Ronan Keating – who is a judge on Australia’s Got Talent, alongside former X Factor judge Dannii Minogue – has spoken out for the first time about life without his wife Yvonne.

The pair announced that their marriage was over earlier this year, and it’s believed that at the heart of their difficulties was Yvonne’s inability to forgive Ronan for his affair with dancer Francine Cornell, which took place during Boyzone’s comeback tour in 2009.

But while speaking to The Sun, Ronan revealed that his children always lift his spirits whenever he feels down about what happened between himself and Yvonne.

He told the paper, “My kids are my light. You know you can pick up the phone at any time wherever you are in the world, if they’re awake, and speak to them and they lift your spirits…

“They see life so differently. I don’t know when we become adults and when we lose all of that.

“But, Christ, I wish I still had what my kids have — it’s an amazing thing.”

Of his three children, Ronan added, “They’re doing great. It’s very important that we keep things as normal as possible around them.

“That way it’s a normal household — as best we can anyway.”

However, he went on to reveal that sharing custody of their children isn’t always easy on him or Yvonne.

He said, “I go home tomorrow (to Dublin) and Yvonne flies out, it’s like you pass the baton.

“I take the kids and she goes, then I go back to Sydney on Friday so it happens in real life, every day. That’s how we are.”

On a lighter note, Ronan revealed that he’s excited to be branching out into acting, having landed a role in Aussie film Goddess.

He said, “It’s like a new career all of a sudden. It’s mad. At 35 years of age it’s like I’m starting again.

“But it was fun. It’s a great script. It’s a romantic comedy but it’s a modern-day musical.”

In the film, Ronan plays the role o fa marine biologist who spends the majority of his life at sea while his wife, who’s played by Laura Michelle Kelly, stays at home with their twin.

The paper adds, “Then his wife starts singing to a webcam in their kitchen, becomes an internet sensation and heads off to make her fortune while James stays at home with the kids — and the webcam.”

And as to whether he’ll continue acting, Ronan said, “I want to get straight into another film off the back of this as soon as possible.

“I think it’s really important for me but I want to do different things. No romantic comedies, nothing like that. You know, gritty thrillers.

“I’m a boy, of course I want to do action films. That’s what we want to do. We all want to be bloody James Bond.”

But when asked if he’s already got something in mind, Ronan teased, “I’ve got something right now which I’m waiting for.

“And if I get the news then it’s LA for July/August so we’ll see.

“I can’t say what but it’s very cool — and it’s very big…”

Oo matron.