Ronan Keating says Christmas will not be the same without Stephen Gately.
The Boyzone singer admits the group's traditional festive get-together on Boxing Day (26.12.09) will be strange without the late star, who died of natural causes aged 33 in October.
Ronan said: "It's going to be hard, because we always saw each other at some point over the Christmas holidays. It's going to be tough not having him around.
"The only way to get through this is to look after each other. We're always on the phone to each other, we go for dinner and make sure we keep our minds occupied."
Despite the tragedy, the singer is trying to learn from it and appreciating everything he has.
He added: "Stephen's death has put everything into perspective and taught me that life is short and fragile. You have to smile every day, laugh every day and tell your loved ones that you love them every day because you never know what's round the corner."
Stephen died of natural causes after a night out with his husband Andrew Cowles in Majorca.