Westlife’s Shane:

Despite enjoying incredible success with his four band mates, Westlife star Shane Filan admits he hasn’t spoken to Brian Mcfadden in almost a decade

“I’ve not seen Brian for nine years”

With 14 chart-topping singles and over 40 million record W sales, Westlife were one of the biggest boybands on the planet when they shot to fame in 1998. But despite their huge success, the band was dealt a huge blow in 2004 when Brian Mcfadden, 37, announced his shock departure to spend more time with his then-wife Kerry Katona and their two daughters. The news came just weeks before they were scheduled to begin their fourth world tour. Brian went on to launch a solo career.

Founding Westlife member Shane Filan, 38, tells Closer that although there is no bad blood with Brian, he hasn’t seen him in nine years, and the pair rarely speak. Shane, who is about to embark on the second leg of his solo tour with his third solo album Love Always, says, “I haven’t seen Brian in about nine years, I don’t have any contact with him. The guy’s a lovely lad and best of luck to him, but we’ve just lost touch.”

STILL FRIENDS

The remaining members of Westlife – Mark Feehily, 37, Kian Egan, 37, and Nicky Byrne, 39 – continued to tour with Shane and released successful albums until they parted ways in 2012. Shane – whose wife Gillian is Kian’s cousin – sees the rest of the band regularly.

He says, I see them all a lot. I meet up with Kian and his kids, and I saw Mark just before Christmas. Nicky came to one of my shows last year and it was nice to see him in the audience.”

Shane, who duetted with former Girls Aloud member Nadine Coyle on his second solo album in 2015, says she was “wonderful” to work with, adding, “I’ve known her over the years and she’s a great singer and a lovely girl. I haven’t really seen her since, but I know if I saw her again it would be great.”

STAYING POSITIVE

But the one person from his Westlife days that Shane speaks to regularly is manager Louis Walsh, 65. He says, “I talk to Louis at least once or twice a week and see him every few weeks. He’s fully involved. We have a very close and honest relationship – he tells me if he thinks I’ve done something wrong or if I should do something.”

And the star says while it’s not on the horizon right now, he won’t rule out a Westlife reunion. He says, “It could happen. We’ll just have to wait and see!”

Shane, who was plunged into bankruptcy after Westlife split in 2012 following a series of ill-fated property investments that left him in £18m of debt, says he is now happier than ever. At the time, he was forced to sell the family home he had built for wife Gillian and their children, Nicole, 12, Patrick, nine, and Shane, eight.

He says, “That was a really difficult time, but I’ve always tried to focus on the future and try to be positive. I had my wife and a lot of good people around me. Everything is going in the right direction now, I’m the happiest I’ve ever been. My family are happy and healthy and it’s exciting to get out on tour again.”