On the 16th of June 1999, the cover of The Sun, an English tabloid, clamed that Stephen is gay and in love. And indeed, he was. The news surprised lots of fans, upset a minority of them. Stephen, worried by their reaction, was quickly relieved. At that time, the boyz were in the middle of their European Tour and every night, the fans cheered for Stephen and shouted his name. For the first time, he was able to dedicate a song to his lover : Eloy De Jong. (click HERE to read more about Eloy).
The reactions of the English fans during PITP in July 99 comforted him too. Stephen received tonz of letters, e-mails, phone calls, etc. to support him.

"I keep getting big packets of letters from them (the fans), and I'm trying to read all of them, or at least most of them. I'm reading them whenever I can and going around smiling to myself because they've been so incredible. So uplifting. They're from fans, parents of fans, young kids...you name it. I couldn't have asked for a better response."

Then, Stephen did lots of promotion for his supposed first solo single "Bright Eyes" but he never released it. His first ever solo single was released on May 99 and called "New Beginning". It went to the third place in the UK charts and was followed by an excellent album named... "New Beginning " too. The last one came on the 9th place in the UK charts (although it really deserved lots better!). Who knows what the future will be for Stephen?! Normally, he'll release a new single soon, probably 'I Believe' (but nothing is official yet). A tour with BZ on the next year, writing a song for Eloy's album... and why not a solo tour?!...

Some quotes and things

Smash Hits:
Smiling once again, it appears Stephen's not just happy, but happier than ever. Could it be love? Just as he's about to answer our probing question, Stephen's 'saved by the bell'. Someone is buzzing his mini-mobile and the huge grin across Stephen's face, tell us who it is...Eloy. "Yep, I'm doing the interview" he tells his concerned boyfriend, "don't worry, it's going really well". The couple go on to discuss how their dog's been swimming again, and Steve signs off by promising to take a pic of the shoot home for Eloy to see. When the conversation is over, Steve laughs when Smash Hits points out the ear-to-ear grin he had on his face the whole time. "Did I?", he says coyly, blushing slightly. Next he takes out a photo of his boyfriend to show us and looks proudly as Smash Hits peruses Eloy's perfect features. Our question is answered. Stephen's in love.

New Beginning Thank You's :
"And lastly, to my baby Eloy. You've been so strong for me. You truly are my angel sent down to look after me. We've been through so much together. You really are my inspiration. I love you so much though thick and thin. Let's show everybody. Thank you so much. You are my light at the end of the tunnel and always will be. Thanks, baby."