Stephen Gately's widower, Andrew Cowles, has announced that he has received the all-clear from cancer, 17 years after the Boyzone star's tragic death. The late pop star entered into a civil partnership with Andrew in 2006, three years before his death at age 33 from a pulmonary oedema resulting from an undiagnosed heart condition.
Andrew, a businessman who now resides in Greece, revealed in February that he had been diagnosed with cancer and would undergo treatment. He took to X to provide an update to his followers, stating that the treatment had been successful. He wrote: 'My three month post cancer treatment MRI scan has come back clear, which is wonderful news! I'll have a PET/CT scan in July which will be the final confirmation... but it's looking great!'
At the time he disclosed his cancer diagnosis, Andrew wrote: 'We're finally home in Greece after nearly 4 months in London. I had some cancer in my downstairs (exit) area, and needed radiotherapy and chemotherapy... but I think it's gone well and they expect a 80%+ total cure rate. I feel fine and have mostly missed my doggie.'
Stephen died suddenly in October 2009 at his home in Port d'Andratx, Mallorca, where he had been staying with Andrew. Stephen rose to fame as a member of the Irish boy band Boyzone, which also included Ronan Keating, Keith Duffy, Mikey Graham, and Shane Lynch.
Boyzone is set to perform a one-off show, 'One For The Road: Live At Emirates Stadium' in London on Saturday, June 6, where they will pay tribute to Stephen. The huge 44,000-capacity stadium show will be the group's first performance together since a five-night run at the London Palladium in 2019.
Appearing on BBC Radio 2, Ronan previously said the response to the four-part Sky documentary 'Boyzone: No Matter What', released in February 2025, had prompted fresh discussions about the group's future. He said: 'The reaction was unbelievable, so we've obviously been talking about our story for the last 30 years, and we felt like that was kind of it, that maybe that was the end of the story. And well, we've all been chatting over the last few weeks, and I think 2026 might be a year for Boyzone to maybe try and do something.'
As if it wasn't enough to send fans into overdrive, the band took to their Instagram page posting a grid of pictures of themselves, captioning: 'the journey continues', encouraging fans to sign up to a mailing list. Boyzone first split after seven years together in 2000 to pursue solo careers, but eventually reunited in 2007. They toured the world with their 'Thank You And Goodnight' farewell shows between 2018 and 2019.
Ronan broke down in tears as he discussed the death of his beloved bandmate Stephen in their Sky docuseries. In one heartbreaking scene, the group recalled sleeping next to Stephen's coffin in church the night before his funeral. Mikey explained: 'We didn't like the idea of him being alone in the church overnight', with Ronan adding: 'He didn't like the cold.'
Discussing the evening, Mikey shared: 'When everybody else left and it was just the five of us there was a great sense of peace, of unity. I don't want to say sadness because believe it or not we actually had quite a comedic night. The usual joking that used to go on in the early days when everything was naïve and innocent... but the morning came around real fast.'
Ronan was the first to learn of Stephen's death, being told by the band's solicitor, and rang the other members and Louis to notify them. 'It just wouldn't go in,' Keith said. 'Not our Stephen.' Mikey added: 'My world just fell apart.' The following year the group headed out on the Brother tour in honour of Stephen, with Mikey explaining: 'It felt good to be in each other's company.'
