"It doesn't matter that he was a pop star. It doesn't matter that I was the wife or that she was the dancer. That's basically what this story is all about. It is kind of tragic.' 

Yvonne Keating has opened up on her split from Boyzone frontman Ronan Keating, three years after she discovered he was cheating on her with one of the band’s backing dancers.

Mother-of-three Yvonne is set to appear on the new series of Celebrity Masterchef, and during interviews ahead of her television appearance she finally spoke out about the beak-up of her marriage.

Ronan and Yvonne pictured with their three children

The former model opened up about a face-to-face confrontation with the woman he husband cheated on her with, Francine Cornell.

She said: "I met Francine, the girl he had an affair with. I met her in a hotel in London very shortly after the whole thing happened.

"I arranged to meet her in a hotel room. We had a five or six-hour conversation over a couple of glasses of wine. A lot of things were answered.

Francine Cornell, the dancer Ronan Keating cheated on his wife with

"We talked for a long time. When I look back, this is what it all boils down to. It was basically two girls in love with the same boy who, over a five-hour conversation, realised that that boy was not who we thought he was. The details really don't matter. 

The pair tried to make the marriage work after details of the affair became public, but in November 2011 they split for good. Yvonne claims the pair are now in a good place, saying; “Everything is good with all of us thank God. Ronan and I are just focusing on being good parents and we have a good system and a good routine worked out now.

“It’s a bit of a juggling act as we do travel with the kids so they can spend some time with Ronan, but it’s all OK, it’s easier now, it would be tougher if they were small babies.”