I've put the bad times behind and my life's back on track – Yvonne

Ken Sweeney Entertainment Editor

Yvonne Keating has spoken of how she has put the "bad times" behind her and managed to get her life "back on track" since splitting from husband Ronan.

The mother-of-three revealed how she made a New Year's resolution at the beginning of 2013 to branch out on her own.

"For years I never did that resolution thing but last year I was just in a much better place in my life," she said.

"It wasn't that I wanted to change, I had just got to a stage where I went 'wow', I had been through a bad time, but I feel this is my year to be back on track and put the past behind me."

Yvonne certainly achieved that over the last 12 months, competing in RTE's Celebrity MasterChef which led to a slot on ITV's This Morning.

The TV work helping Yvonne regain her own identity rather than just mum to Jack (15), Missy (12) and eight-year-old Ali and the ex-wife of the Boyzone singer.

"I suppose I was always, and sometimes still am, Ronan's wife or Missy's mum and you go up to the school and you're Jack's mum. This year I felt more like I was just Yvonne, which was a nice feeling," she told Woman's Way Magazine.

Yvonne admits that it has been the support of friends which has got her through the last few difficult years, especially in 2012 when her 14-year marriage Ronan crumbled.

SUPPORT

"I don't know what I'd do without my girlfriends. I have so many girls in my life who are really strong, beautiful and intelligent," she said.

"Most of my friends have gone through difficult times so they can relate and they know when it's time to rub you on the back or time to make you laugh."

The former model credits the same support from friends with keeping a smile on her face as she prepares to celebrate her milestone 40th birthday this year.

"I know what I am. There'd be so many things that I'd look in the mirror over the years and not be happy with, but now I look in the mirror and think, 'It could be a lot worse'," she said.

Yvonne added: "I am who I am and all the love and care and support I've got and all the people in my life are in my life not because of how I look.

"My happiness doesn't come from how I look, it comes from being surrounded by amazing people and having a lot of love in my life."

The full interview with Yvonne Keating is featured in Woman's Way magazine.

ksweeney@herald.ie