Interview with Shane about Gillian

December 2001

Big thanks to Agnes for sending the interview =)

Little more than an hour earlier I had watched in astonishment as 12,000 girls scream themselves hoarse for Shane and the rest of westlife. Almost any of them would have done anything to spend the night with one of their idol. But there is only one woman Shane is interested in. She is Gillian Walsh, the bright and gentle Irish girl he has tried to keep secret for more than a year. But as we sit chatting in his hotel room with Shane still buzzing with exctitement from the Sheffield Arena gig, there are no secrets anymore. He wants to talk about how they 1st kissed, how he told her he loved her and his hopes one day they will settle down and have children.

" I knew I loved her more or less straight away" says Shane 22, shatterring a million teenage dreams. "She has such a great personality and is the most amazing person I have ever met."

When i first met Shane, the youngest of 7 children, he had a boyish charm, and talked enthusiastically about everything. 3 years on his passions or still singing and performing, but now there is Gillian, too. All the attention from women could of turned him into a vain egomaniac, but his modesty shrugs off his appeal. Sittimg curled up in an arm chair, wearing jeans and an old t-shirt, he has filled out since our 1st meeting, but he has an air of innocence that belies the experiences he has gained in Westlife.

A week talk, Gillian also 22 quielty sorts through a pile of clothes. She is happy to stay out of the limelight. But Shane says it was he, not she, who insisted on total secrecy for the 1st year now he wants the world to know. He says "I needed to have a more normal relationship. We kept it quiet for ages, and it was driving me mad coz we couldnt walk down street holding hands".

They still do not like to pose for phototgraphs together. And Gillian in the final year of a bussiness studies degree, keeps a discreet distance when he is working. Shane has known Gillian, a cousin of fellow bandmate Kian Egan, since childhood. But it was only more recently that it became serious. He says, "I fancied her for an awful long ime, but didn't tell her. I didnt kiss her for ages because I didnt want to come on too strong. The 1st time I kissed her was...oh, my God, it was amazing, we had just gone on our 1st proper date, to the cinema. It was just a quick kiss, but long enough for her to hopefully want some more and she did."

"Things got better and better, and i started thinking she is the one we had been together for about 4 months when I wanted to tell her I loved her. I didn't know how to do it so I just said I had a secret. I kept her guessing for a few weeks. She was dying to get it out of me. Then she said she had a secret too. One night i said I'll tell u my secret if u tell me yours. We agreed and I told her 'I love you' She told hers was that she loved me too. It was one of the best moments ever, I'll never forget it."

Will he marry her? "I definately hope so one day," he says well that's blown it. "I cant see myself ever being happy with out her. I call her the perfect package . She is the girl of my dreams in every sense.