The Sun 26/11/20

[eternal]

There is  a nice article in today's Sun Newspaper where Gareth talks of his fitness regime and his girlfriend Chloe moving in

https://www.thesun.co.uk/fabulous/13299574/gareth-gates-new-physique-frisky-fans-dj-

FIT IDOL 

It’s taken me years to get the body I want but women prefer me as skinny beanpole on Pop Idol, says Gareth Gates

WITH his rippling abs and bulging biceps, Gareth Gates looks a million miles away from the baby-faced singer who wowed us all on Pop Idol.

His new bronzed body has served him well. Ater breaking up with former Corrie actress Faye Brookes, 33, in August last year he is now living with DJ Chloe McLennan, 30, who he met just before lockdown in March.

 

Yet, despite it taking years of gruelling daily workouts to hone his physique, Gareth, 36, insists women preferred the “skinny beanpole” who shot to fame at 17.

The dad-of-one said: “I definitely got more attention back then. I was a pop star with loads of hits.

“But I think I look better now. It’s taken me six years to get this body. I got into the gym when I was 30 and stopped partying.

“But in the last couple of years I’ve started to take my fitness really seriously.

Gareth is is now living with DJ Chloe McLennan

 

He met Chloe just before lockdown in March

“I would rather look good — and more importantly feel good — and be up for the gym than waste the day hungover.”

Gareth works out for two hours every day, lifting weights and bench pressing 120kg (almost 19st). He devours 4,000 calories daily too — but sticks to a clean diet, switching his meat and dairy intake for protein shakes instead.

And despite him insisting he got more attention in the early noughties, he is not short of very friendly women sliding into his Instagram DMs.

“I can’t repeat the messages,” he said. “Too rude for publication.”

 

Frisky fans

Some of these frisky fans will have seen Gareth perform, but if it was in the last couple of years, it will more likely have been on a cruise ship than in a stadium.

It’s a far cry from his chart-topping days, with four number one singles in the UK and 3.5million records sold, as the singer now belts out Unchained Melody on the Caribbean Sea.

“It’s a great gig,” he insisted, but continued: “Annoyingly 2020 was supposed to be jam-packed on cruise liners but, because of Covid, everything got cancelled. It’s hard but everyone is in the same boat — no pun intended.”

Although Gareth’s career as a pop star has taken a dive, he has kept afloat by dabbling in the stock market despite having initially lost £250,000 by following some bad advice.

Gareth now makes a living performing on cruise linersCredit: Olivia West - The Sun

The hunky singer works out for two hours every dayCredit: Olivia West - The Sun

“I met someone claiming to be an expert in trading foreign currencies,” he said.

“But I ended up getting conned and losing a lot of money. It was a long time ago now but it was a big learning curve for me.

“That’s why I set up my own business called LRG Investments to help other people learn how to trade. It’s going really well.

“It’s something you can do anywhere in the world, so when I’m performing on a ship, I’ll be trading shares at the same time.

“But after learning the hard way I never let a trade run and run if I’m losing.

Gareth has had four number one singles in the UK and sold 3.5million recordsCredit: Olivia West - The Sun

“You have to be smart or else it can be as addictive as gambling.”

Gareth’s love life is bobbing along nicely too. He moved Chloe, an Ibiza DJ also known as Loeca, into his Wiltshire home just weeks after meeting her while working in Dubai.

He said: “We hit it off straight away and then we were forced to make a decision about whether to move in together or not.

“Normally things would move slower but we thought ‘let’s give it a go’.
“I’m really happy, she’s lovely and a very private person.”

Cheating claims

The low-key romance is a contrast to some of Gareth’s previous spotlight relationships.

In 2002, after coming second on Pop Idol, Gareth hooked up with Katie Price while she was pregnant with her son Harvey.

And in her book Being Jordan she claimed that she took his virginity.

Six years later, in 2008, Gareth married dancer Suzanne Mole, mum to his daughter Missy, 11.

Gareth married dancer Suzanne Mole in 2008Credit: Rex Features

 

Suzanne is the mother of Gareth's daughter, MissyCredit: Instagram

The pair were married for four years before they split after claims he cheated with Faye.

He and the actress dated on and off for seven years but eventually split.
Gareth and Chloe live close to Gareth’s daughter.

He says: “One of the good things about lockdown is I got to spend a lot of time with Missy. I work all the time and am constantly away. So it was nice just being Daddy for all those months.”

Despite the muscles, Gareth still has some hang-ups — his “skinny legs”, and he still has the stammer that was revealed to the world during Pop Idol 18 years ago.

Getting “out of practice” by not performing or even talking as much during lockdown, Gareth still uses a voice coach who apparently tells him: “I need to exercise my mouth more, not my biceps.”

The coach makes a fair point . . . those biceps speak for themselves.

Nice to read Gareth is Happy, says Chloe is lovely and even more important she is private (as he is too)

[ValR]

Thank you. It seems to have been picked up by a few papers as it came on my newsfeed. Good to read something nice

[eternal]

Yes Val it was in quite a few newspapers but The Sun had the Exclusive.

The person who carried out Gareth's make up also recently did the make up for Kate Middleton  OliviaToddMakeUp on Instagram .....Oh and she said it was an absolute pleasure to work with Gareth.