The Boyzone singer – who has three children, Jack, 11, Marie, nine and Ali, four, with his model wife Yvonne – announced his break-up yesterday (20.05.10), much to the amazement of Andrew Cowles, who never saw any sign of cracks in the relationship.

Andrew – the widower of Ronan's bandmate Stephen Gately – said: 'I didn't see any signs that they would break up. I sent them both lovely messages, as they're both friends, and it's sad because they were a great couple.'

Andrew also spoke of his delight that his late husband's new book 'The Tree of Seasons' – which Stephen was pages off finishing when he died – has made the best-sellers list in its first week of release.

Speaking at the Caudwell Children Butterfly Ball in London's Battersea Park, Andrew told BANG Showbiz: 'I had a text from Ronan last night when the charts came out –but he couldn't make it to the celebrations.

'I'm loving it, it's great to see it in real book shops, Stephen would have been so happy.'

The book features a foreword from Sir Elton John and David Furnish, and was completed by Stephen's close friends and family using the detailed notes he left about how he wanted his children's fantasy novel to end.