This Morning star Jeff Brazier opened up about the challenges of parenthood and the lasting impact of the death of his former partner, Jade Goody, on his family
Jeff Brazier has made a heartbreaking admission about experiencing what is often described as empty nest syndrome, following his son Bobby Brazier’s move to New York. The presenter is father to Bobby, 23, and Freddy, 22, whom he had with the late Big Brother star Jade Goody.
In an emotional podcast appearance, the 47-year-old opened up about the difficult period following Jade’s death and how the tragedy has impacted his sons’ lives.
Freddy recently revealed he had been to rehab to overcome a drug addiction, with the support of his dad, Jeff. Last year, the presenter also waved off Bobby, an actor and model, as he embarked on a new chapter in his life overseas.
Speaking on Matt Willis’ On The Mend podcast, Jeff admitted that seeing his sons grow into adults had left him feeling “sad” and “not needed”.
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He explained: “It’s like I’m just starting to get to grips with whatever this thing, empty nesting is, and I think, as men, we might have thought that only applies to the mums.
“But I remember feeling quite redundant and also sort of quite useless really, in that, I knew what was going on with Fred and I just couldn’t get anywhere near him,” he added.
“Although we did have a period of time where we were able to connect and to do things together but there was always this sort of concern around this wellbeing,” he added.
“And with Bob as well, I don’t know, I mean Bob’s living in New York now, so I went through a period of at least nine months to a year of feeling some really sad [feelings],” he admitted.
“I think it is a grief in itself really and what you’re grieving for is their childhood and the fact it’s done now, they’re into their young adult life and it’s on them and there’s far less influence for us to have and we like to have influence because it made us feel useful,” he added.
Jeff went on to describe parenthood as “the biggest job” he’s signed up for, adding: “And now for that to almost be taken away from us by time and by them being the ages they’re at, I just remember feeling like, right, who am I if I’m not, sort of, useful to you two? And I was trying to be useful and purposeful in ways that are not needed,” he added.
During the same episode, the This Morning star also spoke about the “challenges” the family continue to face, which he believes stem from the grief they have endured.
“Her [Jade’s] void is felt on a daily basis because our family is far from perfect,” he added. “We’ve got a lot of challenges that we still face to this day. A lot of it is probably, the root source of that, is their loss.”
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