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Mark Feehily sadly won’t be rejoining his Westlife bandmates on stage for the band’s 25th anniversary celebrations, as his temporary break from the group is extended

Westlife fans are waking up gutted this morning following the sad announcement that Mark Feehily won’t be joining the band’s 25th anniversary celebrations. Mark announced his shock exit from the Irish group last year, amid some serious health battles, but many had been hopeful he would return to the stage soon.

“It is with the utmost level of regret that I must now temporarily stand down from all Westlife touring until a time that I have had the chance to fully recover from the turbulent journey I have been through as an individual,” Mark emotionally revealed in February 2024.

It sadly looks like Mark’s temporary break has been extended for the foreseeable.”Sadly, Mark will be unable to join the celebrations. We hope he can join us back on stage when he is ready and able. He sends his love and positivity to you all as always,” Westlife wrote in a statement shared with fans on Wednesday night, signed by Mark alongside his bandmates.

Mark has been quiet over recent months, rarely posting to social media. His health troubles began five years ago when he underwent surgery and developed severe sepsis due to complications.

August 2020

Mark shared with his fans that he was “rushed to A&E” just days after the operation, showing symptoms of the potentially deadly infection, which required immediate emergency surgery.

“I had developed severe sepsis, a life threatening infection that would require immediate emergency surgery to rectify the problem and basically save my life”, he told fans at the time.

After the emergency procedure, Mark spent several months in hospital, including a lengthy stay in intensive care during a particularly challenging and scary time of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I spent the next few months in hospital,” Mark recalled. “For months, due to the strict Covid restrictions, I was not allowed any visitors including my fiancé and my then 10-month-old daughter.

“It was physically and mentally a very difficult time, not to mention traumatic having to spend so long in ICU. I was eventually discharged from hospital in December 2020 but I have had ongoing medical problems as a result of it all.”

November 2021

Despite recovering enough to join his Westlife bandmates on their Wild Dreams tour in 2021, Mark was forced to withdraw from the tour later that year after falling seriously ill with pneumonia before a UK concert.

“I was told I had to go straight home to recover and regrettably miss the rest of the concerts that December,” a dejected Mark confirmed.

May 2022

In May 2022, Mark underwent further surgery and three months post-operation he attempted to “soldier on” for his fans by returning to the tour. However, he confessed that the “physical demands of the concerts and extensive travel” were too much.

He developed “a very large incisional hernia” and later that year, Mark had yet another operation to “fix it”. “This would be my fourth major surgery since the start of it all, but I had no option.”

February 2024

After enduring his fourth operation in as many years, Mark announced that he is temporarily stepping back from all Westlife touring until he can fully recuperate from the “turbulent journey” he has been on.

“That surgery took place recently and thankfully it went according to plan but with that, my recovery must now become my absolute priority at this time.”

With a heavy heart, Mark announced that he will be taking a temporary break from Westlife’s touring schedule, saying: “It is with the utmost level of regret that I must now temporarily stand down for all Westlife touring until a time that I have had the chance to fully recover from the turbulent journey I have been through as an individual.”

He reassured fans, “Believe me, I wish things could be different,” and urged them, “please don’t worry”.

June 2004 – Final Instagram post

In June 2004, a few months on from announcing his break from Westlife duties, Mark returned to social media to launch a new line of clothes by Human Collective to celebrate Pride month.

“As much as I’ve been on a bit of a social media detox, I have jumped on a couple of times and I just wanted to say a huge heartfelt thank you for all of the amazing messages,” Mark says towards the end of his video message. “I’m proud to have you guys as fans and on that note, Happy Pride from my family to yours and we’ll see you very, very soon. Lots of love.”

In the wake of Westlife and Mark’s announcement on Wednesday night, fans have been commenting on Mark’s year-old video. “We miss you, Mark. I’m hoping you’re feeling OK and we can see you on stage as soon as you’re feeling,” one told the star today, with another adding: “Just realised it’s been a year since this last post. We hope you are ok.”

