Jef has opened up candidly about how hard parenting was after Jade’s untimely death (Image: Getty Images)Get daily celeb exclusives and behind the scenes house tours direct to your inboxMore Newsletters SubscribePlease enter a valid emailSomething went wrong, please try again later.More NewslettersWe use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. More infoThank you for subscribing!We have more newslettersShow me See OurPrivacy Notice See OurPrivacy Notice×Group 28 Get daily celeb exclusives and behind the scenes house tours direct to your inboxInvalid emailSomething went wrong, please try again later.Sign UpNo thanks, closeWe use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. More info×Group 28Thank you for subscribing!We have more newslettersShow MeNo thanks, closeSee our
Privacy NoticeJeff Brazier has opened up about the invaluable support he received from his mum during the tough times following Jade Goody’s passing. The 45 year old television presenter, who is father to EastEnders and Strictly sensation Bobby Brazier, 21, and Freddy, 19, recently shared an emotional journey with Freddy on BBC’s Celebrity Race Around The World. The experience brought the pair closer together as they navigated the challenges of the race. Reflecting on the years after Jade’s untimely death in 2009 at just 27 years old, Jeff has spoken out about the struggles he faced raising Bobby and Freddy, who were only five and four at the time. Despite having separated from Jade in 2004, Jeff was thrust into single parenthood and the spotlight that came with it.
Jeff admits he knew he had to make ‘a sacrifice’ to focus on parenting his two boys
(Image: COPYRIGHT UNKNOWN)
Now happily married to PR director Kate Dwyer, Jeff has revealed how his mother played a crucial role in helping him balance work and family life. In a heartfelt conversation on Laura Hamilton’s new podcast, Mile Fly Club, Jeff looked back on those demanding early days. He shared: “I wasn’t [in a relationship] with Jade [when she died], so I didn’t feel like I really had the right to make it about me in the slightest, even though I knew I was the one who was holding the weight of the responsibility of bringing the kids up and what that meant and knowing that, you know, obviously there was a public interest in it as well.”, reports the Mirror. Jeff opened up about the incredible support he received from his family after Jade’s tragic death, saying: “But my mum was incredible, as was my auntie, Leslie. I always have to mention that, because my mum went so far as moving home to actually support us in those early years when I really needed help. I was working [on] This Morning, sort of two or three days a week at the time with other stuff, and I was really grateful at the time.”
Jeff became a dad very young – and then unexpectly the sole parent of Freddy and Bobby
(Image: jeffbrazier)
He continued, reflecting on the importance of being there for his children: “I remember just thinking this is amazing that my mum can do the school drop and I’ll always be home to pick them up, and I know a lot of kids wouldn’t see their parents that much. But I knew there and then that that was a sacrifice that I was gonna have to make, in that it wasn’t about working all the hours. In fact, I made sure that I didn’t do that.” The TV presenter stressed the significance of balance in life, especially when it comes to parenting: “I made sure that what I did was reasonable, so that I had a balance between bringing these boys up and being present which I knew was going to be really, really important, and going out and working and whatever else comes into it.”
Jeff and Laura Hamilton on the Mile Fly Club podcast
(Image: Laura Hamilton’s ‘Mile Fly Club’)
Jeff also revealed the delayed impact Jade’s passing had on him, admitting: “I didn’t start coping with it I don’t think, until maybe seven or eight years later, when I started having therapy. At the time I remember doing what is quite typical, really, and that is that I made it all about the kids.” Laura Hamilton’s Mile Fly Club podcast, brought to you by Studio Bolt, is available for streaming on all major audio platforms. You can also watch and subscribe to it on https://www.youtube.com/@MileFlyClub.Story SavedYou can find this story in My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.Follow OK! MagazineFacebookTwitterCommentMore OnEastEndersThis MorningJade GoodyJeff BrazierLaura HamiltonBobby Brazier
