Keating in bid to win back wife

POP star Ronan Keating returned to his Dublin home yesterday in a bid to patch up his shattered marriage.

The 33-year old Boyzone singer met his wife Yvonne at their Malahide home in what was understood to be a determined bid by cheating Keating to rescue his 12-year marriage.

“I’ve cancelled everything for the next three weeks and I’m going to come back to Dublin to try and make this work,” he was reported as saying.

Keating, who was caught cheating on his wife Yvonne, arrived back from Zurich where he had been performing at the SkyDance festival, and drove straight to the couple’s home at Abington, Malahide

His Swiss shows were said to have been fraught with emotion – during his first live appearance since his affair with dancer Francine Cornell was revealed, he fought to hold back the tears, slammed his fist angrily on a drumkit and beat his chest. He also performed a love song for his wife.

Keating was reported to have spent the past four days pleading for a meeting with his wife after she discovered his affair with a blonde backing dancer.

His affair with 26-year-old Francine Cornell could have been going on for seven months, after they met on the band’s British tour, newspaper reports have suggested. The split comes just months after Keating lost his close friend and Boyzone bandmate Stephen Gately.

A statement issued some days ago on the couple’s behalf said: “With great sadness, Ronan and Yvonne Keating announce their separation.

“The separation is amicable and they will continue to work together in order to provide the best for their children.”

A spokesman for the couple said there would be no further comment.

Keating and his Irish model wife have three children, Jack, Marie and Ali. The couple became friends as teenagers and married in April 1998 while on holiday in the Caribbean.

Keating has also carved out a successful solo career, selling more than 22 million records around the world with hits like Life Is A Rollercoaster.

He is in the Guinness Book of Records as the only artist ever to have 30 consecutive top 10 singles in the British charts.