When Jade Goody died from cervical cancer in 2009, her devastated ex-partner Jeff Brazier was left to bring up their two young boys, Bobby and Freddy, on his own.
So when, four years after Jade’s death, PR executive Kate Dwyer took on the role of stepmother, Jeff was thrilled.
Since then, it seems, the Braziers’ new ‘blended’ family life with Kate has been a model of harmony.
Today, however, insiders reveal that this picture-perfect family unit has been an illusion carefully curated by TV host Jeff – now a parenting expert on ITV’s daytime programme This Morning.
After news broke yesterday that he had split from Kate – who he married seven years ago – insiders have come forward to reveal the truth about their volatile relationship and the turbulence behind closed doors.
As one source explains: ‘Jeff desperately wanted to portray the perfect family and had always hoped that Kate could fill the void left by Jade Goody – but Bobby and Freddy never truly accepted her as “stepmum”.
‘To them, she was always “Dad’s partner” rather than someone they felt truly connected to, and they believe she changed Jeff.
‘But the fact is that Kate and Jeff had a fiery relationship, too, despite the public displays. This is far from their first split, and some of the rows have been pretty ugly away from the cameras.’
To make matters worse for the family, and as the Daily Mail revealed yesterday, Jeff’s youngest son Freddy, 21, has also split from his on/off girlfriend, Holly Swinburn, who is pregnant with their child.
Holly left Freddy shell-shocked this year when she sent him a photograph of a positive pregnancy test. They had already parted by then, and Freddy demanded a paternity test.
Freddy, who has struggled with drug use and mental-health problems, was confirmed as the father and insisted he would stay with Holly until the baby arrives in spring.
They made several public appearances together, posing on the red carpet of ITV’s Pride Of Britain Awards in London last month, with Freddy resting his hand on Holly’s growing baby bump while beaming for the cameras.
Jeff Brazier and his wife Kate Dwyer have split up following seven years of marriage
Freddy, left, and Bobby Brazier are said to be rebelling against their father amid family turmoil
The boys’ mother, TV personality Jade Goody, died from cervical cancer in 2009
But there have been a series of bust-ups over money, the ownership of their pet dog Pablo and alarming allegations from both sides which were so serious, I’m told, that the police became involved. It caused great concern among those close to them – especially Jeff, who has spent much of this year attempting to use legal action to curtail Freddy’s wild behaviour.
The young couple are now at war with one another, prompting some in the Brazier circles to muse that it appears to be a case of history repeating itself – Jeff split from Jade when their boys were tiny.
And, I can reveal, it was Jeff’s determination to control Freddy that helped spark the latest strain in his own marriage – and his decision to hire lawyers to prevent his younger son from seeing his beloved grandmother Jackiey Budden (Jade Goody’s mother) after Jeff fell out with her.
A friend explains: ‘Kate is a lot of fun, she’s sexy and a bit of a party girl – and she wanted to keep enjoying the high life, jetting around the world and taking advantage of their freedom now the boys are older.
‘Instead Jeff became obsessed over this legal war with Jackiey, and it put more strain on their marriage.
‘Kate doesn’t have kids of her own and has an exciting job working in the PR industry. She wanted to take full advantage of the lifestyle they had and felt as though Jeff was holding that back.’
It is understood that bubbly Kate, 35, who was at Jeff’s side as he cheered on son Bobby, now 22, during his stint on Strictly in 2023, moved out of the family home three weeks ago, and has since flown to the US where she attended the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
She posted photographs at a raunchy burlesque show in Sin City this week, writing: ‘Absinthe is always the best show in Vegas.’
Meanwhile Jeff, 46, who has yet to talk directly about the split, hinted at a break-up in a social-media update of his own, sharing photographs of his new countryside property and describing himself being at a ‘transitional time’ in his life, adding the words: ‘Living in calm.’
Jeff must certainly have been looking for calm after his roller-coaster relationship with Kate. I am told that one incident in particular – which cannot be divulged for legal reasons – led to Jeff and Kate temporarily splitting some years back.
‘Jade’s mother Jackiey can’t stand Kate and blames her for a lot of their family disputes and splits,’ says one source.
‘Bobby and Freddy kind of tolerated her, but they never got properly close to her as a mother figure – and they saw the volatility behind the scenes between her and Jeff.’
Escaping the acrimony, Bobby has stepped away from showbiz and moved to India in pursuit of spiritual enlightenment – having become enthralled by the Hare Krishna religion after joining the group in London.
The aspiring model, who played Freddie Slater in BBC1 soap EastEnders, has endured his own turbulent relationship with his father. So difficult did things become between the pair that Bobby moved out of Jeff’s Essex home into his own Soho apartment in central London, near the Hare Krishna temple.
A source close to the family said at the time: ‘Bobby’s always had a spiritual side, but this is intentional. It’s clear he’s trying to leave all the fighting and noise behind.
‘Freddy’s rebellion is loud – drugs, public slanging matches and legal battles about his Nana. But actually it’s just as defiant. He’s turning his back on the life his Dad created for them in Essex and following his own path.’
Freddy, who appeared on TV alongside his dad last year on BBC hit Celebrity Race Across The World, has been more outspoken in his frustrations at his father, insisting Jeff’s fractured relationship with Jade’s mum Jackiey has been ‘incredibly detrimental to his wellbeing’.
But in a candid interview with the Daily Mail this year, he told how ‘nothing my Dad does will keep me away from seeing my Nan, even if we have to leave the country’, explaining that she remained the closest person in his life to his late mother.
For her part, Jackiey raged that Jeff had no right to block her relationship with her grandson.
Freddy also lashed out about his father over money – insisting his Dad had kept control over his finances, despite him becoming an adult.
The boys each inherited a trust fund from their mother, which they gain full access to once they are 25 – but the 21-year-old complained that what money he currently has is tightly overseen by his protective father.
While living away from his father at the height of the dispute, he claimed to have ‘barely eaten’ in days due to his precarious financial position, insisting his father refused to give him access to his money to prevent him from straying further away.
Despite Jeff’s efforts to contain the family unit and present a united front, those close to the situation say the Braziers are now ‘further apart than ever’.
And that, they say, is likely to infuriate the TV host.
As one put it: ‘Jeff has always tried to paint a certain picture, which in truth was always bulls***. Now that’s all coming out for the world to see, he will be absolutely furious.
‘He’s tried to claim they’re the close-knit family and when that started to fall apart he tried to control it with PR spin and lawyers – the truth is, they’ve never been more divided.
‘And there’s no amount of spin or photo opportunities which will hide that.’
