Eloy de Jong

Trennung

Stephen

Gemischt

Eloy und Steve lieben sich! "Ich bin schwul und ich bin verliebt! Mein Partner ist der Holländer Eloy de Jong!" Mit diesen Worten hat sich Stephen Gately (23), Leadsänger und Mädchenschwarm der irischen Gruppe Boyzone am 16. Juni in den englischen Tageszeitungen geoutet. Daß sein Partner ausgerechnet Eloy de Jong (26), Ex-Caught-in-the-Act-Sänger ist, ist doppelt brisant für die Fans beider Gruppen.
Dieses verblüffende und mutige Bekenntnis sorgte nicht nur in England für viel Wirbel. Auch bei uns schlug die Nachricht wie eine Bombe ein und löste eine heftige Diskussion über Homosexualität aus. Die vielen weiblichen Fans der beiden Sonnyboys waren geschockt, verwirrt und wollten die Meldung zunächst kaum glauben. Eloy zu BRAVO: "Ja, Steve und ich lieben uns. Ich werde immer für Stephen dasein. Ich weiß, wir können es schaffen!"

Stephen und Eloy trafen sich zum ersten Mal 1995, als Boyzone noch am Anfang ihrer Karriere waren, in London, wo Caught in the Act im April ihr Video zur Single "My Arms keep missing you" drehten. Ein Jahr später, bei der BRAVO SUPERSHOW im März 1996 in der Stuttgarter Schleyerhalle, sahen sie sich wieder. Aber erst am 31.10.1998, als Boyzone zu einem Auftritt nach Köln flogen, funkte es richtig zwischen den beiden. Eloy moderierte die Show, bei der Boyzone auftraten. In Köln wurde beiden klar, daß sie mehr als nur gute Freunde sein wollten. Seitdem verbrachten sie so viel Zeit wie möglich zusammen und teilen sich Stephens Luxusvilla bei Dublin.

Monatelang hielten die beiden ihre Beziehung geheim. Steve: "Es war schrecklich! Wir konnten nie zusammen weggehen, mußten uns immer verstecken! Das war ein enormer Druck." Die Angst, entdeckt und an den Pranger gestellt zu werden, war für Stephen, der aus dem prüden, katholischen Dublin kommt, zum Schluß unerträglich. Steve: "Ich wollte nicht die Karriere von Boyzone ruinierten!" In England und Irland sind Boyzone – ihr neues Greatest-Hits-Album "By Request" stürmte dort mit Rekordverkäufen auf Platz eins der Charts – so erfolgreich wie BSB.

Doch Boyzone, die zur Zeit auf Deutschlandtour sind, gehen im Herbst getrennte Wege. Ronan Keating startet als Solosänger und Steve wird "Bright Eyes", den Titeltrack zum neuen Zeichentrickfilm "Watership Down", solo singen. Das war der richtige Zeitpunkt für das Outing. "Ich wollte nicht mehr länger lügen", sagt Stephen. "Ich will mich nicht mehr verstecken, die Fans sollen die Wahrheit wissen. Ich will mich zu meinem Partner bekennen – Eloy ist meine große Liebe!"

Boyzone star Stephen Gately has broken many a teenage heart today by announcing he is gay.
The 23 year old singer says he has been forced to come out after a someone close to the band tried to sell the story to the papers.

Ronan and the boys say they're backing him all the way, and are delighted he has found love with a former member of a Dutch boy band.

In an interview with the Sun Gately said: "I'm gay and I have had gay romances, but now -for the first time in my life - I am in a relationship with someone I love."

He told the newspaper that he met Eloy de Jong, 26, a former member of Dutch boy band Caught In The Act, four years ago but their relationship only began in November last year.

Gately, a singer with five-strong Irish boy band, took the decision to go public after hearing that he might be "outed" by someone who worked with the group in the past.

A statement released by the group's press office, the Outside Organisation, said: "Boyzone's Stephen Gately today confirmed that he is gay.

"Stephen recently discovered that someone was trying to sell this story to newspapers.

"He made a decision to tell the fans himself and has chosen to do so in the Sun newspaper."

The statement said the pop star hoped the interview would "explain all to the fans and bring an end to the matter."

Gately, 23, said: "This is the hardest thing I have ever had to do but I owe it to our fans - as well as to myself - to be completely honest.

"I know this may come as a bombshell to our followers. Many of them may be upset. I only hope they understand how important it is for me to reveal I am gay."

He said that he realised he was gay when he was 15 but decided against admitting it when he was handpicked by club owner and manager Louis Walsh with the other band members from 300 hopefuls to form Boyzone in 1993, for fear be might lose his chance for fame.

A year after joining the band he told his family, whom he said have been very understanding and supportive.

