star Mary Byrne has opened up about her past and current love life, including how she lost her virginity.
The singer, who appeared in the 2010 edition of the talent show with , is baring all in a new stage play, Check Me Out, based on her colourful life.
The musical at the Civic Theatre in Tallagh will touch on the first time the 63-year-old had sex, which was with a previous boyfriend, who she began dating aged 16, in a churchyard.
‘I’m still on good terms with him,’ she admitted.
Mary also detailed her current romantic status, revealing she had been casually seeing a man from Cork for the past few months and describing them as ‘friends with the odd benefit.’
She looked back fondly on a previous two-year relationship with a woman, who now lives in America and runs a dog grooming business, in an interview with .
Mary recalled: ‘It happened once, I had a relationship. I know myself I’m not gay. That doesn’t mean none of us can fall in love with the same sex. Everybody has that tendency.
‘You want to find somebody who’s kind and gentle to them, it doesn’t matter what sex they are. Love is love, it doesn’t matter who you are. I do not regret my lesbian relationship.
‘I do not regret it all. It was part of me and it made me grow.’
Mary starred in series seven of the X Factor, judged then by Simon Cowell, Cheryl Cole, Dannii Minogue and Louis Walsh.
The season was eventually won by Matt Cardle, with Rebecca Ferguson in second place and One Direction in third and Mary finishing fifth.
Mary told Sunday World One Direction and the rest of the contestants called her ‘Mammy Mary.’
She explained: ‘I did treat them like kids and they treated me like their mammy.
‘They never came to me with problems, maybe sewing a pair of underpants or a nice t-shirt that they bought and giving them a little bit of advice, whatever I could I did. They were kids and they were lovely and they treated me really well, but I was Mammy Mary, definitely.
‘The last time I saw Niall (Horan) was a good four or five years ago. We were at some thing in England and he came over and gave me a hug, like he always did. Every morning they woke up and gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek.’
Check Me Out runs from September 14-17 at the Civic Theatre in Tallagh.
