It has been a whirlwind few years for Australian producer Storm Keating. The 34-year-old beauty was catapulted into the spotlight after falling in love with Irish popstar Ronan Keating. Leaving her family, friends and a career down under, Storm followed her heart and moved to London to set up a home with her new husband, and the pair are blissfully happy.
RSVP had the pleasure of catching up with the refreshingly positive lady in Dublin recently, where she discussed the pressure of fame, how Storm really is her name and how she would give it all up in the morning once she had ‘Ro’ by her side.
Storm, you and Ronan have just bought your first family home in England, congrats!
Yes, we moved into the house a few weeks back and it is just lovely.
You had previously mentioned buying in Ireland – is that on hold now?
No, we are still looking in Ireland but we found it a lot harder than we thought it was going to be to find a place. We had been renting in London for three years and we wanted to have a base there, it was pointless throwing money into rent when we could have our own home. We would love a house in Ireland but you can’t do everything at once so we are being patient. If we had our way we would have had it all yesterday.
Is there more work in London for you guys?
Yes, for both of us and the kids [Jack, Missy and Ali] love coming over to London, so it is a really nice balance; we can come here [to Ireland] and we have all the family and friends and get to spend time with the kids. Then we get them to fly over to us. Now that we have “the farm” they love it.
Is it a farm? Do you have animals?
No, it is not a farm, we just call it the farm. It is 4.5 acres, with big trees, stables, paddocks, tennis courts, and it is very private. It is tucked away, you can’t see the neighbours so it is lovely. We call it the farm as the kids are already putting in orders for the type of animals they want so give it a few years and it will be a farm.
Do you miss your home in Australia?
I am one of those people, and I am like this with everything in life, if I can’t change the situation I just get on with it. I don’t want to be pining for Australia when I am living in London and Ireland. I want to make the most of what I am doing. This is my life now, I love it, and I am very grateful. I find it a little bit more difficult though around Christmas or my birthday, or Easter or Australia Day, that is always a tough one. I have moments and then I shake it off.
It must have been a big culture shock when you first got together with Ronan as he was used to being in the public eye, and you were not.
A really big culture shock, I found it really, really difficult. I hated it and I cried. I would get the shakes when paparazzi came up to me on the street. One time I got chased by paparazzi when I was out jogging, two/three cars kept following me and I went and hid in some woman’s garage. I found it all frightening.
Was this at the start, after you met him and they were trying to find out who you were?
Yes, when we came out publicly and said, “Yes, we are dating”, it all got a bit crazy. I knew even well before that moment that it wasn’t my cup of tea, it was one of the main reasons at the start that I didn’t want to date Ro, as much as my heart was there. I knew we had this crazy chemistry, but I had to weigh everything up with the life he lives.
So did he have to chase you to get you to go on a date?
We started off as friends, we worked on set together so it would be light-hearted banter. I found him very genuine and the way he treated everyone on set was amazing, from all my years of working and meeting people in television, and I have met all types, he was so gracious. This was the first year of The X Factor and I was producing; he was considered our biggest celebrity, there was all this fuss then he arrived and was anything but fuss. We got on like a house on fire, there was a chemistry that just grew but before we knew it we were like, “Do you want to go for dinner?”– it was nearly awkward.
You had just come out of a marriage break-up [from Tim Ivers’] and Ronan was going through a very public break-up from Yvonne, do you think going through the same thing brought you together?
Yes, definitely. Going through similar things in our life most certainly brought us closer together.
Was it around the same when the marriages ended?
Yes, it was. There was a lot we could understand but straight away I felt like I knew Ronan my whole life. I can’t explain it, it was effortless.
So you started dating and got thrown into the spotlight, did you find it difficult to have to suddenly become aware of things you say and do?
I have never been the type of person that ever had to be anything but me, ever. I have always been proud of who I am and my opinions, I always have something to say. I am passionate, I work hard and I play hard, but then I was in a situation where there was a lot of different elements to consider, from Ro’s situation, to children, and becoming a step mum. I did kind of feel I can’t just be me but I also found that in the spotlight; I was so nervous that I wasn’t giving me anyway.
But you seem to be growing into it, enjoying it even, has it become easier for you?
Yes, it has become easier because I have had time to work out my own strength and confidence in it. I decided when I first met Ro that I didn’t want to change. I said: “I am really happy with who I am, as a person, I am happy with my career, with my family and my friends. I don’t want you to change me and I don’t want your lifestyle to change me.” I even went as far to say to him that I didn’t want gifts unless it was Valentine’s Day or my birthday. I don’t need to be given things. Having that strength in my character has helped me transition through the spotlight side of things. It allowed me to realise how I have nothing to hide.
