After the shock announcement that Ronan Keating and his wife Yvonne are separating after 12 years of marriage, the Boyzone star has reportedly moved out of the family home. Pictured leaving the Malahide residence he shared with his wife and their three children on Thursday evening, Ronan has also found himself facing reports that the relationship came to an end because he got too close to a backing dancer.
It is being widely reported in the media that the 33-year-old became intimate with the blonde while he was away with the band on a comeback tour last May and June. "It was the talk of the Boyzone tour for quite a while," one source told the Daily Mail. "Ronan and the girl were certainly very close."
Meanwhile friends of the couple - teenage sweethearts who married on 30 April 1998 on the Caribbean island of Nevis - have expressed their shock and sadness at the news of the split. X Factor's Louis Walsh, who both manages and founded Boyzone back in 1993, said: "I'm absolutely stunned, if you asked me one couple I thought would never break up, it would be Ronan and Yvonne. They've been together since they were kids," he told the Sun.
On Thursday, it is understood that the couple spent much of the time inside their home before Ronan was seen leaving that evening. Yvonne, 36, was later comforted by Keith Duffy's wife Lisa and a neighbour. The couple's children, Jack, 11, nine-year-old Marie and Ali, four, are said to be their top priority – a fact reiterated in the statement released by Ronan and Yvonne.
News of the split came as it emerged that Ronan, who lost his band mate and friend Stephen Gately last October, has agreed to be a judge on the X Factor in Australia. It's thought the family were considering temporarily relocating there.
Perhaps with his marital troubles in mind, the star admitted earlier this week he was surprised his wife had stayed with him for 12 years. "I can't believe Yvonne has stuck with me for so long," said the Dubliner, who also appeared on Loose Women on Wednesday. "I still get incredibly jealous. The green-eyed monster rears its ugly head and brings out all my insecurities. I don’t like it if Yvonne is out without me. I just can't help it."