Nicky Byrne has admitted he wasn’t behind the decision to end Westlife – and didn’t want the group to split.
The 2FM presenter has opened up to Goss.ie and revealed for the first time he “wasn’t necessarily up for the split”.
But the 36-year-old ended up finding out that “in hindsight, it was the right thing” for the group to go separate ways after 14 years.
He said: “I think it was the right time. I wasn’t necessarily up for the split if I’m being really honest. But in time, in hindsight, it was the right thing.
Bandmates: Nicky with the rest of Westlife | VIPIRELAND.COM
“Because we couldn’t do it anymore. The wheel wasn’t turning internally anymore. And when that happens, it’s time to bow out.”
It comes after Kian Egan admitted he would have had two more years left in him but couldn’t persuade everyone to keep going.
And Nicky, who now hosts his own show on 2FM, revealed he had been planning ahead knowing that the end of the band was nigh.
He said: “To be honest, when Westlife ended and even before it ended, I was very clued in personally to knowing that I would have to carve out some sort of solo career and whatever that was going to be.
“I never wanted the band to just stop and me to wake up one morning and go, ‘Oh shit! What now?’ So I was always planning ahead mentally in my head and dipped my toe into different things.
New role: Nicky is on 2FM with Jenny Greene | VIPIRELAND.COM
“I felt I was ready, you’re never ready, but a little bit more prepared and then you move on from there and start planning the rest of it.”
And speaking at the Cheerios Childline Concert, Nicky told Goss.ie that he isn’t missing the boyband buzz because of how busy RTE is keeping him.
He said: “I think I’m so busy at the moment. I’ll always miss the concerts and the laughs that we used to have. And any band will say that, you create your own fun.
“But we did 14 years, which was a long time and it was a great time but I don’t miss it. The touring was the bit I enjoyed, not being away from home, but the banter of going to a new city in whatever part of the world it was.
Would have kept going: Nicky liked hype of Westlife
“There’s always hype – like if a foreign band, say the Backstreet Boys, came into Ireland, you hear they’re in town and hear on the radio that the 3Arena has them.
“And we used to hear those things in different countries – we might be in China or Europe – and for those few hours you were in town, you’d do the show, you’d go to a nightclub, you’d have a bit of a laugh and then you’d go to your hotel and be on the road again.
“So I do miss that. And then that little hour and a half on stage, you’ll never replace that because it was different each night. And that’s the buzz, you have lots of memories yes, but you’ll never be able to replace it.
“So I don’t miss the rest of it, like the promo. I don’t miss some of the disagreements that inevitably every band had.”