His partner, Eloy de Jong, told the newspaper: "I will always be there for Stephen. We will get through this."

Gately stressed his announcement would not affect the future of Boyzone and
vowed: "We'll be around for years to come."

He also addressed the band's millions of fans and said: "I've been strong for you, I've signed your autographs, answered your letters, and given the performances you deserve on stage.

"Now I need you to be there for me."

Boyzone, which also includes Ronan Keating, Keith Duffy, Shane Lynch and Mikey Graham, have enjoyed massive chart success.

They have had a string of Number 1 songs including Words, All That I Need and No Matter What and achieved the best ever start to a UK singles career with 13 consecutive Top 5 singles.

Last year, Shane Lynch married Eternal's Easther Bennett and Ronan Keating and his wife Yvonne now have an eight-week-old son, Jack.

MY SON WAS BULLIED INTO ADMITTING HE IS GAY

Mum blast The Sun over 'blackmail'
THE angry mother of Boyzone star Stephen Gately has claimed he was bullied into confessing he is gay.
Cleaning lady Margaret Gately hit out at what she called "blackmail" by The Sun - who persuaded Stephen to admit his secret sexuality by saying a member of the band's roadcrew had approached them to sell the story. Margaret, who has one other son and three daughters, says Stephen did NOT want to go public, but realised he had no other option.

In an emotional outburst, Margaret, 50, told The Mirror: "Stephen wasn't ashamed about his sexuality - but he never wanted people to know about it.
"Because it was always his own business, and that is the way it should be. I think what has happened is blackmail. I always thought my children should never be pressurised. "But Stephen has been bullied into doing this."
Margaret learned of the "deal" between her son and The Sun last week - and says the news broke her heart.

"We have been going through hell since we were told that this was going to be published," she said. "I haven't slept for a week. "The effect it will have on the whole family will be phenomenal."Everyone has been so worried. I have problems with my lungs and I'm afraid that the stress of this will affect my illness."Margaret added: "The Sun has destroyed so many lives. There was Lenny Henry and there was Sophie Rhys-Jones. Now it's my son - and us."All of us are involved in this. I have to go out and do my day's work with the whole place looking at me."Stephen's younger brother Tony said that he would be lying low after the fuss generated. "I have no notion of sticking around for this one," he said. "I'm going to my girlfriend's to stay for a while until it all dies down.

"I can't believe that anyone would want to do this to Stephen. It's going to affect the whole family. But at The Sun, they don't care whose lives they ruin. Tony added: "This will have a huge impact on us. Since we were told The Sun was going to print it, we have literally been waiting for the worst to come."

The Sun claimed in an editorial yesterday that Stephen had approached them to ask for their help in coming out. But it is now established that the paper approached Stephen to tell him his gay secret was going to be revealed by a roadie. They suggested to him that the best way to deal with this was to go public in an exclusive interview. Boyzone's PR agency last night denied The Sun had threatened to "out" Stephen if he did not co-operate. But a source close to the band told The Mirror: "Stephen knew The Sun had him over a barrel. They made it clear that if he didn't go public, the information would come out somehow anyway."The paper's behaviour flies in the face of a pledge earlier this year never to out gays.In a hypocritical declaration of intent, the paper announced: "From now on The Sun will not reveal the sexuality of gays - men or women - unless we believe it can be defended on the grounds of overwhelming public interest.
"If gays choose to come out, we will report it if we feel it is newsworthy or relevant. Otherwise, we will not invade the privacy of gay people. Why are we doing this? Because we recognise that public attitudes are changing." In fact, The Sun published its statement because the day before it had caused widespread revulsion by suggesting on the front page that Britain was being run by what it described as a "Gay Mafia".
In yesterday's Sun, Gately told all about the homosexuality he had kept a secret throughout the six astonishingly successful years he has been with Boyzone.
He even told how he has fallen in love with a Dutch singer called Eloy de Jong, who he has been dating for the past eight months.
After dodging the issue for so long, Stephen's candour was - to say the least - surprising.

A GAY TV presenter told last night of his heartbreak at losing his partner to Boyzone star Stephen Gately.

Dutch telly host Carlo Boszhard warned Stephen: "He broke my heart - don't let him break yours."

