Kerry. Emily Herbert
was equally effusive about his girlfriend. ‘I love Kerry,’ he said. ‘She is the best thing in the world. We have such a great time together. We have both got really mad schedules so when we get to spend some time to ourselves, it’s very valuable.’
Time together was at a premium, though, as work continued for both; Westlife was just about to release a cover version of the Phil Collins song ‘Against All Odds’, while Atomic Kitten was bringing out ‘Follow Me’. Westlife had also been working on their second album entitled Coast to Coast – which, ironically enough, was going up against the Spice Girls – and the band felt it was better than their first, Westlife. ‘It’s a lot more tempo on this album, more of a big summer feel, but we still have the wintry ballads,’ said Bryan. ‘There’s a few up-tempos as well, like the Celine Dion-type of up-tempos. It’s not like the stomp of Backstreet Boys. We’re not worried. In our opinion, the songs on the album are better than on the first album.’ It had something else, as well – on the CD sleeve, there was a special message from Bryan to Kerry: ‘My angel, thanks for changing me, I love you, sweetheart.’
Bryan was beginning to feel the strain, though; three members of Westlife – Bryan included – had had to be flown home from their tour over the summer as they were too exhausted to carry on, and now there was a heavy promotional schedule ahead. ‘There are times I regret what we do,’ he said. ‘Sometimes, you wish you’d never done this, you just want to go home. I don’t know if it’s worth all the sacrifices, but then I think about it and realise I couldn’t get a normal job in Ireland today because of our success. It would be impossible, not even at McDonald’s. I miss just having a regular life – getting up at 8.00am and coming home again in the evening and being free to do what you want. It would be great not to have any tie-ins. Most people can take a day off – we can’t. They can get out and get drunk on a Saturday night, but we can’t. Our lives are controlled.’
Of his collapse during the summer, he said, ‘We had been going straight for three months and it just took its toll. I had to go home for a couple of days. I was just really, really tired. I couldn’t face another day. I didn’t want to go on another plane, I just wanted to go home. The irony was I had to go on a plane to go home. It can get very stressful. The getting up, getting on planes, changing countries and cities all the time. It’s exciting for the first week, but the rest is awful.’
His girlfriend was finding life equally stressful. ‘Being in the public eye has made me so paranoid, I can’t go out without a couple of drinks,’ she said. ‘Sometimes, I even go down to my mum’s local, which is full of dodgy characters, where I won’t get recognised. Then, after a couple, I feel ready to face the world again.’
With both so overstretched and exhausted, it was only a matter of time before the two reached breaking point (albeit temporarily) and so it happened that Kerry and Bryan had a huge row in public in September 2000. Atomic Kitten, Westlife and the singer Louise had all been booked to appear at a show staged by TV firm FIP’s Music 2000 gig at the Millennium Dome. Atomic Kitten had to pull out at the last minute, as Liz’s mother had to go to hospital. Kerry and Natasha went along anyway. ‘We’re gutted we had to pull out at such short notice,’ said Kerry. ‘Me and Natasha offered to sing anyway.’ But trouble brewed when Kerry discovered Bryan chatting happily to two other girls. An onlooker revealed what happened next. ‘Kerry and Bryan had been all over each other all day, kissing and cuddling,’ he said. ‘But when Westlife came off stage, Bryan made a beeline for these two other girls, totally ignoring Kerry. Understandably, she was annoyed and stormed out to her dressing room. Bryan ran after her and you could hear the pair of them screaming and swearing at each other. It wasn’t hard to recognise them – he’s got a broad Irish accent and she’s a Scouser. She was shouting, “You don’t understand,” and he was screaming, “Stop being so fucking stupid.” Next thing we knew, Kerry reappeared in a skimpy pink dress.’
Indeed, she had done so to appear in a fashion show in London’s elegant Sanderson Hotel, where the two Kittens were reunited with Westlife. Kerry and Bryan appeared to make up and continued on to the fashionable Met Bar, but neither looked ecstatic. The frenetic lifestyle was clearly taking its toll.
But, keen to put the row behind them, the two lost no time in very publicly declaring their love for one another. They had already admitted that they were an item; now they gave a full interview about their relationship. ‘I’m going out with Bryan,’ said Kerry. ‘I have been since last November. I’m really sorry if Westlife fans are upset, but I’m only human and I can’t help who I fall in love with. I’m just like them. When I go home at night, I want someone to say “Hello” and hold me when I’m sad. Bryan’s that person.’
Bryan was more effusive still. ‘It’s true,’ he said. ‘Kerry and I are going out and we have been for about a year. I fell for her the first time I met her. At first, Kerry didn’t know who Westlife were and it took a while to get her to go out with me. Our relationship is the most solid thing in my life. She’s the most important person in my life and she’s the best thing ever to happen to me. First of all, I never told anyone. The rest of the guys in the band didn’t even know. Kerry and I wanted to keep our personal lives personal. We were seen out a few times but we said we were just friends because we didn’t want people prying into our lives.’ And as if to confirm the depth of his feelings, Bryan also lavished gifts upon Kerry, one of which was a Mercedes E320.
But like any celebrity couple, they were soon the focus of intensive speculation. After the row at the Dome, another story emerged about another row, this time suggesting Bryan had been flirting with another woman at the London nightclub GAY. Bryan was livid and determined to put the story to rest. ‘I want to set the record straight,’ he said. ‘Our relationship is stronger than ever, I love Kerry with all my heart and we haven’t had any arguments. The stories claiming that our relationship has hit stormy waters were very hurtful. Only last week I bought her a Mercedes.
‘Everything between us is great. When we’re together, I’m the happiest man in the world. I can’t think why these people feel the need to make up rubbish about us. I wasn’t flirting with anyone at any clubs. I wouldn’t jeopardise my relationship with Kerry – it wouldn’t be worth it.
‘It’s important to me that people back home know the truth because every day they are being fed stories that we have split up. Kerry is very upset by them, too. After a while, you learn to tolerate lies in the press, but this is ridiculous. Far from falling out, Kerry and I are stronger as a couple than ever. She was absolutely thrilled when I bought her the car. It isn’t a flash-in-the-pan, showbiz romance.
‘We have been close together for a long time now. She has a great personality and is the kindest person in the world. We don’t go out to that many showbiz parties together because we prefer to spend quality time with each other when we get the chance.’
It was the downside of fame, as the two were now discovering, but the couple were clearly besotted with each other, while Kerry could scarcely believe the change in her circumstances. She had come a very long way from being that little girl in foster care.
Indeed, over the next few years, her life was to change again and again. At the time of writing, Kerry is still only in her mid-twenties, but has already had a number of careers, as well as fame on several different continents, and has had to cope with a number of massive upheavals in her life. Her childhood stood her in good stead; Kerry might look fragile, but she’s a fighter and has come through each battle stronger still.
For now, she was enjoying her life as a pop star, which was beginning to produce some degree of security not only for her but also for Sue; as soon as she was able, Kerry began to look after her mother’s wellbeing. And, of course, above all, she was enjoying being with Bryan. The two were generating huge amounts of goodwill, and just as Kerry’s band had frequently been compared to the Spice Girls, so she now found herself being compared to Victoria Beckham. Kerry and Bryan may not have been entirely the next Posh and Becks, but they were young, attractive and in love, a combination the public found enthralling. And both were to go to greater heights still. A very exciting time for both of them now lay ahead.
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