Mikey Graham of Boyzone Opens Up About Divorce Trauma and Hidden Struggles with Bandmates After Disappearing at Reunion

WHEN Boyzone imploded during their farewell tour in 2019, it was five years before Mikey Graham was next on speaking terms with his bandmates.

After their broken bond was laid bare in a heart-wrenching documentary last year, the group unexpectedly reunited for a last week – an event that insiders say was overshadowed by Mikey’s “trauma”, which has left their friendship in tatters.

Mikey performed with his former bandmates at the two-show reunion Credit: X Irish boyband Boyzone soared to fame in the 1990s Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd

Irish boyband was first launched in 1993 by with Mikey being teamed up with , , Keith Duffy and Stephen Gately.

They had the world at their feet, delivering six UK number one singles and five albums – but behind the scenes, Mikey was secretly battling alcoholism.

In his own admission, he’d turned to booze at the height of Boyzone’s fame to cope with being sidelined as the lead singer in favour of Ronan.

The band split after six years together but reformed for a comeback in 2007 – two years before Stephen’s sudden death. aged 33, from a heart defect.

Mikey pictured on Boyzone’s last tour in 2019 Credit: Getty He rejoined the group at the weekend Credit: X

After ruling himself out of reunion plans last year, Mikey U-turned when Boyzone advertised all four members to perform a headline show, Two For The Road, at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium.

But fans were left disappointed by his limited time on stage.

Instead of joining his three band members for the whole concert in North London, Mikey wasn’t present for the show launch – emerging only to sing three songs while sitting down.

Despite insisting Mikey enjoyed performing with his former bandmates again, our insider revealed the limited interaction they had during the reunion – even off stage.

“Mikey was only seen going straight from his to the stage and then straight back again,” our source revealed.

“Aside from Mikey, the other three men are all very close.

“Mikey’s ‘‘ trauma from the band is an ongoing struggle and he finds it difficult being around the others because of the negative feelings it triggers from his past.

“It’s definitely the end of an era because all four of them won’t reform, no matter what – excuse the pun.”

It appeared to be a conscious choice for Mikey to distance himself from the boys on and off stage – despite agreeing to the two-show reunion.

However, despite their long-standing issues, Ronan ensured Mikey felt included by positioning himself next to him during their songs.

The former pals told of the band hitting rock bottom on their farewell tour, with Ronan admitting: “It just became hard work. People just started behaving f***ing badly.

“I saw it all, I was ready to get the f**k out of there. That’s when the band imploded.”

The candid description of their Boyzone experience made for a gripping documentary last year, in which Mikey was a part of.

But he dashed hopes of them reforming as a four, telling viewers: “I wish them the absolute best in their lives, I wish them nothing but happiness. I hold no grudges, no animosity, nothing.

“However, I don’t want to go back to how I felt for many years. To see them for too long would remind me of that, and my future is way too important to me to waste it looking back on my past.”

The 53-year-old insisted his problems began in the 90s when he was snubbed as lead singer.

Boyzone’s Farewell tour at the Emirates Credit: Ray Burmiston There was a special tribute to Stephen Gately Credit: Getty

“In the loss of ambition, high-spiritedness, vitality… when that left me, a lot of things left me. My interest in my own appearance,” he said previously.

“Drink became the thing that kind of got me through the next few years… the sadness, the disenchantment.

“I was very frustrated, angry, and depressed, and because of all of that, I would withdraw from the band.”

Boyzone’s arguments, at times, were challenging while on the road, which Mikey puts down to being in their late teens and early 20s when they joined the band.

Mikey said previously: “We were five working-class boys plucked from obscurity and put on a pedestal, so it was difficult to get used to that, and also getting to know each other. We had problems sometimes, disagreements of different types.

I just have vague memories of different dressing rooms around the world when we’d be tired, and there’d be a shouting match. But we were never physical with each other; we did it all verbally.

“Sometimes it would be finished in a second, sometimes it might take a bloody year. We were all so young and naive; it just takes time to grow up, and it’s difficult to grow up in the public eye.”

Now they’re in their late 40s/early 50s, and fans hoped they would be able to put the past behind them and perform together one last time.

However, when it became clear Mikey was only going to make guest appearances on stage, some were quick to spout negativity online – despite emotional superfans being left in tears seeing the original line-up perform a tribute to the late Stephen.

An insider behind the scenes at Boyzone told The Sun: “It was inevitable that fans would be disappointed not to have had Mikey on stage for the entire reunion show, but it would have been detrimental to his .

“He was only capable of singing those songs because of his anxiety. A two-hour show would have been way too much for him to handle.

“Everyone involved just wanted to make sure Mikey was looked after and cared for.”

Mikey’s daughter Sienna has responded to the negativity Credit: Instagram

Mikey’s daughter Sienna spoke about the “nasty” backlash to RTE’ s Liveline , remarking: “It can be really frustrating, but thankfully, my dad is very experienced in all of this.

“We just don’t give too much time to that sort of thing.

“All I can say is that as his daughter, I am just so proud of him and everything he has achieved.”

She added: “It was really special, I have to be honest; we are all still coming down from the high.”

While it’s clear there were struggles between the band members, Boyzone’s loyal fanbase defended Mikey prioritising his health by refusing to perform the entire show.

His short, but sweet appearance delivered a nostalgic celebration of the band’s history for the final time.