London, November 7 (ANI): Ronan Keating has confessed that the sudden death of fellow Boyzone member Stephen Gately has hit him harder than the loss of his mother11 years ago.

The singer revealed he was finding it very hard to come to terms with Gately's passing away, which he said was even worse than the time his mother died of cancer.

With my mum, she was sick for a while that we had almost two years to prepare for the end, the Mirror quoted him as saying.

We built a wall with mum. She was 51 and I was 20 at the time; it was the hardest thing I knew, at the time. I went through a lot of dark times.

But with Steve, it was a shock and so sudden.

We don't know what has happened which has made it so devastating. Steve was 33. A young man, with so much to give, so much life. It shows how fragile life is, he added.

Gately was found dead at his holiday home in Spain on October 10 this year. (ANI)