Brian McFadden joined Westlife with Nicky Byrne alongside Kian Egan, Mark Feehily and Shane Filan after auditioning in 1998.

McFadden was one of the five young men assembled by then A&R executive Simon Cowell in 1998 to form the boy band Westlife

They had four number one albums in Ireland while he was there, and ten number one singles including ‘Uptown Girl’ and ‘Flying Without Wings’.

Brian, 42, quit Westlife in 2004, just months before his marriage to Kerry Katona ended.

After he left Westlife, he explained he wanted to spend more time with Atomic Kitten star Kerry and their two daughters Molly and Lily.

After his split with Kerry Katona he launched his solo career.

Brian McFadden and Kerry Katona were married from 2002 until 2006 (Image: FILE)
He signed to Sony BMG records and released his debut number one solo single ‘Real to Me’ in 2004.

That year he released his debut solo album ‘Irish Son’.

He then moved on with Australian singer Delta Goodrem and moved to Australia.

It comes as Brian previously said he departed the band just as they were asked to record hit song ‘Mandy’, and that he was ashamed of the song.

He told the Irish Independent: “That was definitely a turning point. I’ve always been very proud of Westlife, and I still think that we never got the respect we deserved, but I was f**king ashamed of that song. From the second we went into the studio to record it, I lost all interest.”

Brian’s solo career was short-lived and he left Song BMG in 2007 after disagreements about his songwriting following some disappointing record sales.

He instead set up his own label, BMF Records, before releasing single ‘Like Only a Woman Can’ which became another Irish number one.

Brian McFadden became a co-host of FOX8’s ‘Football Superstar’ in Australia in 2008.

The following year he was a guest judge on ‘Australian Idol’. In 2010, he joined the judging panel on ‘Australia’s Got Talent’ with Kyle Sandilands and Dannii Minogue.

He released a new single ‘Wrap My Arms’ in 2012 and later his fourth studio album, ‘The Irish Connection’ which featured duets with Ronan Keating and Sinéad O’Connor.

Speaking to the Sun, Brian expressed how himself and Westlife were offered the chance to reunite the five of them through a potential multi million deal..

Brian said: “I was offered a big multi-million-pound deal. It was the other boys in Westlife who said ‘no’. They didn’t want me back,” he told the Irish Sun.

Embargoed to 0001 Friday April 03 Undated handout photo issued by Carver PR of Keith Duffy and Brian McFadden of Boyzlife who are donating the profits from their single You Needed Me to the charity Age UK. PA Photo. Issue date: Friday April 3, 2020. The song, originally recorded by Boyzone in 1999, features the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and appears on their forthcoming debut album, Strings Attached. See PA story SHOWBIZ Boyzlife. Photo credit should read: Boyzlife/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.
“How does that make me feel? It makes me pretty upset because I didn’t realise they still had those feelings towards me.”

Over the years, it’s evident that Brian has made it known he would like to get back in with the band, but Nicky said no.

In an interview with The Mirror, band member Nicky Byrne answered the question, and said: “The honest answer would be that we wouldn’t have him back in the group anyway.

“We all get on great with Brian but we couldn’t go back to having five in the group because it was such an upheaval when he left.

“We had to rebuild and start from scratch and we’re a different group now. We’ve moved on and Brian knows that as much as we do.

“If you are asking me if we would let him rejoin the group then the answer is no.”

Brian is currently one half of duo, ‘Boyslife’, which he fronts with Boyzone member Keith Duffy.

On 19 January 2022, the duo announced the release of their second studio album, Old School.

His personal life has been less than smooth sailing, with two marriages and a 7 year relationship with ex Delta Goodrem.

Brian McFadden married singer Kerry Katona in 2002 with whom he has two daughters; Molly Marie and Lilly-Sue.

They were divorced in 2006.

In 2004, he started dating Delta Goodrem and got engaged in 2007.

However, in 2011, they announced their separation.

He married Irish model Vogue Williams in 2012 in Florence, Italy. They separated in 2015] and divorced in 2017.

Brian is currently engaged to PE teacher Danielle Parkinson who he met through mutual friends.

The pair welcomed her first child Ruby Jean in May 2021, and live in Rochdale, Manchester in his first home.

Speaking to OK!, Brian gushed about baby Ruby saying: “She’s brilliant. She’s sleeping right through, waking up after me!”

He also hinted he will struggle to leave Ruby behind when he hits the road with Keith later this year.