Ronan Keating pens heartfelt tribute to best friend Stephen Gately 13 years after his tragic death
BOYZONE'S Ronan Keating has penned a heartfelt tribute to his best friend Stephen Gately, 13 years after his death.
Stephen was one of the original members of Boyzone when he joined the band in 1993.
The other members in the final line-up were Ronan Keating, Shane Lynch, Mikey Graham and Keith Duffy.
He died early on the morning of October 10, 2009 while on holiday in Majorca. His body was discovered by his husband Andrew Cowles.
On the anniversary of his death, Ronan, 45, opted to take to social media to write a tribute to his late friend.
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The Life Is A Rollercoaster singer wrote: “13 years and doesn’t get any easier because I know how much living ya had in ya. Miss ya dude. A heavy heart.”
Ronan shared a string of photos of himself and Stephen, from enjoying nights out to pictures on stage together.
He also shared photos while meeting Prince Charles and some of Boyzone posing together.
Feeling his pain, fans took to the comments to share support as one person wrote: “Still feels like yesterday, miss this man so much.”
Another added: “Aww miss him. Such a distinctive voice and Ronan and Steo together were just perfect.”
Stephen's fellow bandmates from Boyzone flew to Majorca the day after his death on October 11 and issued a joint statement in which they described him as a "beautiful person."
It was later discovered that Stephen's death was due to a pulmonary oedema (fluid in the lungs) as a result of an undiagnosed congenital heart defect.
The day before he died Stephen finished his children's book The Tree Of Seasons which was published posthumously.
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When Stephen came out as gay in 1999 it caused a publicity storm due to his legion of female admirers - but fans were supportive and praised his honesty.
Stephen and husband Andrew first got married in 2003 with a commitment ceremony in Las Vegas and then again in 2006 with a civil ceremony in London.
In an interview with in May 2010, Andrew broke his silence over Stephen's death.
He said: "The night he died, we’d had such a good time, a lovely evening in our favourite restaurant. He was the most happy and confident he’d been in his life."