Carlo had pleaded with boy band singer Eloy de Jong not to leave him after five years together.
But two weeks ago, the £300,000-a-year presenter realised he'd lost him for good when the handsome blond revealed he was seeing Stephen. Carlo, 29, who hosts the House Party-style show Monte Carlo on Dutch TV, was shattered. He said: "I still love Eloy and I think it is a shame that we are no longer together and won't grow old together as we once hoped.
"I had always hoped we would kiss and make up because we have unfinished business together and a special love.“But when Eloy told me two weeks ago he was in love with Steve I finally realised there was no chance."
Eloy, a member of Caught in the Act, shared Carlo's luxury home in the village of Nieuwendam outside Amsterdam. He met Dubliner Stephen, 23, four years ago, but only began dating him last November.Carlo and Eloy had a major bust-up last year when Eloy announced he was going back on tour and wouldn't see him for months.
“I told him I couldn't live with that any more," he added. "We had a long and emotional talk during which we both cried. I decided we didn't have a future any more."
But, when the tour ended Caught in the Act, who enjoyed 15 No. 1 hits n Germany and sold 20 million records, broke up.
Carlo began seeing Eloy once again but he admitted: "We stayed best of friends but we couldn't revive our love.“To be honest even up until a couple of weeks ago, I hoped we'd start all over again but when he told me about Stephen and their affair I knew there was no chance any more."
Eloy, who is reputedly worth £8 million, called Carlo to tell him that he was seeing Stephen and planned to let the world know about their affair."I was very, very surprised, to say the least, given the fact that he'd been so reluctant to reveal his love for me for so long."I found it hard to understand how he could love Stephen because I thought after being with me he would rather have an unknown boyfriend with whom he could live anonymously.
“I suppose, even though I caused the first rift, Eloy has ended up breaking my heart. I just hope he is truly happy with Stephen and doesn't end up breaking his heart too.
 "I have met Steve many times, even when I was with Eloy, but never could I have expected he would be my lover's new love. I didn't even know he was gay.

"I haven't spoken to Steve since but I spoke to Eloy today. I think it is brave what they are doing because the whole world is watching, especially because Eloy is starting a new career as a TV presenter in Germany."Eloy was a star on his own but from now on he will be seen as the gay lover of Steve from Boyzone. I wonder if that's easy to live with."Stephen gave Eloy a sporty Audi convertible as a present a few weeks ago and they have been spotted driving around Amsterdam together.

The couple are due to visit Holland this weekend so Stephen can meet Eloy's family and they are expected to visit Amsterdam's gay disco It Eloy and Carlo were both regulars at the club, where Spice Girl Mel G's hubby Jimmy Gulzar was a dancer.But Eloy, mindful of his image and effect on his lucrative career, was reluctant to be seen as gay and went to extraordinary lengths to keep his affair with Carlo secret."I had to leave his home in the early hours to prevent fans from seeing me," said Carlo."I had more and more troubles with that because I felt I was lying to the public and eventually I came out as gay. That felt very good."

READERS who thought Boyzone was a Hamburg nightclub will be surprised to hear that it's the name of an Irish boy band. They may be less astonished to learn, from the Sun, that one of its members swings the other way. Hot on the heels of the stunning revelations that former Take That front man Gary Barlow was a pill-popping, groupie-boffing hetero, comes news that Boyzone's Stephen Gately is gay and in love. The Sun would usually expect the nation's screaming girls to plaster its front-page photo of the outed one on their bedroom walls. However, today's news has meant that it is not the fans but Stephen who has been left screaming. As girls rush upstairs to redecorate their rooms, while some of their brothers salvage pics of Stephen from the bin, the boy himself makes his "courageous announcement". The paper that once warned of a gay mafia running the country is no longer worried about a pink menace and shows commendable understanding towards the star. The rag of the nation's clean of thought and deed reveals Stephen and his lover, the pornographically named Eloy de Jong, on its totty-loving Page Three. "The time is right to tell the world who I really am and who I really love," announces the headline to the "most moving showbiz interview you will ever read". After years of dodging questions about his lack of female companionship, Stephen was sick of answering questions with the phrase "I'll settle down when the right person comes along". Well, roaming Eloy came, saw and conquered Stephen. However, there is one woman who has got close to him. The Mirror misses the main feature, so hunts down the old B-movie that is the Stephen's mum Margaret. She may well love her boy "whatever he is" but his kindergarten of fans may not be so understanding. His secret may "break so many hearts" but it seems that, although Stephen's future is in jeopardy, the rest of the band will survive. After all, they're all married. Mind you, so was Elton John once.

Boyzone-Star Stephen: "Ich bin schwul"

Boyzone-Star Stephen Gately

exp London - Boyzone. Eine der erfolgreichsten Boygroups unserer Zeit. Ihre Lieder ("Words") stürmen die Charts. Ihre Poster zieren die Zimmer von vielen tausend junger Mädchen in der ganzen Welt. Und jetzt das. Stephen Gately läßt die Bombe platzen. "Ich bin schwul", gesteht der schöne Ire dem englischen Massenblatt "Sun", "und ich bin sehr verliebt."

Das Selbst-Outing, erklärt Gately weiter, sei das "härteste, das ich jemals tun mußte. Aber ich schulde es meinen Fans und mir selber, endlich ganz ehrlich zu sein."

