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Ronan Keating's wild love life – two wives and affair with backing dancer

01 July 2023 , 18:30
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Ronan Keating
Ronan Keating's wild love life – two wives and affair with backing dancer

Ronan Keating shot to fame as a fresh-faced teenager in Boyzone and became an instant heartthrob.

As the lead singer of the Irish band, he wasn’t short of female attention as they churned out huge hits like No Matter What, Father and Son and Love me For A Reason.

In the Noughties Ronan launched a solo career and had more hits with Rollercoaster and When You Say Nothing At All, which featured in the movie Notting Hill.

But away from music, Ronan – who became a judge on The Voice Kids last year – has had quite the love life.

He married his first wife, model Yvonne Connolly, at the age of just 21 in April 1998 and the couple share three children.

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Ronan Keating's wild love life – two wives and affair with backing dancerRonan with ex-wife Yvonne Connolly, who he split from in the mid Noughties (Getty Images)

Reality TV viewers got a glimpse of their firstborn, Jack, when he made a surprise appearance on Love Island last year.

The 25-year-old became a dad in March this year to a baby girl called Maya, who he shares with ex-girlfriend Keely Iqbal – meaning Ronan is now a grandad at 46.

They are also parents to daughters Marie, 22, and 17-year-old Ali.

But their marriage was blown apart in 2010 when it emerged Ronan had been having an affair with one of his backing dancers.

As Yvonne unpacked boxes in their new £3.5 million mansion just outside of Dublin, she became suspicious her husband had been playing away.

After getting hold off his phone bills she called a number she didn’t recognise and discovered it was Francine Cornell.

Ronan Keating's wild love life – two wives and affair with backing dancerRonan and Yvonne share kids Jack, Melissa and Ali (Getty Images)

Ronan is said to have denied the affair at first and told Yvonne she was a dancer from the tour and they were “just good friends”.

But after calling her directly, Yvonne was crushed to find out her husband’s affair had been going on for seven months behind her back.

Francine claims Ronan even told her he was in love with her and said that he wanted to marry her.

Speaking at the time, she said: “He led me to believe that his relationship with Yvonne was more platonic than anything else. He loved her dearly — she was the mother of his children — but he wasn’t in love with her.

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“Sometimes Ronan and I would agree that we would end it and that we wouldn’t ever talk again.

“Then he’d ring up crying, saying, ‘I can’t do this anymore, I need you, I need you. I can’t not have you in my life’. I’d say, ‘No you have to go back and make it work’.”

Ronan Keating's wild love life – two wives and affair with backing dancerRonan had an affair with backing dancer Francine Cornell (Matrix/SM)

She said Ronan was the one who pursued her but she “made the mistake of falling for it and not having the strength to walk away.”

Francine continued: “I never asked Ronan to leave Yvonne. He was the one who’d bring it up. He’d say, ‘It’s you I love, you’re the one I want to be with. I love Yvonne as she’s the mother of my kids, yet I’m in love with you.

“But I can’t do this to my children’. Once I asked, ‘Do you think I’ll still see your name on my phone in 20 years’? He said, ‘In 20 years, we will be married’. At the time it was nice and I think it’s what he believed.”

After things ended with Ronan, Francine was shocked when Yvonne asked her to meet her at a London hotel.

But while Yvonne was going there for answers – and possibly a showdown with her husband’s mistress – they ended up unexpectedly bonding.

Ronan Keating's wild love life – two wives and affair with backing dancerRonan has since married Storm and had two more children (Instagram)

Speaking on Brendan O'Connor's Cutting Edge, Yvonne explained: “In fairness to her [Francine], she came and met me. But the 20-minute conversation turned into a couple of bottles of wine.

"After a few hours I realised she needed it as much as I did and I know it sounds very dramatic, but she was as much as a victim as I was. I think we both got something from it.

"When I look back, this is what it all boils down to: it was basically two girls in love with the same boy who over a five-hour conversation realised that that boy was not who we thought he was."

The Keatings tried to work on their marriage – with Ronan choosing the sleeve notes of his 2010 solo album Duet to apologise to his wife.

"You are the most incredible, inspirational woman I have ever met," he gushed.

"For the mistakes I have made in my life, I am sorry. Guess you have to go there to come back. It was a dark place and you were the light to bring me back. I love you."

But they couldn’t make it work and sadly took the decision to separate in 2012, officially divorcing in 2015.

Ronan Keating's wild love life – two wives and affair with backing dancerRonan with his blended family and older kids all grown up (Dave Benett/Getty Images)

Yvonne has since moved on with cinematographer John Conroy, who she has been with for 10 years.

While Ronan has got married again to TV producer Storm Uechtritz, 41, who he met on The Australia.

They tied the knot in 2015 and have since welcomed son Cooper, six, and three-year-old daughter Coco.

When asked about his affair Ronan has since said he has “no regrets” because he wanted to split with Yvonne – and claimed there is “a lot more” people don’t know about.

Hitting out in a post on Facebook, he revealed: “I do not regret the end of my ­marriage, it’s what I wanted.

“There is a lot more to it than an affair and obviously it was broken well before then. There are always two people in a relationship and if it’s not ­working there’s more than one good reason.

“I will not stand for complete misrepresentation of my truth and my heart anymore.

"After six years I draw a line. Please respect that everyone has moved on.”

Ronan added: “Not once did I say I was apologising to my ex-wife or saying sorry for the affair. I said I was sorry for all the hurt it had caused, to which I truly am."

Katie Wilson

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