U2 star Bono reveals identity of secret half-brother who he thought was his cousin
BONO has revealed the identity of his secret half-brother who he thought was his cousin growing up.
The U2 star, 62, first found out about his sibling Scott Rankin in 2000.
Bono's dad Bob Hewson had an affair with his wife Iris' sister - the singer's aunt Barbara.
Iris, who died suddenly when the Glasnevin native was just 14, was unaware of the relationship.
Bob told Bono that Scott, a former stockbroker’s analyst and now State official, was actually his brother after being diagnosed with cancer in 2000.
The With Or Without You star's father later passed away from the illness in 2001.
And Bono has revealed that Scott always felt like a brother to him.
He told the “The truth is with Scott we felt like brothers long before we knew we were.
"I love Scott and his mother Barbara. I must have known that something was up and I must have held my father responsible for kind of making my mother unhappy in the way kids just pick up things."
Bono, who’s set to release his memoir Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story next month, had a bumpy relationship with his dad and "longed" for his attention.
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He added: “I just longed for the attention of my father, and I have some lovely memories; it wasn’t all combative.
"Music was the thing that soothed his aching heart. It sounds like a line from a country song.
"But it’s actually opera I am talking about. That is why he was attracted to the opera, because he was one, and I suppose he had the voice and this is how he gave it to me.
"It is never the route you expect."
'I DIDN'T KNOW'
Bono first revealed in June that he had a secret half-brother who he loves and adores.
Speaking to Lauren Laverne on BBC Radio's Desert Island Discs, he said: "I do have another brother whom I love and adore that I didn’t know I had, or maybe I did.
"My father was obviously going through a lot but partly his head was elsewhere because his heart was elsewhere.
"So I think that was part of the problem I was picking up as a kid."
LONG MARRIAGE
Last week, Bono shared his secret to a long lasting marriage with his wife Ali.
They got married back in 1982 and celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary on August 31.
The happy couple met at just aged 12 at Dublin’s Mount Temple Comprehensive School.
They share four children together, Jordan, 33, Eve, 31, Elijah, 23, and John, 21.
In a recent interview for the New Yorker Festival, he said: "It is a grand madness about us."
Bono opened up about how friendship is key to a happy marriage.
He said: "But I would say if you ask me seriously, friendship can outpace romantic love, sometimes. And friendship is what myself and Ali have.
"When you have romantic love and friendship, that's really something special.
"Any time either of us got lost, the other would be there to get the other one home.
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"And I'm so grateful. And it was brilliant when we got to 40, and we went, 'Let's not f*** this up now.' "