Seit vergangenen November ist Stephen fest mit Eloy De Jong (26) zusammen, der war früher bei der inzwischen aufgelösten niederländischen Boygroup "Caught in the Act". "Ich denke, die Zeit ist reif, der Welt zu sagen, wer ich wirklich bin", so Stephen selbstbewußt.

So ganz freiwillig gewählt aber ist der Zeitpunkt nicht. Ein ehemaliger Mitarbeiter der Band plante offenbar, Stephens Geheimnis gewinnbringend zu veröffentlichen. Da entschloß sich Stephen, in Absprache mit dem Rest der Gruppe, dem Verräter zuvorzukommen.

"Ich wollte, daß unsere Fans es von mir erfahren und nicht irgendeine verdrehte Wahrheit vorgesetzt bekommen", erklärt Stephen . Und ist spürbar erleichtert: "Der Druck, jemand zu sein, der ich gar nicht bin, wurde immer schlimmer. Stets hatte ich Angst, erwischt zu werden."

Seine größte Bitte: "Ich hoffe, die Fans halten zu uns."

Wie kann es ein Mädchen verkraften, wenn sein Idol nur Jungen liebt?
Von KARIN SCHLAUTMANN
Sie kreischen, werfen Teddys, schreiben Liebesbriefe: Mädchen himmeln ihre Boygroup an. Fast alle sind verknallt in die süßen Jungs auf der Bühne.
Stephen Gatly (23) von der irischen Boygroup „Boyzone“ („No matter what“) bekennt: „Ich bin schwul.“

Er ist Schwarm von Millionen Mädchen, sie himmeln sein Poster über ihren Betten an. Sie träumen von ihm, wenn sie seine Musik hören.

Wie kann es ein Mädchen verkraften, wenn sein Idol nur Jungen liebt?

Vielleicht einfacher, als wenn er eine Frau heiratet. Denn da müßte das Fan-Mädchen in Konkurrenz zu seiner Traumfrau treten. Als Homosexueller aber scheint er ihr nicht ganz verloren.
Norbert Lalla (37), stellv. Chefredakteur vom Teenie-Fachblatt „Bravo“: „Die Mädchen in diesem Alter setzen sich ja gerade erst mit dem anderen Geschlecht auseinander. Für sie ist Homosexualität noch etwas sehr Ungewöhnliches. Als Nick von den Backstreet Boys sagte, er habe eine Freundin, war die Hysterie viel größer.“

Stephen über sein Outing: „Diese Sache, das ist das Schwierigste, was ich je tun mußte. Aber ich schulde unseren Fans und mir selber, voll aufrichtig zu sein.“

Die anderen Bandmitglieder wußten nichts von Stephens Männerliebe: „Ich weiß schon seit meinem 15. Lebensjahr, daß ich schwul bin. Als ich dann 1993 unter 300 Bewerbern für die Band ausgewählt wurde, habe ich es aber verschwiegen.“

Jetzt liebt er einen anderen Teenie-Star: Eloy de Jong (26) von „Caught in the act“ (Ende ’98 aufgelöst). Eloy: „Ich werde immer für Stephen da sein. Wir werden da durchkommen.“

Wie können Eltern verzweifelten Töchtern jetzt helfen?

Lalla von „Bravo“: „Vor allem reden. Die Eltern müssen erkennen, welche Bedeutung der Star im Leben der Tochter hat, dann erklären, was passiert ist. Aber so dramatisch wird es hoffentlich nicht: Selbstmorddrohungen sind bei uns noch nicht eingegangen.“

Mit 15 schwul - ist das nur eine pupertäre Phase, oder ist man für immer festgelegt?

„Boyzone“-Star Stephen Gateley (23) – Millionen Mädchen lieben ihn.

Und Sie fragen sich: Ist er nach seinem Schwulen-Outing für immer für sie verloren? Wird er jetzt nur noch Männer lieben?

Psychologe Arndt Stein: „Nein! Es kann durchaus sein, daß sich ein Mann dieses Alters noch mal umorientiert. Allerdings liegt das an vielen Faktoren.

Es könnte sein, daß Stephen sich als Kind sehr an seiner Mutter orientiert hat, den Vater als schwach empfand. In der Pubertät machen sehr viele Mädchen und Jungen dann eine homoerotische Phase durch.“

Stephen war 15, als er wußte: „Ich bin schwul.“

Stein: „Ob Stephen sich noch einmal für Frauen interessieren wird, liegt auch daran, wie glücklich er in seinem jetzigen Leben mit einem Mann ist. Wenn er sich für andere Eindrücke öffnet, ist alles möglich. Auch daß er nochmal die richtige Frau findet.“