What a week. On September 6, Westlife’s Bryan McFadden threw a surprise 21st birthday party for his girlfriend, former Atomic Kitten member Kerry Katona. But they were celebrating something much more important because, six days earlier, Kerry had given birth to their first child - Molly Marie McFadden.

“So it was absolutely the best week of my life,” says an ecstatic Kerry, cradling her little bundle.

“Everything in our lives is falling into place now,” adds her besotted partner. “It really is like a dream come true.”

So much has happened to the couple in just a few years that it’s hard to believe their both just 21. They met in 1999 when their bands were touring together, soon fell in love and became secretly engaged. For both, success had not just come early but, literally, overnight.

“Three years ago,” recalls blue-eyed Dubliner Bryan, “I was working outside McDonald’s doing security. One night I got hit on the head by a Budweiser bottle - that’s how bad life was. By sheer coincidence, next day was the Westlife audition - and my world has never been the same since.”

For the full story and pictures as Bryan McFadden and girlfriend Kerry Katona introduce baby Molly, see this week’s HELLO! magazine, on sale now.