«Breaking News» Westlife's Mark Feehily on his catfish experience and image pressure

He soared to fame in Westlife in 1998. 

And while Mark Feehily is well used to the spotlight, he candidly discussed the darker side of fame in an exclusive chat with MailOnline as he admitted he had been the subject of a 'catfish' and is aware of pressure in the gay community.

The 38-year-old pop star revealed he was approached by a fan, who had been chatting to an impostor for '10 to 15 years' before he was forced to reveal the truth, while also touching on how he has tackled issues with his image in the past.

Pressured: Westlife's Mark Feehily is well used to the spotlight, he candidly discussed the darker side of fame in an exclusive chat with MailOnline as he admitted he had been the subject of a 'Catfish' and is aware of pressure in the gay community

Westlife are back with a bang as their first single in eight years hit the airwaves to huge success on Thursday, ahead of their reunion tour kicking off in May. Before the band's return he spoke to MailOnline about his experiences in the industry. 

The group broke hearts of fans around the globe when they announced plans to disband in 2012 before all embarking on respective solo careers over the years.

Having enjoyed fame both in Westlife and as a solo star, he has garnered endless fans as well as 109,000 Instagram followers. Due to this, Mark has sadly seen the darker side of fame after a fan was duped into believing they were speaking online.

The star, clearly haunted by the experience, said: 'There's a lot of good that comes from social media and the Internet, there's information that you need and maps. For me on Instagram it's who are you following not what you do on there...

Here come the boys: The 38-year-old pop star (centre) revealed he was approached by a fan, who had been chatting to an impostor for '10 to 15 years' before he was forced to reveal the truth, while also touching on how he has tackled issues with his image in the past

'There's people who will message me online and will have been talking to someone for ten or 15 years thinking they were talking to me and I will put out a broad message saying these are fake profiles. I don't talk to fans through DMs...

'Someone's been talking to them as if it's me and fans tweet me saying we got this fan site shut down today. It's twisted and it's the darker side of it...

'Some of these people think they've been talking to me for years and that we've shared these deep chats and they're messaging me saying: "Why aren't you my friend anymore?" and someone has been pretending to be me... 

'One of them was one of their friends doing it to them for years. That's the kind of crazy s**t keyboard people out there. You feel robbed because they think its you.'

Opening up: Mark came out as gay in August 2005, having been aware of his sexual orientation since he was in his mid-teens, and has been candid ever since'

Here come the boys! Westlife have been met with huge success with their comeback track Hello My Love 

Mark came out as gay in August 2005, having been aware of his sexual orientation since he was in his mid-teens, and has been candid ever since. 

Having been open about his sexuality, Mark touched on the pressure in the gay community to look a certain way - particularly since the dawn of social media. 

He went on: 'In the gay community it's been like that for a long time like on Instagram you see people with their tops off and being in the gym seven days a week...

'I'm so happy to be 38. It's not what I look like but it's knowing my mind and knowing what to worry about. I'm happy about being happy and healthy and looking good. I don't feel I need to look a certain way.'

Here come the boys! Having been open about his sexuality, Mark touched on the pressure in the gay community to look a certain way - particularly since the dawn of social media

Then and now: Mark was open about being comfortable in his own skin 

Having been thrust into the spotlight at a tender age, Mark naturally felt image pressure, however he now admits he wishes he had silenced his haters at the time as he insists he was 'f**king gorgeous' and should have appreciated that fact. 

He said: 'Something I've realised recently is you should enjoy every second of your youth when you have it...

'I'm nearly 40 and I think that's still young but I look back at my youth and myself 10 years ago, 20 years ago and I thought I looked terrible and there was certain people who told me I looked too fat and I should do this with my teeth...

'I look back and I think I was f**king gorgeous. If only I could look like that now. I'd love to look like that now but at the time I was so hard on myself and the people around me who were telling me I look bad were talking s**t...

'I looked great. It's weird because at the time I get people's comments get to me. I looked great, no bags under my eyes.' 

Happy days: Mark dwelled on his youth and how great he looked (pictured with Mariah Carey in 1999)

Link hienalouca.com

https://hienalouca.com/2019/01/10/westlifes-mark-feehily-on-his-catfish-experience-and-image-pressure/
Main photo article He soared to fame in Westlife in 1998. 
And while Mark Feehily is well used to the spotlight, he candidly discussed the darker side of fame in an exclusive chat with MailOnline as he admitted he had been the subject of a ‘catfish’ and is aware of pressure in the gay community.
The ...

It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.

Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.

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