Stephen Gately’s widower Andrew Cowles announces he has received all-clear from cancer – 17 years after Boyzone star’s tragic death at 33
Stephen Gately’s widow, Andrew Cowles, has announced that the Boyzone star is completely clear of cancer, 17 years after his tragic death.
The late pop star had a civil partnership with Andrew in 2006, three years before he died aged 33 from pulmonary edema resulting from an undiagnosed heart condition.
Andrew, a businessman currently living in Greece, announced in February that he had been diagnosed with cancer and would be undergoing treatment.
She took to X to update her followers, saying the treatment was successful.
She wrote: ‘My three-month post-cancer treatment MRI scan came back clear which is great news! ‘I’m having a PET/CT scan in July and that will be the final confirmation… but it looks great!’
When Andrew announced his cancer diagnosis he wrote: ‘After nearly 4 months in London we are finally home in Greece. I had some cancer in my downstairs (exit) area and needed radiotherapy and chemo… but I think everything went well and they are expecting an overall cure rate of over 80%. ‘I feel fine and mostly miss my dog’.
Stephen Gately’s widow Andrew Cowles (left) announces the Boyzone star is completely clear of cancer, 17 years after his tragic death (pictured together in 2004)
She took to X to update her followers, saying her treatment was successful
Stephen died suddenly in October 2009 at his home in Port d’Andratx, Mallorca, where he was staying with Andrew.
Stephen rose to fame as a member of Irish boy band Boyzone. Ronan Keating Keith DuffyMikey Graham and Shane Lynch.
Boyzone will perform a one-off show in London on Saturday, June 6, called One For The Road: Live At Emirates Stadium, where they will pay tribute to Stephen.
The gigantic 44,000-capacity stadium show will be the band’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, broadcast in February 2025, had led to new discussions about the band’s future.
He said: ‘The response has been incredible, so we’ve been talking about our story for the last 30 years and we kind of felt like that was it, maybe it was the end of the story.’
‘And we’ve all been chatting for the last few weeks and I think 2026 could be the year for Boyzone to try and do something.’
As if sending fans into overdrive wasn’t enough, the band posted a grid of images of themselves on their Instagram page, captioned ‘the journey continues’ and encouraged fans to sign up to an email list.
Boyzone will perform a one-off tribute to Stephen in London on Saturday 6 June (LR Keith Duffy, Ronan Keating, Shane Lynch and Mikey Graham in 2019)
After seven years together, Boyzone first split up in 2000 to pursue solo careers, but eventually reunited in 2007.
Between 2018 and 2019, they went on a world tour with the farewell shows Thank You and Good Night.
Ronan broke down in tears as he described the death of his beloved bandmate Stephen in the Sky documentary series.
In a heartbreaking scene, the group recalled sleeping next to Stephen’s coffin in the church the night before his funeral.
Mikey explained: ‘We didn’t like the idea of him being alone in the church overnight,’ while Ronan added: ‘He didn’t like the cold.’
Speaking about the evening, Mikey shared: ‘There was such a sense of peace and unity when everyone left and it was just the five of us.
‘I don’t want to say sadness because, believe it or not, we actually had a pretty funny night. ‘The usual jokes in the early days when everything was pure and innocent… but the morning came so quickly.’
Ronan, the band’s lawyer, was the first to learn of Stephen’s death and called the other members and Louis to let them know.
“He can’t get in,” Keith said. ‘Not our Stephen.’
Mikey added: ‘My world fell apart.’
The following year the band embarked on the Brother tour in Stephen’s honour, with Mikey explaining: ‘It felt good to be around each other.’
