Nicky Interview

Westlife’s Nicky Byrne talks about family life

It's a season in the sun for Westlife singer Nicky Byrne, his wife Georgina and their 17-month old twin sons Rocco and Jay. Following the group's last tour - and the biggest gig of their ten-year career - the Westlife four embarked on a year off for rest and reflection on the amazing pop decade they have shared since starting out as "giddy kids". Nicky and Georgina had planned to stay home enjoying their sons - who were born eight weeks early in April last year - in Malahide, Dublin. But instead they seized the chance to christen their new villa, just a stroll from the sea, in a green and pretty conservation area of Portugal.

Besides marking Westlife’s tenth-year sabbatical, childhood sweethearts Nicky and Georgina have just celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary. Next spring, Westlife guys Nicky, Kian, Mark and Shane will be back together for a new album and a fresh decade of hits. “We’ve achieved something special as a band and I don’t think it will be surpassed for a long time yet. We don’t want it to end”.

Snippets from the interview with Nicky

Tell us what led you to Portugal? Nicky: “We meant to have this time off after five years, then six, then seven – the goalposts kept moving as Westlife did a tour and an album every single year. Finally we hit the really big milestone of ten years; we’d just played this really big gig with 85,000 in Croke Park so the time seemed right”.

Nicky, did you really decide at 14 that Georgina was going to be your wife? “I had known her for two years from school when, on budget day, she and her sister appeared with their dad on the TV evening news. That’s when I told my Mam she was the girl I was going to marry. She just laughed”.

What’s the most significant vow you made to each other? Nicky “It’s being there for each other through good times and bad. Nothing’s perfect. We also bear in mid that anything could be round the corner. What you enjoy today could be gone tomorrow”.

The pop scene offers a lot of temptation that could be divisive. Nicky “There’s a lot of female attention with a boy band, so if you wanted that lifestyle it’s there on a plate. But I had an amazing girlfriend, then wife, at the same as a great career unfolding, and I was just so happy that Georgina was there to share that buzz when I came off stage. You don’t want to be jumping up and down like a lunatic, all on your own. Flying on a private jet is fun, but so much more so with someone you love”.

What do you plan for the next ten years? Nicky “Ten years is a long time in the music industry. We’ve already had ten amazing years in a business where boybands come and go quick as lightning. As four musicians we love each other, and I’d be very happy to continue doing what I’m doing. Right now we’re looking for some great news songs to start recording in America next spring. A year from now, we want to come back with the top album of our career. So I’ve no plans to change course at the moment. Though if it did all come to an end, there is another field I’d probably try to develop. Two years ago I took an acting course in New York and I really liked it”.

Source: Hello magazine - 16 October 2008 - Interview Madeleine Kingsley

Snippets from Hello - buy the magazine for the full interview and exclusive photos.

Back to Media index ~ Back to News

Disclaimer: This website is 100% unofficial and has no connection to Shane Filan, Westlife or their management and record company. No copyright or infringement is intended with this fan site and credits are given to the source of information and pictures. However, if you are the owner and would like a picture removed then please contact us and this will be done immediately. Thank you.