Irish Sunday Mirror 2006 An Irish Tenor Talks About The Toughest Decision He Ever Made An Exclusive Linda Duff Irish Tenor's star Finbar Wright confesses he was a staggering 32 years old before he lost is virginity. The hunky singer admits he was first attracted to girls at 16 - and it was his desire for a wife and family that finally drove him out of the priesthood. But he refuses to name his first mystery lover. Finbar, 47 said: "I waited until I was 32 before losing my virginity. I was not a priest any more. I can't say who this was with. But I married my wife Angela and we now have two great children, they are 14 and 12 and life is lovely." Finbar, who takes over as Late Late Show host for the summer confesses he was first attracted to women at sweet sixteen. The Cork born superstar went on to become the world's youngest priest at just 22 years old. But the longing for a family was too strong, and he was forced to give up his dream. The opera star said telling aged mum Julia, 92 was the hardest part of leaving the priesthood. He added: "It was one of the most miserable days of my life. I had to tell her. My Mother who is very Catholic and very tractional eventually understood I couldn't go on. But as you can understand there was a bit of talk about my decision that I was no longer going to be a priest But in the end I decided it just wasn't for me. Finbar went on to be a massive start worldwide with fellow tenors, Karl Scully and Anthony Kearns. He also tasted solo success with 6 solo albums and #five smash The Essential Finbar Wright and RTE plans to show an Irish Tenors Christmas Special. The Irish Tenors have gained worldwide respect with their concerts for heads of states and are a smash in America where they have performed before the Whitehouse and at many top sporting events. The pin-up priest even has GROUPIES, and admits to boozy late night drinking sessions after a show. He said "Now I don't drink myself, but there can be a good few beers after recording the show. No drink before singing, but afterwards we all put our feet up and the drinks can flow, And yea, we do get groupies, always. They come from all over the world to see us." "It's great to say hello to them. I don't see myself as 'gorgeous', but it is nice to get the attention." "But I'm a family man and I let the other lads take over a bit more. But it's all just nice and friendly banter. We all just love the music together." "And the fans are incredibly supportive." But it could all have been different if Church law allowed the devoted family man to marry. Finbar's first loves were sexy senoritas when he was sent to Spain at just 16. He believes the Church's insistence on priest remaining celibate is a major flaw n the Catholic Church's system. He said: " It was a huge blow to the system to be away from home. Such a culture change, trying to get to grips with the language. To understand and to be understood. "And the Spanish girls were just beautiful. Of course we weren't allowed to date any girls. "And I do think in the end this is one of the greatest difficulties of the whole priesthood thing." "I then eventually got back to Maynooth to continue my training and actually, we were all laughing about this on the show, because the college was full of girls. "We were all studing for the priesthood and there were so many beautiful girls studying there as well. Lots of them had been sent there by their parents from Dublin and all over the country because it was thought it would be safer for them." "But we'd come down in the morning for breakfast and the girls would be sitting there. Little did their parents know. "The ratio was about two girls for every one mail." "But we survived. And eventually they separated us all up and the girls had their special place to sit and do did we." "But I have to say the day I realized I could not go on as a priest was painful. But I had to make up my mind." Finbar went on to marry beloved wife Angela - with mum Julia's full blessings. He said "I met my wife Angela at music college in Cork. We'd known each other before, but when I left the priesthood we just clicked. "When my mother saw how happy it made me, she fully understood." The ex-priest - who still goes to mass - said he spotted gay priests when he was in the seminary. He added: "I would wonder sometimes about these gay issues. And would sometimes be suspicious. "I'd wondered about a few guys, But I actually did not have any particular experiences. "You see when I wanted to be a priest times back then were different. They had a lot of respect in the community. Times have moved on. "And in the end, I realized that what I maybe should have been was a social worker. I wanted to help people. But what a priest does primarily is preach the Gospel. "And I hadn't the fire in me to do that. I am still very spiritual, it is an essential part of your being and I still go to mass." The Irish Tenor star has racked up an amazing eight best selling albums, and hit the Top 10 in America's Billboard Chart. But Finbar admits he is still nervous at stepping into Pat Kenny's shoes. He said : "it's a daunting task to take over the Late Late Show slot. "But we hope it will be a cosy experience and one that people will enjoy." And the singing sensation has tricks up his sleeve - a special performance by "Pop Idol" Shayne Ward, who will perform When You Were Sweet Sixteen with his cousin Finbar Furey of the Fureys fame. He said "That is a great Irish connection and it was a lovely moment to have them perform together." "That could be a massive single to put out."