Simon Cowell has opened up about being a father to son Eric as the Britain’s Got Talent star opens in a rare interview with Jeff Brazier on This Morning

Music mogul Simon Cowell has candidly opened up fatherhood in an interview with This Morning’s Jeff Brazier. During the heartwarming interview ahead of Father’s Day, the 65 year old spoke about how becoming a dad has changed him, while also airing his concerns for his 11-year-old son.

Simon welcomed his only child Eric in February 2014 with partner Lauren Silverman. Despite keeping his family life fairly private, Britain’s Got Talent fans saw Eric make an unexpected onscreen appearance during an epic Golden Buzzer moment during the 2024 series – where he let his son press the famous buzzer.

During the series, he also revealed his son was a keen drummer, and now he’s shared even more about his 11-year-old. Speaking to father of two Jeff, Simon adorably shared how much his son meant to him.

“Honestly, everything. Out of everything I’ve ever done in my life, this is the best thing to ever happen to me. The very first time I saw his scan, I was literally obsessed,” he said.

However, Simon admitted there were some negative sides to parenthood, as he shared his concerns for his son growing up in the modern day. “We’re getting to a point where the word phone comes up. ‘Oh god, here we go,'” Simon, who famously revealed he doesn’t have a personal mobile phone said.

“I’m very worried Jeff, about how much kids can see at a certain age. I grew up…Which was learning things at the right time, the right age, etcetera etcetera. I just would be petrified of him having access to anything, that would really worry me.”

He continued: “I think schools put too much pressure on kids, which is, you’re getting up at seven in the morning, you’re coming home say at five, six in the afternoon, evening and then you’ve got to do two hours of homework.

“It’s like, they’re ten, eleven, twelve years old. It’s too much. I would say to any teacher watching, ban homework, you’ll have happier kids and they’ll do better.”

Despite softening over the years, Simon has made a name for being the harsh judge, starting from his stint in 2001 on Pop Idol. He’s now revealed that even Eric isn’t safe from his harsh commentary.

When asked by Jeff what he’d do if his son wanted tp head in the showbiz direction, the star said he would be “absolutely honest” with him.

“I’ve thought about this. What if he said to me, ‘I want to be a singer’ and he couldn’t sing, I would be absolutely honest with him. If he couldn’t, I would say, ‘You know what, be a drummer,'” he laughed.

“He actually can play the drums well but he’s quite shy. You know, I walk and I hear him, and he stops. I say, ‘Why are you stopping?’ and he says, ‘Well, I’m a bit embarrassed’ and I say, ‘Well don’t be, you’re really good.”

This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV, ITVX, STV and STV Player

If you’re heading off on your summer holiday and are in need of a new suitcase, you’re in luck as Antler has slashed the price of its expandable cabin case by more than £50

It’s officially that time of the year when we’re getting ready to jet off on our summer holidays. And whether you’re heading off on a tropical getaway or keeping it a local, having a trusty, high quality suitcase is essential.

We’ve just spotted a Ryanair and EasyJet-approved cabin case for 30% off on the Antler website. And it’s even in a trendy mint green colour so not only can you fit in all your essentials but you can travel in style.

The Logo suitcase was originally priced at £175, and is now down to £122.50, and is a lightweight, hard-shell suitcase that’s as stylish as it is practical.

Made from durable polycarbonate, it’s built to handle all the bumps and bruises of travel, while still looking sleek thanks to its design, which means scuffs won’t stand out.

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It’s also got a few handy features that makes it standout from the rest. These include smooth double spinner wheels for easy movement through the airport, a built-in security-approved lock so you know all your items are safely stowed away, and an expander zip to give you that extra bit of room when you’re bringing back more than you packed. There’s also a there’s two zipped compartments inside that helps to keep things organised and the dimensions are just right for fitting the paid for, 10kg cabin suitcase requirements on most airlines.

If, however, you are looking for a slightly more affordable alternative that fits the free cabin handbag requirements, Tripp’s hard shell under seat cabin case is currently on sale for £42. The dimensions of this bag would fit EasyJet and British Airways planes.