unfortunately, if people know you're gay they think twice about
you. I was determined to be famous and I didn't want people
judging me. Plus, I was still finding out who I was, I genuinely
don't think I could've handled this before.
SH: Was The Sun story inevitable?
I think the newspaper articles happened at a time when something
was going to happen anyway. The rest of Boyzone were getting
married and having kids and I was still single. It was lonely,
and I was thinking, "What am I going to do? People are going
to talk". It was building up and I felt it was going to
break at any time.
SH: Did you always fear someone else would 'out' you?
Yep. Every day. Some nights I'd go to bed and (takes a deep
breath) I'd be nervous about the next day, about what the papers
would say. That's no way to live. I read a lot of spiritual books
which made me stronger. I pray to God, and get on with things.
I'm the exact same person I always was. My personality hasn't
changed, or the way I look, I just feel good in myself. (Smiles)
I don't have to worry anymore. You can't imagine how relieved I
feel not having it all hanging over my head.
SH: But if there hadn't been the threat of exposure, would you
have waited to tell everyone?
(Pauses) I don't know. I probably would have waited until the
very last minute I could. But looking at things now I wouldn't
change a thng.
Smiling once again, it appears Stephen's not just happy, but
happier than ever. Could it be love? Just as he's about to reply
to our probing question, Stephen's 'saved by the bell.' Someone
is buzzing his mini-mobile and the huge grin across Stephen's
face, tells us who it is. . . Eloy. "Yep, I'm doing the
interview," he tells his concerned boyfriend, "don't
worry, it's going really well." The couple go on to discuss
how their dog's been swimming again, and Steve signs off by
promising to take a pic of the shoot home for Eloy to see. When
the conversation's over, Steve laughs when Smash Hits points out
the ear-to-ear grin he had on his face the whole time. "Did
I?" he says coyly, blushing slightly. Next he takes out a
photo of his boyfriend to show us and looks on proudly as Smash
Hits peruses Eloy's perfect features. Our question is answered.
Stephen's in love.
A BOY IN LOVE
SH: Where did you meet Eloy?
At a party, but we'd met in the business before, travelling,
y'know- we'd seen each other around! We've known each other for a
long time, and we've been together for a year now.
SH: You seem very settled. . .
I am. We've just bought a dog. He's a black and white shih-tzu
called Joey. we took him for a walk yesterday and we were just
sitting down together chatting, getting away from it all. It's
wonderful.
SH: It must seem funny looking back at you old 'lurve' interviews
now. . .
It is because. . . (laughs) I always dreaded interviews because i
knew that people would say, "So Stephen, why aren't you
going out with a girl?".
SH: But you never said you hadn't met the right girl, you always
said the right person.
Yes, I didn't want to lie, so I chose my words carefully!
SH: Has 'coming out' affected your relationship with Eloy?
Yeah, I can walk down the street with him now. I don't have to be
careful about everything. (Rolls his eyes) What a relief!
Interview over, Stephen plays us his upcoming solo single, the
classic Bright Eyes taken from the new Watership Down cartoon in
which Steve will voice one of the bunnies. Everyone in the studio
is stunned when a mature, rich voice blasts out of the stereo:
"I always sing in high keys in Boyzone," explains
Stephen, "but with this I've been able to try out different
voice styles, whcih is really exciting." The single sounds
great, but after all he's been through Stephen wasn't really
worried about the small matter of a solo career. . . was he?
"Oh yeah, I'm very nervous," he blushes, "I don't
know what to expect from Bright Eyes. If it just gets into the
charts I'll be happy!" He pauses. "If people knock me,
they kncok me, at least I know that I've tried." So you do
feel stronger now? "I know one thing, I'm more ready for all
this," he says, throwing his hands out wide, "than I
ever was." And with that final flourish, Stephen collects
his post, says his goodbyes, and walks out the door. Head held
high.
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