Louis Walsh's hidden health scares, love life and Girls Aloud fat jibe

Louis Walsh has been a familiar face on our TV screens for over three decades. And despite being a huge star as a judge on The X Factor, not much is known about his private life.

Louis has managed many famous Irish pop acts like Johnny Logan, Boyzone, Jedward, and Westlife. He later became a talent judge on various television shows such as Popstars, You're a Star, The X Factor, and Ireland's Got Talent.

Louis started out as a judge on the Irish version of reality show Popstars in 2001, reports the Irish Mirror. Below we look at Louis' life away from his career, including his real name, feuds with famous stars and his hidden cancer diagnosis.

Louis Walsh's hidden cancer diagnosis

The former 'X Factor' judge revealed he had been battling a rare type of blood cancer on Celebrity Big Brother. The 71 year old star said he had been diagnosed with a rare cancer called waldenstrom macroglobulinaemia.

He said: "I was sick, and I think nobody knew I was sick. I had cancer a mild version, a rare one, in my blood."

He added: "I didn't even know I had it until I went to the hospital. They checked me and then they found it."

Louis shared that he was fine now but said: "It's just up here, even when I go past a hospital I almost get sick. It's all gone, I'm fine. It was just the shock of being sick and that word nobody wants that word."

Louis had previously spoken about another health issue. After gentle jibes from X Factor judge Cheryl Fernandez-Versini he thought he had succumbed to one of the occupational hazards of the music industry: hearing loss.

"We were doing X Factor auditions two years ago when I was last on the show and it was doing well and getting big ratings," he said. "We were in Wembley Arena and the audience was so loud I was often struggling to hear what someone on stage or the other judges were saying.

"Cheryl said something I couldn't hear and then they all started joking, asking, 'Are you deaf, Louis?' That's when it all started."

He continued: "I thought, 'No, I can't be going deaf." He then added: "One thing led to another and I had a test and my hearing is normal for my age. I have mild hearing loss but I don't need hearing aids yet...I think people ought to have a test every two years and that's what I'm going to do from now on."

Louis Walsh's real name

His real name is Michael Vincent Walsh, but he prefers to be called Louis. Born in Kiltimagh, Co Mayo in 1952, he celebrated his 71st birthday on August 5 last year.

His parents are Maureen and Frank Walsh, and he has seven siblings.

Louis Walsh's feud with Ronan Keating

When Ronan Keating decided to take a break from Boyzone, Louis continued to manage his career. Ronan achieved a number one hit with 'Life is a Rollercoaster' in 2000 while his album sold 4.4 million copies.

Ronan and Louis later agreed to part ways, leading to a bitter falling out. Louis told the press at the time: "He wasn't the most talented one - he's not a great singer and he's got no personality."

Ronan later told Closer magazine: "That man absolutely tried to ruin me and if he thinks we can ever hug and makeup he can forget it. I haven't heard from him in three years and I wouldn't have a problem if I never saw him again. He's not a nice character."

Louis reignited the feud in the Celebrity Big Brother house. He launched into an expletive rant on Ronan as the housemates were treated to music and drinks after winning a task and Ronan's song Life Is A Rollercoaster was played.

As the song played, Walsh described it as a “great song”, before telling Sharon Osbourne: “He was such a p****. Everybody thinks he’s a lovely guy, do you know what I mean?”

Walsh then claimed: “He hasn’t had a hit record since I left. He sacked me.”

Louis Walsh's feud with Girls Aloud

No stranger to controversy, Louis waged war on Cheryl Cole back in the early 2000s when he labelled all the members of Girls Aloud as 'fat'. Girls Aloud singer Kimberley Walsh claimed that the music manager walked onto the set of their music video and applauded them all for 'not being fat' anymore' in 2004.

In a 2017 interview with BUILD Series LDN, Kimberly said: "We were doing our video for Love Machine in 2004 and Louis waltzed in and said to us, "Oh, none of you are fat any more. Brilliant, that's great." She added: "Obviously in Louis' head he did have an issue with some of our sizes but I think he learnt from Nigel and thought best not to comment in public - but he did in private."

Louis Walsh's love life

Louis has always kept his love life away from the spotlight and doesn't talk about who he's dating. In a chat with the Sunday Times back in 2013, Louis said: "I can't... Don't go there. I can't. I think your private life is your private life... I'm happy. Happy as Larry!"

Louis once had a pretend wedding with Caroline Flack, who was famous on the Xtra Factor, for a funny part of the show.They had a fake wedding in Las Vegas with an Elvis Presley lookalike doing the ceremony. They even pretended to get married and kissed at the Little White Chapel.

After Caroline sadly passed away in February 2020, Louis said: "I really liked her, she was great fun and just a pleasure to be around. She spoke her mind and was always up for a laugh.