You don’t hide on social media, you and Ronan even have joint accounts, life seems wonderful, private jets etc, but are we just seeing the highlights?
With social media I think it can be slightly misleading, people only showcase the best aspects of their day which is great, but at the same time I think when you look at my social media feed or Ro’s, people think, “those two are living the life” and 95% of the time it is work related. We may be in a fabulous destination and I may have had an hour off to take a lovely snap but unless it was my honeymoon, it is work related and the other 16 hours of the day I am not snapping and posting because we are working, and I am grateful for that. Saying that, we get to go and do some amazing things, things I never thought I would do in life before I met Ro.
Do you miss being a producer and doing the job you are trained to do?
Yes, I do.
Could you see yourself working as a producer again or are you tied up more with Ronan’s schedule and work?
And the kids! The reality is when I first moved to London, that was one of the things I wasn’t going to change, I wasn’t going to stop producing, I love it. Before I moved to London, I lined up The Voice UK; I was barely here two days and I started working on it at the same time Ronan was doing one of his European solo tours. I was working 16-hour days, I didn’t have time for Ro, the kids or a life – and you just don’t. We found it quite difficult, Ro wasn’t used to someone who was always working, I was in my headspace and I had blinkers on.
In ways you moved here for him, or to be with him, and then because of your job you didn’t get to see him.
I moved here for him. We were on the same side of the world where we could be together and we were not seeing each other at all.
So really you had to sacrifice your career for his then?
I did, yes, but you know I am happy with that. Someone has to make a sacrifice and we had to be realistic. Ro’s income generates a lot more money than my income and he has a load of responsibilities to look after, so there wasn’t really the option for us that he would take a back seat and I would take the bills. I could never manage all the bills that he has got! I chose to support him and I also chose to be present for the kids. The kids were coming in and out of London to see their dad and to see me. I realised that my responsiblities had changed.
Does it annoy you that you have become Ronan Keating’s wife rather than the career woman you were?
Yes, it is very difficult. Before I met Ro, I graduated with honours from university and had my own career, I worked very hard to achieve what I did, in the timeframe I did. When I became associated with Ro, no one cares what I did, as it is all about him. But now I am trying to carve my own way and do my own thing. I want to leave my own footprint on the world, be proud of who I am, not just being the wife of someone else. I am honoured to be his wife but I don’t have to stop being who I am.
But you are doing a few other jobs to keep you ticking over too.
Yes, I have my fashion collaboration. I am ambassador for Positive Luxury, I have my own blog, we also have Ground Coffee Society, and run a talent management agency in Ireland. This is on top of a lot of charity work.
You have a very close relationship with all three of the kids.
I love those kids, they are the best. Jack was our best man, Missy was our Queen bridesmaid and Ali was our flower girl. Jack and Missy did the speeches at our wedding and Ali did a dance. From day one, I got on great with those kids.
Fashion can be a tricky business – how did you get involved, had you experience?
The brand that I collaborated with is called Stivaleria Cavallin, they are one of the positive luxury brands I work with, we have the same values. They approached me at an event saying they would like to collaborate on the ‘Storm boot’ and I was honoured. I wouldn’t have grown up in a house with fashion magazine’s but I watched my mother make our clothes when we lived in Papua New Guinea as there were no shops in Wau, where we lived, so I learnt to sow at a young age and have always been creative.
You are honest in your approach to things, when the whole Storm/Sharon name debate happened with Jennifer Zamparelli you published your birth cert?
Jen literally thought that Storm wasn’t my name, that I had made it up. I rarely ever say anything or stand up to anything in the press, but when someone has a go at your name and says it is not your name when it is! I was thinking I didn’t want to be aggressive in how I approached it, I wanted to be calm and tactful so I thought I would post my birth certificate as I didn’t know Jen personally. Once that happened people realised my name really is Storm and Jen invited me on her show to have a laugh about it. It is all good now, but my parents even saw all the press and they thought it was bonkers.
Do you get upset when things are written about you?
I count myself quite lucky, they could be a lot worse. Not everything is perfect in the press, but I am just grateful it is not worse because I have seen other people’s lives sprawled across magazines and newspapers. I don’t mind most stuff, the stuff that bothers me is when it is not true or if it is deliberately nasty.
Moving on, can you sing?
I used to sing a lot when I was growing up. I was one of those kids who had to do everything whether it was on a sporting field in school or the stage. I sang at weddings, and I used to sing national anthems at football games but that was in my past life, i don’t want to be a singer, I will leave that to Ro.
Would you do a duet with Ronan?
Actually, I am on the album [Time of my Life]! I am doing backing vocals for ‘In your Arms’, and the third single being released next is almost a duet as there is a lot more backing vocals on it. It is called ‘As long as we’re in love’.
