Shane Filan's Christian faith helped him cope with bankruptcy.

Shane Filan

Shane Filan

The former Westlife star was declared bankrupt in 2012 after his company Shafin Developments - a property development firm he ran with his eldest brother Finbar - went into receivership.

Shane - who was raised a Catholic - has on numerous occasions described how his wife Gillian was his rock throughout the entire experience but he also found strength by praying to God.

He exclusively told BANG Showbiz: "In general I say a prayer, I have a lot of faith, I don't go to mass every day, but I do go to mass as often as I can. I do like to take a moment and just pray and hope everything is going to be OK.

"During that time I would talk to the room, talk to God, and say, 'Listen, you need to help me out here, what do I do next?' "

After coming through that difficult time, Shane insists he and Gillian - his childhood sweetheart who he married in December 2003 - are now even stronger as a couple and he doesn't believe anything can break them up.

And the 'I Could Be' singer - who has three children, Nicole, 10, Patrick, seven, and Shane, five, with Gillian - doesn't know if he could have coped with his money troubles if he didn't have his wife's love and unwavering support.

He said: "I know I've said a lot about Gillian helping me, but she was amazing, you need somebody, you need that other half in your life to support you and that could have gone the opposite way and my life could have fallen apart, but luckily she didn't care about money. She just wanted to make sure I was OK, and that's brought us closer together, I think we're stronger as a couple by a country mile. If that can't do anything to us and makes us stronger then nothing can break us up. The whole experience showed how lucky I am to have her and how great a relationship we have."

Shane's new album 'Right Here' is out today (25.09.15) and getting through his financial issues has made him determined to succeed as a solo artist.

He added: "Good things came out of those money troubles, it made me much more focused and more determined to succeed. You know this album and my solo career has to work, this isn't just about releasing an album, I want to be doing this, being an artist, for the next 20 years."

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