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Mirror: Ronan Keating
Ronan Keating: 'I have 12 tatoos – I started when I was 18.' Photograph: Don Arnold/WireImage
Ronan Keating: 'I have 12 tatoos – I started when I was 18.' Photograph: Don Arnold/WireImage

What I see in the mirror: Ronan Keating

This article is more than 13 years old
'I've never been particularly happy with what I see in the mirror – I don't think anybody ever is. And I'd like to be taller, too'

I'm hoping I'll grow into my looks, like Robert Redford or Steve McQueen. I've never been particularly happy with what I see in the mirror – I don't think anybody ever is. And I'd like to be taller, too: I'm 5ft 9in.

I am very aware that in my line of work I need to look after myself. Steo [Stephen Gately] was the expert – when we first hit the road, he educated us all in cleansing, toning and moisturising. I try to stay fit and healthy and eat well.

I have 12 tattoos – I started when I was 18 – and I'm getting another one done this week. I have a bonsai tree on my arm and I'm getting some cherry blossom put behind it. I have a Superman tattoo on my right arm. Steo had a Superman tattoo on his chest, and three days after he passed away Keith [Duffy], Shane [Lynch] and myself all got Superman tattoos with Steo's dates – the year he was born and the year he passed. It's a little memory for us, something important that's always there. There is also a tattoo on my back that says: "The future is unwritten." That's a Joe Strummer quote.

My wife and I have one tattoo that's the same. When we married 13 years ago in New York, we got a Japanese symbol for love. I've gone through some dark times, and at those times my tattoos have helped and guided me through.

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