FORMER WESTLIFE SINGER SHANE FILAN’S WIFE GILLIAN IS DECLARED BANKRUPT
THE wife of ex-Westlife singer Shane Filan has been declared bankrupt six years after her husband followed the same action for debts of more than €20 million.
Gillian Filan was declared bankrupt by the High Court on July 23rd over mortgage debts she and her husband had with Ulster Bank believed to be worth over €4m.
A subsidiary of US vulture fund Cerebrus who purchased the debt from Ulster Bank took a case against Ms Filan last year over properties in Sligo which she and her husband co-owned.
Land Registry records list Shane and Gillian Filan as co-owners of three properties in Sligo.
The properties are a house in Caltragh and two apartments in Ballinode.
In 2012, Ms Filan’s husband filed for bankruptcy in the UK for debts of €23million and exited bankruptcy a year later.
The building firm Shafin Developments which he owned with his brother Finbarr Filan also went into receivership.
In 2014, the singer told the Irish Independent that his choice of investments was a form of “gambling” which he had ultimately lost.
“It’s not even the amount of money, it’s the fact that you got into that state,” he said.
“You feel like you tried to do something right and you lost badly and you just try to figure out how was it that bad.”
“There was so much pressure it was just inconsolable… the reality hit me that ‘you are absolutely broke’ ”.
The dad of three was forced to deal with the fallout at the same time as Westlife were wrapping up their farewell shows in Croke Park in June 2012.
“I was bankrupt, I was broke and completely lost everything and all that tour money was gone.”
During his career with Westlife, the group sold over 50 million albums.