Nicky Byrne is known to have a passion for football, having played on teams when he was younger, but now, it looks like he's going to take another stab at it.
The radio presenter joined Baldoyle Grange United, and even won his first match last weekend, despite of the rain.
Nicky took to Twitter to tell his fans the good news:
Congratulations to Nicky, 37, and Georgina Byrne, 37, who celebrated their 13-year wedding anniversary yesterday.
The pair married back in 2003 in a civil ceremony which was followed by a church blessing in France where they celebrated with family and friends in a 16th century manor house.
The former Westlife star took to Twitter to share a snap from their romantic day and they look absolutely adorable.
He had his fair share of work cut out for him this year when he signed up to do the Eurovision, but it seems that Nicky Byrne might be going down quite a different path now.
Speaking on his show on 2fm, Nicky admitted that he has already been approached by film producers to play a role in the upcoming football flick about English footballer Jamie Vardy.
"The role is Kasper Schmeichel in Leicester City, Jamie Vardy movie," he said on the show.
“The movie is being made and they said to me because I was an ex [goal]keeper would I be interested in screen testing for it.
Nicky Byrne has revealed that he never wanted to sing again after Westlife split.
The singer is getting ready to represent Ireland at the Eurovision but while talking on BBC Radio 2, he said that he never thought he'd go on after the band went their separate ways.
“We’d say for 14 years, we felt we didn’t finish it early. We were happy enough to see it go,” he told presenter Patrick Keilty.
“I never wanted to sing again after Westlife, to be honest with you, and I don’t mean that in a negative way,” he added.
However, things have changed from when he first left the boyband and now that he has started a solo career, he told Patrick that it's very different from the Westlife days – mostly because Simon Cowell isn't involved.
“Simon Cowell wasn’t screaming at us saying ‘we need to get this out by September’… Of course he did (scream), but we screamed back a few times as well."
Nicky is getting ready to travel to Stockholm next week to rehearse for his first Eurovision performance.
He will compete in the competition on May 12, with hopes to nab a spot in Saturday’s final and (fingers crossed) go on to win.
He kept his mouth super-glued shut at first, but now Nicky Byrne has opened up about Brain McFadden's Boyzlife.
While speaking to The Irish Daily Star, Nicky revealed that none of his former Westlife bandmates wanted to join the supergroup.
Brian previously insisted that the other members of Westlife and Boyzone were welcome to join in their tour, but Nicky says that that wasn't the case.
“I get on with Brian but the Boyzlife thing was probably sold, maybe by accident, by Brian and Keith thinking that maybe some of us would join, that the door was open for us to join but the reality of it is that none of the members of Westlife were ever going to join,” he told the paper.
Brian also hinted that Boyzlife might see a Westlife reunion, but Nicky said it was "never true."
"I mean that was just never true from our point of view. I wish them the best but it’s not for me,” he said.
The 2FM presenter also insisted that if Westlife ever got back together, it would be for a world tour rather than a tour around hotels in Ireland and England.
“I think if you’re going to have a laugh, tell some stories and sing some songs, why not?”
Next month, Nicky Byrne will battle it out at the Eurovision for Ireland – yet, he thinks we don't have a chance of winning.
Goss.ie reports that while Nicky hopes he might do well because of his star status, the chances are slim.
“I don’t know from an Irish point of view, if the Eurovision is even winnable anymore,” he told the site.
“We’ve fallen off a cliff with Eurovision. The way the other countries select their songs is different, they hold big TV shows, it’s equivalent to the X Factor in terms of production and viewership.
“Even if I do half descent and we claw our way back into good results, maybe next year someone else will step up to the plate and the Eurovision will become something that established acts do."
Well, we don't have all the confidence now, do we, Nicky?
Last week, Kian Egan gave his two cents on Brian McFadden and Keith Duffy's Boyzlife tour, saying that the whole thing is "really aggrivating."
And now, another member of Westlife has opened up about the tour.
Nicky Byrne spoke out on his 2FM show saying, "I wish them all the best, but it's nothing to do with us."
Keeping it short and sweet, we're guessing Nicky didn't want to start any feuds, since Brian's ex-wife Vogue Williams said that Kian needs to "get a grip" with his comments.
Well, if there were ever hopes of a 5-piece Westlife reunion, they seem to be going down the toilet.
He spent 14 years touring with one of Ireland's most successful boybands, but it's only now that Nicky Byrne is beginning to feel like an artist in his own right.
"When you’re in a band like Westlife, you are given a producer’s song so you put your vocals on it and then you try to deliver that when it goes live," he told SHEmazing today, as news of his Eurovision 2016 bid went public.
"But when you are writing a song, that’s from you and your heart."
Andres Proveda Photography
Sunlight, Nicky's uptempo and oh-so catchy Eurovision entry, has in fact been a work in progress over the last two years.
Indeed, after getting its international debut in Stockholm in May, it'll feature on Nicky's upcoming album – his first since finishing with Westlife.
"I knew there would be a solo album. All the lads had released theirs so I knew mine would come in 2016."
A passion for performing is something that hasn't left Nicky, even now that he's more often found behind a radio mic on his 2FM show than in front of a crowd.
"Standing on a stage, I love it. Georgina [Ahern, Nicky's wife of 12 years] goes to me ‘Jesus Christ’ because she couldn’t even stand on a stage and look out.
"But some people just live for those moments.
"With Westlife you were lucky enough to pop up out of the ground or fly in from the roof but we cant do that because of the stage they create in Stolkholm.
"It’s all about that three minutes; to perform, show personality and deliver the song."
With RTÉ backing him for Eurovision and a profile already built up in Ireland thanks to Westlife, it'd be easy for the 37-year-old to get complacent – but he's determined to make his own mark at a solo artist.
"For Eurovision, the Westlife thing is going to help but I hope here that just because I’m on 2FM doesn’t take from people actually giving the song a spin on other station."
"This is not a 2FM thing or an RTE thing, it's me."
Listen to Nicky's full track here, and tune into The Ray D'Arcy Show on February 13 to hear it performed live:
RTÉ confirmed the news this morning, announcing that Nicky would be heading to Sweden in the hopes of winning with his entry, Sunlight.
The song was co-written by Nicky and Wayne Hector, the mastermind behind a whopping seven of Westlife's hits, including Flying Without Wings, Swear It Again and World Of Our Own.
Award-winning composer Ronan Hardiman was also on board.
"I am honoured RTÉ have chosen me and believe in this song like I do," Nicky said today.
"Like many of us, I have grown up watching The Eurovision Song Contest... I have a great memory as a nine year old, of dancing around our sitting room in a tri-colour sweatshirt when Johnny Logan lifted the trophy in 1987.
"This year I go one step further, and actually walk on that stage to represent my country."
For the last several years, RTÉ has used the "Eurosong" format to decide on its annual entrant.
"We have a long and proud history with Eurovision, but we’ve had mixed results over the last few years," RTÉ's John McHugh said of the decision to change tacks.
Nicky will perform Sunlight live on The Ray D'Arcy Show on Saturday February 13, before heading to Stockholm in May.
