I’m proud my boy Bobby has made a name for himself but hope fame doesn’t bring him same pain as Jade, says Jeff Brazier
PREPARING for the moment your kids fly the nest can be hard for any parent, but for Jeff Brazier it feels particularly poignant.
The doting 43-year-old dad has raised sons Bobby, 19, and Freddie, 18, ever since their mum, Big Brother’s Jade Goody, died from cancer 13 years ago, aged 27.
He describes fatherhood as his “life’s work”, so there’s a sense that with the boys growing up, Jeff will struggle without them.
“I always thought I was ready for it and I obviously saw it coming a mile off, but you can never really prepare yourself for the feeling of redundancy that takes place,” he says.
Bobby, who recently joined EastEnders as Freddie Slater, and Freddie, a model, still live at home in Essex with their dad and his wife, PR director Kate Dwyer, 32.
But when they do finally leave, TV presenter Jeff hopes one way he will be able to spend quality time with them is with trips in his new, state-of-the-art motorhome.
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He splashed out £80,000 on the custom-made VW Transporter and can’t wait to hit the road with his two sons.
“I hope it will be the thing that brings us together,” he says.
“Sometimes kids do go off on their own adventures and that’s that, but I think if I was to say, ‘Right boys, let’s go away and do this’, they’d be up for that.”
‘They’re old enough to do their own thing’
Jeff has happy memories of a road trip with Bobby and Freddie two years ago, when he hired a campervan and set off for Devon for what turned out to be one of his “most treasured family trips ever”.
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He explains: “The boys were very reluctant at the idea of it initially. But once we got on the motorway and they were sat in the back with their feet up, it suddenly made sense to them.
“It was a bit of an adventure. Sometimes the holidays we remember the most fondly are the ones that were simpler and less stressful.”
What’s less certain is whether his wife will be joining them.
“She’s not necessarily going to fancy going with all of us, because she’ll be worried about the noises and smells,” says Jeff, who is appearing at the Motorhome and Caravan Show at Birmingham’s NEC on Sunday.
“It’s not for everyone. However, I think she’ll be more than happy to come to selected destinations.”
Jeff says he and Kate are doing well, but admits the relationship has taken a lot of hard work.
Following rumours of a split a year after their 2018 wedding, the pair sought couples counselling, which Jeff later credited with saving their marriage.
He says: “I don’t believe there’s a successful marriage that hasn’t had to be worked on tirelessly. It requires constant communication.
“We’ve overcome hurdles and obstacles that would probably have been enough to end it for a lot of other couples.” He has also been seeing a therapist for the past six years.
‘More honest and more real’
He says: “I’m now a better dad, a better husband and a better friend. I’m a better everything, on account of being more honest and more real.”
With his family grown, Jeff says having more children is not on the cards. He adds: “I think with fatherhood, I’ve done it the hard way. I started earlier than most, not through anybody’s fault.
“It’s been a major challenge on so many fronts, so I’m looking forward to being able to go off in my little campervan when I want, without necessarily feeling like I’m responsible for doing it all over again.
“Everything is good the way it is.”
Jeff, who is a trained life coach, also has ambitions of putting his motorhome to good use by setting up drive-through counselling sessions to help those in need.
He says: “We have drive-through fast-food establishments and car washes. I want to do some sort of drive-through therapy.
“I want to be able to plot up somewhere and for cars to be able to just pull up next to me, grab the 20 minutes or whatever it is they need in terms of conversation and just be heard or validated, and then be able to pull off without necessarily getting out of their car.
“This will be something slightly different. I’m really keen to try that out and the campervan will be a big part of that.”
I knew he was going to end up in the industry somehow.
Jeff
Although Jeff describes his sons as “kind, fun and charismatic”, he worries how they will handle fame now they are both emerging into the spotlight.
Asked how he felt about Bobby being papped at the National Television Awards last week while cosying up to a trio of girls, including his EastEnders co-star Danielle Harold, he says: “I don’t like it.
“I just get nervous, because what do you imagine that triggers for me, given the experiences I had years and years ago with his mum?
“I know the hurt that we experienced as a result of certain scenarios and obviously don’t want my children to experience the same.
“But they’re old enough to do their own thing. I can only hope that I’ve talked enough sense over time for them to be able to navigate those aspects in a way that works for them.”
He adds that he was “a bit worried” about Bobby joining a huge show like EastEnders, but says: “I knew he was going to end up in the industry somehow.
“Bob’s done exactly what I would’ve wanted him to do, not in terms of modelling and acting, but ultimately earning the right to be referred to by his name, and not as somebody’s son. And he has earned that.
“He has a great attitude and professionalism. He’s got all the ingredients he’ll need to go out and absorb everything he can from those highly skilled and experienced actors that he works with and see where it takes him.
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“The truth is, what kid or young adult ever wants to listen to anyone else’s advice?
“Ultimately they just want to live their life and if they’re going to make a mistake, they’re entitled to make it off their own back.”
- Jeff will appear at the Motorhome and Caravan Show, taking place at the NEC until Sunday. Tickets, £15, are on sale at mcshow.co.uk.