Noughties music star Noel Sullivan has revealed the struggles he was secretly facing behind the scenes at the height of his fame in one of the country’s favourite pop bands.
Now aged 44, the Welsh singer rose to popularity in Hear’Say in 2001, having been created on the talent show Popstars.
Along with bandmates Myleene Klass, Kym Marsh, Suzanne Shaw, and Danny Foster, he broke chart records with their debut single, Pure and Simple, which remains just as catchy today.
However, away from the bright lights of stardom, Noel was battling with having to stay quiet about who he truly was.
Just 19 at the time he was thrust into the spotlight, Noel has said he was forbidden from discussing his sexuality, feeling as though he had been ‘chucked back into the closet’.
It wasn’t until 2017 that he publicly came out as gay when he announced he had married his partner.
Speaking to Heat magazine, he shared: ‘It was really mad. It was a lifetime ago. I can look back at it with fond memories now, but it took a while to sort through the damage.’
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‘But I’m here, and I survived,’ he declared proudly.
The performer reflected on his late teens and early twenties, which ought to have been the time he could ‘explore who [he] is’.
‘To be boxed back up and chucked back in the closet was a damaging experience for me; it took a lot of time to find some resolution to that and not feel guilty or shameful because of it.’
Noel is now in a happy marriage with husband James and often shares an insight into their relationship with social media snaps.
On his birthday several years ago, he also reminisced on his pop band days and how he sank into ‘depression’ when he was unable to come out.
He wrote: ‘As a 19 year old, I was told to shut up about my sexuality. If I wanted a career, I had to be something else. Silent. It ruined me.
‘No one was held accountable for the years of depression and self abuse that followed. It got to the point where I felt like I couldn’t speak out anymore because my time in the spotlight had passed and I assumed no one would care.
‘It was a turbulent time but I took solace in my family and in theatre. Without the crazy, beautiful, supportive and talented people I worked with, lived with and performed for, I could never have found myself.’
‘After years of self doubt I finally feel free to say what I need to,’ Noel concluded. ‘Free to let go of the past, free to love myself. But most importantly, free to love. Thank you [sic]’.
While Noel now enjoys a much quieter, slower-paced life, he hasn’t turned his back on entertainment completely.
A lover of theatre, he previously appeared in productions of Fame, Love Shack, and What a Feeling, as well as playing male lead Danny Zuko in Grease on the West End in the late 2000s.
Noel also had a cameo in Gavin and Stacey, starred as Galileo Figaro in the UK tour of We Will Rock You, and shared the role of Tick/Mitzi with Jason Donovan in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.
In more recent years, he’s popped up in BBC’s Call the Midwife Christmas special and played Oscar Baxter in Doctors.
As for Hear’Say, their glittering success was short-lived.
Things started going downhill in January 2002, when Kym left due to conflicts with Noel and Myleene. She was replaced by former Boom! member Johnny Shentall, and they released just one single, Lovin’ is Easy, as part of this lineup.
In October 2002, Hear’Say announced they would be breaking up, having failed to make a commercial splash with their latest music.
At the time, they cited ‘abuse from the public’ as the main reason for the split, while its members went on to achieve success individually.
Kym, 49, enjoyed a solo career and famously starred as Michelle Connor in Coronation Street, has hosted Morning Live, and also starred in Waterloo Road.
Danny, 46, has had a quieter career, but performs as part of his own soul and Motown group, Danny Foster & The Big Soul Corporation, and also auditioned for The Voice.
Suzanne, 43, is an established West End performer, won series 3 of Dancing On Ice and took part in the All Stars series, and played Eve Jenson in Emmerdale.
Finally, Myleene, 47, was an iconic I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! campmate in 2006, and went on to win the All Stars series in 2023. She also presents on TV and radio, and was awarded an MBE this year for her women’s health campaigning.
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