U2 frontman Bono discovers his cousin is actually his half-brother

The U2 frontman has revealed the identity of his secret half-brother - who he thought was his cousin growing up.

U2 band member Bono. (Photo by Mark Sagliocco/Getty Images)

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, The Irish Sun reported.

Bono’s dad Bob Hewson had an affair with his wife Iris’ sister - the singer’s aunt Barbara.

Iris, who died suddenly when Bono 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.

Stream more entertainment news live & on demand with Flash. 25+ news channels in 1 place. New to Flash? Try 1 month free. Offer ends 31 October, 2022 >

Bono of U2. Picture: AFP PHOTO / Chris Roussakis

He told the Irish Times: “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.

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.”

U2 band member Bono. (Photo by Mark Sagliocco/Getty Images)

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.”

This story was originally published by The Irish Sun and was reproduced with permission