Corrie's Shayne Ward now – major weight loss, soap star romance and wedding U-turn

Shayne Ward stole the hearts of the nation in the early noughties as viewers poured out in their millions to watch his latest musical number on X Factor.

The 36-year-old was just 20 when he auditioned for the ITV singing competition and the Manchester native certainly wowed Irish judge Louis Walsh who mentored him all the way to the series final.

And sure enough, the doting dad stole the crown from his onstage rival Andy Abraham in 2005 and fans couldn’t help but fall in love with his debut single, That’s My Goal.

Viewers couldn’t wait for his future album with Simon Cowell’s hit record company Syco as his debut single by the same name went on to become the 2005 Christmas number one.

But more than 15 years on from his X Factor heyday, Shayne has fallen off the showbiz radar after he decided to settle down with his loving Hollyoaks star fiancée and their beautiful four-year-old daughter.

So where is the Breathless singer now? Daily Star has done a deep dive into the singer-turned-actor’s star-studded life ahead of his 37th birthday this weekend.

X Factor fame

The TV personality was catapulted to fame in the mid-noughties after the overwhelming success of his first album following his win on the ITV singing competition.

Since then, the vocalist went on to release four studio albums, a self-titled debut album which went to number one in the UK charts within the first week of its release, followed by his sequel album Breathless which went to number 2 in 2007.

However, his following work struggled to climb the UK charts with the same initial success of his first two albums.

Shayne went on to release his third album, Obsession, in 2010 which only reached number 15 on the music charts.

The singer songwriter released his final studio album, Closer, independently in 2015 after he was dropped by his record label Syco which only managed to climb to number 17 in the charts.

Alongside his pop career, Shayne took up the role of Staycee Jaxx in the hit ‘80s musical Rock Of Ages on the West End which toured the UK from 2011 to 2012.

When X Factor returned to the silver screen in 2019 for an All Stars special, fans were excited to see Shayne involved in the production after so many years out of the limelight.

But the northern star later revealed on Loose Women that he couldn’t take part in the show due to clashing work commitments.

He told viewers: “I’m not gonna be a part of that, no, no.

“It’s only because I’m contractually signed with Kay Mellor for Band of Gold,” he explained.

Coronation Street stint

But his declining musical fame didn’t stop Shayne from getting back in the spotlight, as he landed the role of bad boy Aidan Connor on Coronation Street back in August 2015.

Cast as the half-brother of Carla, the TV heartthrob owned the factory, Underworld, at the time, and his character Aidan quickly became quite the ladies’ man on the Cobbles.

But his way with the women soon came back to haunt him when the character found himself at the heart of a complicated love triangle between Maria Connor and Eva Price.

The star certainly felt the consequences of his actions after his fiancée Eva went “full bunny boiler” after she learnt of his affair with a horrific plan to sabotage their wedding day.

And it appears as though Shayne was adored off screen as much as he was amongst his fellow co-stars when the performer took home two gongs for Best Newcomer in 2016 – one at the National Television Awards and one at Inside Soap Awards.

But his time on the show sadly came to an end in 2018, when his character Aidan tragically committed suicide on the show just two years later.

Coronation Street producer Kate Oates said at the time: “Suicide is the biggest killer of men under 45 in this country.

“With 84 men taking their lives each week, we quite simply can’t afford not to talk about it.”

Shayne added: “When you get given a storyline like this it is a decision that is not taken lightly, I have played it with as much honesty and truth as I could.

“I am very proud of what I have done in my three years on the show and on this storyline in particular.”

He went on to say: “Aidan is an ‘everyman’ figure, he is someone men can identify with, which is important in telling this story.

“We hope that anyone who recognises something of themselves in Aidan, will realise they can, and really should, talk about how they’re feeling.”

Family life

During his time filming the hit soap, he met his girlfriend and former Hollyoaks actress Sophie Austin back in 2016.

Since then the pair have lived happily together and even went on to welcome their daughter Willow in 2017, and fans can’t believe how much their four-year-old looks like her mother.

After the birth of their baby girl, Shayne soon got down on one knee and popped the question on Boxing Day of that year with their star-studded wedding initially set to take place during the summer of 2020.

But as with many other couples, the pair postponed their big day and emphasised how they were in “no rush” to tie the knot.

The singer opened up to Lorraine Kelly about their future plans for their big day and confessed he wasn’t worried about rearranging the momentous event.

He told listeners: “Don’t tell Sophie. No, listen we spoke about it and that was what was nice about it.

“Everything can wait, there is no rush and we can definitely do this next year, but we’re together for life and that is the main thing, we’re together regardless.”

Throughout lockdown, the dynamic duo decided to transform their bodies after they took up an intense workout routine with their added time off.

The singer explained on the show how he had worked off more than three stone since he left Coronation Street who was supported by his loving partner who also lost three stone in the process.

He explained: “Sophie is doing it with me. She cooks fresh food every single day, I’ve lost over three and a half stone, she’s lost three stone.”

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk