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Shane and Gillian interview - Irish Mirror
Published: 27th November 2004Typed up by: Ciara
Westlife star Shane Filan wants to be a real top of the pops-by having FIVE children.
And the Sligo singer says he would trade all his awards and No1 records to realise his dream of having a big family.
Speaking to the Irish Mirror with his beautiful wife Gillian, Shane revealed: “I want five kids, that’s got to be the biggest ambition for the future.
"I'd love two girls, two boys and lucky dip. But I wouldn’t be complaining what sex they were-as long as they were all healthy."
And Gillian added: "We have no plans to start just yet, because we are finding our feet, but five kids just seems right-we want a big family."
"I’m seeing people walking around with their little babies now and I must admit I do get all gushy about it."
"I know it wont be for a while but I cant wait until it's my turn."
The couple have plenty of room to fill in their stunning new home on the outskirts of Sligo.
After three years of building, Shane and Gillian, both 25, moved into their seven-bedroom mansion last week.
Sipping tea in a Chelsea hotel Shane, who sang with Kevin Spacey at the premiere of Beyond The Sea on Thursday night, explained: “Its everything we ever dreamed of having. We have a home cinema which is my favourite room with a huge screen and hundreds of films.
“I’ve also got a big snooker room which I always dreamed of as a kid. Its fantastic-its like a bit of a playground.”
Gillian added: “We’ve spent ages picking out all the furniture and planning the décor and design but we’re very happy.
“I do most of the cooking because I really enjoy it. Its actually become a bit of a hobby of mine because it helps me relax.
“As for cleaning, well we both share that duty although when Shane’s away with the band I do it myself. We’re just a normal couple in terms of our routine around the house. My favourite room is our main bedroom. Its literally what I always dreamed of as a kid-it’s like what was in my doll’s house.
“There’s lovely furniture, a really ornate bed and a few nice touches.
“We have a Jacuzzi bath which has colourful lights down the side that twinkle and there’s also little extras like a TV screen in the bathroom for when you’re relaxing.” Unlike the majority of celebrity couples, when the couple tied the knot last Christmas they turned down massive money offers to sell their pictures to a glossy celebrity magazine.
And Shane insisted they wouldn’t allow any photographers into their dream home despite offers already rolling in.
“I will never, ever ever do a home photo shoot with a magazine for money,” he explained. “I don’t care how much money they offer, your home is your home. “It’s a really personal little place for Gillian. We spent so much time planning it all that it would just be wrong to do a big magazine shoot.
“Its our place to escape from the public life and I want to keep it really private.
“So its pretty much the same as the wedding in that I’m not interested in doing anything with a celebrity magazine.” And the couple have a similarly down-to-earth approach to life when it comes to working.
They could happily retire with Shane’s millions but both keep hectic working schedules-Shane as a world-famous singer and Gillian as manager of a series of Morgan retail outlets in Ireland which she runs with Shane’s sister Mairead.
Her next big project is opening a jewellery store with her sister Joanna which she will launch in Sligo today. She explained: “The shop is called Anna Rose and Joanna has basically her own jewellery range. Its things like handbags and broaches and accessories.
“I love working and it helps me to focus on a big task every day. I would be so bored sitting around the house and I am a pretty motivated person.”
But Shane and Gillian keep the spark well and truly alive in their relationship despite their busy lives.
Shane explained: “We do things like going for romantic walks and special meals. And we have our own little language which nobody else can understand.
“We could be in a room with 10 people and nobody would know what we were saying because its just a personal thing between us. I think that’s nice.”
Gillian added: “Shane is a real romantic. He’s always sending flowers for no reason and things like that.
“If we're at home relaxing then Shane would sneak off to the bathroom and run me a nice big bubble for a treat and bring me up a glass of wine. He’s so thoughtful about little details.”
There’s little chance for Westlife calling it a day in the near future but Shane is happy to talk about the inevitability of them pulling down the curtain on their pop reign.
“It honestly won’t be after this tour,” he said referring to their No1’s tour arena dates next year. “We will tell all the fans before our last album and tour so that we can say goodbye properly.
“It will be emotional but we know it can't last forever. We’ve had a ball though and I wouldn’t chance much about the last six years.”
Gillian knows that life without Westlife would have a massive impact on the singer’s private life as well as their public personals.
She explained: “The lads work so hard so I’m sure they’d take a long rest. But the truth is Westlife have been all our lives- by that I mean the families and the wives-for a long time now. It's not something that gets in the way of our relationships.”
But Shane has plenty of ambition beyond Westlife, “I’m really into horses but one thing I’ve never had is a race horse,” he added. “I'd love to buy one.
“I'd wait until after Westlife were finished because I'd be gutted missing all the big races and have my mum calling me from them having the time of her life. I want to go and see the horse in action at all the top courses.
“Other than that I just want a really big family and hopefully a career in music beyond Westlife.”
Like all good mean, Shane leaves the last word to his wife. “In the last year alone we’ve got married, moved into a new house and Westlife have been on tour. There’s never a dull moment so who knows what the future could hold-I daren’t guess.”
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