Wow, would you guys do it live sometime or would he like you stealing his thunder?
I don’t know about doing it live, but he is the one who made me do it! Ro wrote most of this album in our kitchen and because they were recording there, they needed someone to do backing vocals so he said, “Can you just do it baba”, and I did. When the producer heard it he asked me to do the real record then.
What does he call you?
Baba!
What do you call him?
Monkey bum. I call him baba baby or babakins and he calls me the same. It is a bit sickening really.
So after your duet, would you ever go down the presenting route with Ronan, the two of you together?
Yes, maybe, I would never do a reality show but it depends on the format... presenting together could be nice.
What do you love most about Ronan?
His heart. He is a proper man, fiercely loyal, fiercely hardworking and fiercely romantic. He is crazy generous to everyone and would take the shirt off his back for you, in some ways too much.
Are there two sides to Ronan – the side the public may see and the side you know?
Definitely, I don’t think he intends it to be that way. When you are doing things in the media, such as a press call, you are there for a very specific reason be it an album launch, etc. it is not about you as a person. You are there to do a job and the media will then portray the way you did that job.
When he gets bad press, who gets more annoyed, him or you?
Me. I am fiercely loyal and it is the principal of it all. I would defend him until the cows come home. I didn’t fall in love with him for any old reason. I am the girl from the country in Australia and I didn’t intend to fall in love with a popstar, never mind running across to the other side of the world. This man whisked me off my feet based on just how good a man he is, how genuine he is, despite what he does for a living. I don’t suffer fools and I don’t fancy his lifestyle. I was never going to come out of a broken marriage and run away with a man who wasn’t going to be the love of my life and make me happy for the rest of my life. You are a different person when you come out a marriage, you don’t want to make any more mistakes – Ronan is the best.
Is there anything you would change about Ro – he has to have one flaw?
He has no attention to detail, for organisational things. Little things like “reply all” in an email, he can let things slip, forgot to call people back or answer emails. He would ask you three times what time is the flight. It drives me mad!
Who is the boss?
You know what, we are quite equal. We push each other but then we make it work. Some things he gets away with, and some things I will just put my foot down. We argue like any other couple, then we are over it in five minutes.
Who is the more fiery one?
Me, he is so calm.
Have you changed since you met him?
No, and I don’t want to change, but I have become a little less naïve. I was very trusting with people when I first met him. The celebrity world toughened me up and made me less trusting.
Do you like it, living the celebrity life?
Some days I do, some days I don’t.
If you could go back to being unknown, would you?
I would love that. I have said to him, if all else fails, my dream is to run away anywhere, once I have him I don’t care about anything else and that is why I am so happy. You say things like, ‘you are both always smiling and happy’, because we are, I wake up every morning knowing I am completely in love with this man. I have my best friend, my soul mate – I don’t need a Prada hand bag, or the big house, I don’t care if we lose all the money, in some ways it would make things easier. I love him – but not so much the pressure of his lifestyle. If we could make the money he is making and be able to support his family, and live and not have to do all the stuff with it, that would be a dream.
Are you spiritual?
Yes, I am spiritual. I believe in positive energy, what you put out, you get back. I believe in Karma, the wheel will turn and come back around. Keep your head high and persevere. I believe in spirits, we felt his mum, my grandad and Stevo on our wedding day, there were so many signs.
Would you like to start your own family?
Yes, we would love to have a family at some stage, but we are not going to force anything. I believe the timing will be right when it happens, in some ways I can’t see when the timing will be right as we are always working.
Is there down time? A week off to lie around the house?
No, very little downtime and we crave it. We could take a week off and fly somewhere, but to be honest the emails and calls stay coming in and then it will build up so when we get back we are in a heap altogether. The only way to get through what we are doing right now is to stay on top of it, keep working and maintain it. That is the one thing I would love to change: we work way too hard. There is no balance.
Tell us something about Ronan we don’t know?
He is very funny, he is a clown with me and the kids, cracking jokes, messing, putting on accents, he totally takes the p**s out of himself.
Do you stay in touch with your own siblings in Australia?
Yes, I have three big brothers so I am an only girl. We grew up on a farm and I was a proper tomboy. They are the best in the world. They were a bit scared when I got with Ronan first, just for me being catapulted into that celebrity limelight, they know it is not my character. Family know you better than you know yourself, but it literally took one dinner for them to fall in love with Ronan. He has fallen into my family like the fourth son, he has great craic with my brothers.
Could you ever see Ronan do anything other than singing?
Acting, he is very good at it. It is difficult for him as he is such a household name and it is hard to take that away or for directors to take a chance on him, but he is so good, and I am his harshest critic.
What makes you angry ?
When people are deliberately nasty when they really don’t need to be.
What makes you happiest?
My relationships.
