WESTWIFE Jodi Albert talks about her westlife in Sligo and reveals hubby Kian Egan’s fears over his new solo album

Golden couple: I’m A Celebrity winner Kian Egan enjoys his night out with wife Jodi Albert

As TV personalities go, he is not exactly the shy and retiring type. Whether it’s as a forthright coach on The Voice Of Ireland or an adrenaline junkie in the I’m A Celeb… jungle, the public could be forgiven for thinking that nothing scares Kian Egan.

This makes it all the more surprising, then, when his wife Jodi Albert reveals that one recent event left the former Westlife star completely terrified — the prospect of making a solo album.

‘The album came totally out of left field for him to be honest,’ Jodi says. ‘He had just won I’m A Celeb… and the next morning we left for London. We had a stopover in Dubai and when he turned on his phone a text came through. He turned to me and showed me a text from Warner Music telling him they wanted to sign him to do a solo album.

‘During the next leg of the journey back to London, Kian went from being very excited to being petrified and I just couldn’t get over the change in him. I said: “You have been in Westlife for 14 years and you play three instruments and music is in your blood. Why wouldn’t you want to do a solo album?”

‘It was just so strange to see his reaction. It was like he felt he didn’t deserve it. He spent 14 years not being a lead singer with Westlife and that clearly chipped away at his confidence.

‘Kian sings songs that have quite a rock tempo — he sounds like a young Bryan Adams. I told him that even if this album is a compete flop, and it goes nowhere, I will still be so proud of him. We will always have it to show to our kids, so it doesn’t matter what happens outside the walls of our house.

‘We always look after each other. I’m not good at pushing myself, and he is the same. But together we inspire and drive each other.

‘It would frustrate me to see Kian walk away from a solo album just because he didn’t feel worthy of it. And now that he has finished it, it sounds quite amazing.’

Three months later and the album, Home, was released here on Friday and comes out in Britain today. Kian’s debut single, also called Home, has been well received so far, following performances on Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Take Away and The Voice Of Ireland.

But it’s another track on the album that’s garnering the most attention — a cover of Lady Antebellum’s I Run To You, in which he duets with Jodi.

Having pushed Kian to record the album, Jodi admits that this time it was her who was reluctant to agree to sing.

‘Every time we were asked about a duet we both said no immediately because we felt it would be too cheesy. Honestly, we had never planned to perform together on the album because all I would think about was being slated for a cheese fest.

‘But then three days before the album was due to be finished Kian came home and played me this amazing song. He said he wanted to record it but that he needed a female vocal as well and he wanted me to do it.

‘I was like: “What?” He pleaded with me and I fell in love with the track. I said “you b*****d”, because he had me hooked and I agreed to do it.

‘It is a beautiful song and hopefully people will like it. And if they don’t, it is something that we will always have for us as a family and that’s all that matters to me.’

The importance of both family and marriage to Kian and Jodi was made clear to everyone when the pair had an emotional reunion in Australia during I’m A Celeb… in November.

Former Hollyoaks actress Jodi says that the fleeting reunion came as much a surprise to her as it did to Kian.

‘I was in a bit of a daze then and I suppose I still am. I literally landed in Australia the day before and I was brought straight to a hotel to meet the other families. We were brought into a suite and the producers put a DVD on and it was Ant and Dec telling us that the blue team had won the task and we would get to meet them the next day.

‘That really messed with my mind because I had been building myself up that I wasn’t going to get to see him for another two-and-a-half weeks.’ What happened next was, to the production staff, television gold.

The hearts of thirteen million viewers melted as they watched a stunned Kian’s tearful reaction when he saw his wife walking towards him.

‘I thought it was going to be me that was going to cry to be honest,’ Jodi confesses. ‘When I came down the steps and he saw me I realised just how shook up he was and I think we switched roles.

‘I became the strong one and he started crying, telling me how much he missed me. I think the whole jungle experience was starting to get to him and he was beginning to crack.

‘He couldn’t hold me enough or tell me how much he missed me and our son. It was just an incredible moment and I think it definitely helped him through to the end of the show.’

She disagrees, however, with those who say that moment propelled Kian to be crowned King of the Jungle shortly afterwards.

‘I think it helped Kian, rather than helped him win the show. He won the show because he was himself — kind, helpful and strong. He is a genuinely nice guy who speaks his mind, but is also very caring and I knew people would like him. He has this quality about him where he can break down the defences of the hardest people in the world and then suddenly they are his best friend. But I never, for a second, thought that he would win it.

‘I really thought Joey Essex was going to win. Because he is such a big star and comes from a massive television show and all the buzz was about him. All you read in the papers in London was Joey, Joey, Joey.’

Jodi recently with son Koa

Of course, Kian’s success with the tasks — and his unflinching bravery when faced with the disgusting Bushtucker trials — were a big factor in his success.

‘The funny thing about Kian is that he doesn’t think he is competitive,’ Jodi says with a laugh. ‘Whenever we are at home and we go to play a board game he gets so competitive that I end up getting the hump and walking away because all he wants to do is win. He just takes all the fun out of it!

‘He has always been like that since we met and I think it is an amazing quality and not a flaw. That competitive edge helped the campmates get meals. And he was kind to everyone and I think that is why the public took to him, because they saw the real man that I see every day.’

Kian’s win in the jungle had a knock on effect on Jodi’s career, too. Girl Thing — the pop group she joined at 15 before it split in 2001— reformed for ITV’s Big Reunion series and last month they played London’s Hammersmith Apollo as part of the Big Reunion concert. But Jodi, who was also in the short-lived girlband set up by Louis Walsh and Kian, Wonderland, insists there won’t be a repeat performance.

‘No, I am not back singing full-time.

I’m not a part of Girl Thing. What I did was the Big Reunion and film a show about the band. It was nice to be a part of that and to tell my story but that is done now. I performed at Hammersmith with them and got a really amazing reaction but I feel I have done it now. Girl Thing was a nice thing to do but I don’t want to be 30, dancing around on a stage like an idiot.

‘It was a nice one-off event but it is not really my thing. Would I go back to acting? Who knows. If the right script came along then, yes, of course. Right now I am a jack of all trades and a master of none and it suits me because I can dip my toe into everything.’

With both of them in the spotlight, keeping their home life in Strandill, Co. Sligo relatively normal for their two-year-old son Koa is a challenge.

Kian said recently that since I’m A Celeb… he has found himself getting mobbed by fans in Ireland. I raise the issue of stalkers — in particular one overzealous Westlife fan who arrived at their Sligo home several years ago.

Jodi takes a deep breath before answering. ‘Look, touch wood, we have been relatively lucky with that sort of thing. ‘You get people who come up to the house and take pictures but that is part of being in the public. It worries me because of the baby — anything to do with Koa scares the hell out of me. Kian is generous with his time and poses for pictures with any fan. I think it is just about having a boundary, you have to draw a line when it comes to your home and your children.’

Does the mention of children mean that they are keen to add to their brood? After all, Kian told the world at the I’m A Celeb… final that he wanted to have another baby.

‘We would love to have more kids, but I think when the time is right and everything slows down a bit. Right now there is a lot of work and it is exciting. But we are all about family first. I think Koa really changed us as people.

‘He gave us the confidence that comes from knowing that we have an incredibly strong family life and that whatever happens we will be strong and happy together. Our hope is to have another baby in the near future. Kian always jokes that he will have a bun in the oven by the end of 2014, but we’ll see.’

Source: Evoke.ie - By Eoin Murphy