SUNDAY MIRROR- 20/6/99SUICIDE TRAGEDY OF BOYZONE BOYFRIEND
A GAY lover of Boyzone star Stephen Gately died of a broken heart after his
partner's rise to stardom.
Tragic Stephen Howard committed suicide at the age of 21 as his former
lover found fame and fortune with the all-boy band.
Friends said the two Stephens were inseparable and described their
relationship "a real love match"- but within months of the formation of
Boyzone, their two lives were poles apart.
And as the budding superstar was groomed for life as a teen pin-up, his
distraught former lover became embroiled in the drug-ridden underworld of
Dublin's dance scene.
After their separation, Stephen Howard died a broken man. He hanged
himself at his family's Dublin home after becoming addicted to heroin and
stealing to fund his habit.
His mother says she does not blame the Boyzone star, who last week
publically admitted he is gay for the first time, for the death of her son.
Bernie Howard said: "I can't say that the break-up was the reason for my
Stephen getting into drugs, but there was no sign of any problem before that."
But she admits that her pain is re-awakened every time she hits one of
their hits or sees them on TV.
Mrs Howard said: "Stephen Gately was a lovely boy and I was very, very
fond of him. He and my Stephen were like two peas in a pod. They did
everything together. It never crossed my mind that they were lovers in a
sexual way at the time, but it became obvious later that they were.
"I wasn't surprised when Stephen Gately issued his statement saying that
he was gay. I think that nearly everyone who knew him had realised that a
long time ago, and it didn't bother anyone in the least.
"The two lads were the best of pals. They used to practice dance
routines together and went in for talent contests all over the place.
"Not long after Stephen Gately got picked for Boyzone, the two of them
split up.
"Boyzone had a squeaky-clean image right from the start. The lads were
controlled every minute of the day and Louis Walsh, their manager, wanted
them to make a clean break away from their past.
"Even at their earliest shows when they were just starting to hit the
big-time he was trying to run their lives. He dictated what they ate, what
they wore, where they went and who they talked to.
"Anybody from their past who might prove embarrassing in the future was
ruled out completely.
"If they handed out tickets to their old frends from North Dubln he
would get very angry, and he didn't like it if he saw the boys talking to
their old mates afterwards."
It was around this time that Stephen Howard started taking drugs.
Mrs Howard said: "He started taking ecstasy at raves and then moved on
to heroin.
"Like a lot of other mothers I never realised that he was taking drugs
until it was too late.
"Looking back it is easy to see the signs, but you just don't ever think
that it is going to come knocking on your door."
Mrs Howard now attends counselling and support groups to help other
youngsters avoid the tragic fate of her son.
She said: "Stephen Gately did his best to help my Stephen but there was
very little that he could do.
"He talked to him and tred to persuade him that he was going to kill
himself with the drugs but I think my son was too far gone by that stage."
Mrs Howard still ponders on what might have been if her Stephen- who was
18 when he split with the singer- had been talent-spotted instead of his pal.
She told the Sunday Mirror: "I don't blame Stephen Gately in the least.
"I'm still very fond of him and I am glad that he has done so well for
himself.
"But there he is, rich and famous, while my Stephen is four years in his
grave.

 

THE SUNDAY PEOPLE- 20/6/99
BOYZONE STAR'S SECRET GAY LOVE HANGED HIMSELF

GATELY PAL'S AGONY OVER BEING SNUBBED
BOYZONE star Stephen Gately's secret gay lover hanged himself after a
heartbreak split with the singer, the Sunday People can reveal today.
Gately, 23, was ordered to stop seeing life-long pal Stephen Howard to
protect the bands public image as heart-throbs to mllions of teenage girls.
The millonaire pop star- who stunned Boyzone fans last week when he
confessed he is gay- reluctantly agreed to snub the lad he had grown up with
a tough inner-city district.
But the split was too much for Stephen, 21, who took his own life.
His mum Bernie said: "He was utterly devastated when he was told they
had to break up. He never got over it and sank into deep depression."
Gately had known Stephen since they were kids in Dublin's Sheriff
Street, one of the toughest parts of the city. They entered dance and
talent competitions together.
And as they grew older they discovered they were gay and their
friendship developed into a full affair.
"They didn't broadcast the fact they were lovers but their close friends
knew," a pal said.
"Sometimes they would get hassle in the street about being 'faggots' but
they brushed it off. They relied on each other."
Gately was desperate for stardom and longed to be an actor or singer.
But his lover began experimenting with drugs and by the age of 18 was
smoking heroin. Gately tried to help wean Stephen off drugs.
But at the same time his own star was on a meteoric rise.
He was signed by Boyzone and the band were busy rehearsing and building
their heart-throb image. At first Stephen attended many rehearsals in Dublin.
And Gately dedicated the bands first single Working My Way Back To You,
to Stephen.
But pals say Gately was ordered to end the affair because it could
shatter the bands squeaky-clean image.
The pop star was barred from giving Stephen backstage passes for
concerts or allowing him near a recording studio.
A close family friend said: "Stephen couldn't understand why he was
being frozen out. The two of them had been inseparable for years and
suddenly Stephen was not allowed to hang around with Gately of the band.
Other friends would get tickets for events where Boyzone were appearing but
not Stephen. It really hurt him."
Stephen- shattered by the rejection and with his heroin addiction
increasingly getting worse- wrote his parents Noel and Bernie a suicide note.
Then he hanged himself from the staircase of his sister's house where he
was livng. His body was found by his little niece.
A close friend said: "He never got over the hurt of being rejected."
Bernie said: "They were great pals. Now one is famous and the other is
in his grave." Bernie has become an anti-drugs campaigner and has launched a
counselling service for addicts and their relatives.
But she and Noel have no bitterness towards Gately who has a new gay
lover, millionaire Dutch pop star Eloy De Jong, 26.
The family friend added: "They are still fond of Stephen Gately. He
spent a lot of tme n their house growing up and they are stll in touch with
him. They knew he did his best to help their son."

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