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Three decades after he became a household name with Boyzone, Shane Lynch has revealed he has quit the group – and showbusiness – for good.

The Dubliner announced last year that he had left the public eye because it was taking a toll on his family life, and said he was “very happy not to be a part of that world any more”.

The singer, who rose to stardom alongside Ronan Keating, Keith Duffy, Mikey Graham and the late Stephen Gately, says he has no qualms if his former bandmates take to the stage without him.

“I won’t be performing with them again,” said Lynch (46).

“They might not know exactly. I haven’t gone to them saying, ‘Boys, I’m not coming back to the band.’ I’ve just been very open that I’m out of the industry – music, TV and everything.”

However, the father of two says there are no hard feelings. “It’s not like I got a phone call to ask, ‘What are you doing that for?’ We’d no plans to do anything anyway,” he said.

“They can absolutely crack on without me. I love the boys, so I’ll watch them. Don’t be gutted.”

His latest – and final – television appearance on Pilgrimage, which is currently airing on BBC, sees him and six other celebrities undertake a trek across northern Portugal to Fatima.

“I think for me there is certain head spaces in life we all need to transition to. You can’t just become an adult and be the same adult for the rest of your life,” he said.

“My life for 30 years had been one particular Shane Lynch from Boyzone, and I’m done with that. Everything I’ve done up to this last TV show was the same repetitive lifestyle.

“I don’t want to do that anymore. It’s as simple as that.”

He now lives in Cheshire in northern England with his actress wife, Sheena White and their two daughters, Billie (14) and Marley (10).

The pair tied the knot in 2007 and, despite a brief split during lockdown, they are closer than ever, with the family even featuring on ITV’s reality show The Real Housewives of Cheshire.

Yet Lynch says he will no longer appear on the programme as he continues to shun the limelight.

“I haven’t filmed this year. They got me in one scene, only because Tash Hamilton joined the cast, and she is from Atomic Kitten. They asked me if I would film with her, just talking about the old days, so I agreed to that, but I don’t film any more.

“When the cameras come into the house, they film the kids and the wife and I’m out.”

The pop star will celebrate 16 years of marriage on August 22. But he said he and his wife will not be renewing their wedding vows, unlike many other power couples.

“I think maybe we’d need to get a few more years under our belt,” he said.

Reflecting on the secret to their marriage, he said: “I think patience – maybe on her side, not so much mine.

“We change as people, so if you’re not willing to change with that person and accept their change, then you may as well go your own way.”