Freddy Brazier, 20, Speaks Out on Upcoming Fatherhood

Freddy Brazier has finally broken his silence on the news he is set to become a father at the age of 20, in an Instagram post on Friday.

The son of the late Jade Goody and TV star Jeff Brazier is preparing to welcome the baby with an ex-girlfriend.

After weeks of remaining tight-lipped on the pregnancy, the model wrote and repeated in a video: ‘I’m actually a DILF to be!’ – an acronym for an attractive older man, typically one who has children.

This week, Freddy’s older brother Bobby, 22, spoke about becoming an uncle for the first time at the NTAs.

Bobby told Daily Mail: ‘I’m excited to become an. Uncle, it’s going to be a team effort, like raising anything is. My dad has been super supportive and we’re going to raise the baby together.’ 

But when asked if it was going to be a healing force between his family who have recently been experiencing a rift after his brother fell out with his father Jeff, Bobby said: ‘I’m not sure about healing but we’re going to raise it together.

‘At first I thought it could have been a prank when I heard about it,’ Bobby admitted. 

The Strictly star revealed he first heard about it when the Mail on Sunday broke the story last month and he called up his father who confirmed the revelation.

Jeff and Freddy have spent much of the last year estranged, only to be reunited some weeks ago after the baby announcement.

‘There was only one person that Freddy could have turned to,’ a source told the Mail on Sunday. ‘His dad.’

While relations had been strained for some time, particularly when Jeff hired lawyers in a bid to stop Freddy seeing his notoriously unstable grandmother, he always knew that his father would be there for him if a crisis arose.

The source continued: ‘He has been in close contact with Jeff ever since, and has been taking his advice.

‘It came as a shock to Freddy that he is going to be a dad and he needed some help navigating it. Jeff has been amazing and is helping him so much.’

Sources revealed that Freddy would like a DNA test to be conducted on the child to ensure that it is actually his before he gets too involved in arrangements for the baby’s future.

‘The relationship was quite short lived and he wants to be certain before he plans the rest of his life around it,’ said one friend.

Freddy’s brief relationship with the woman is said to have ended acrimoniously following a string of rows – which even saw each of them make allegations to the police.

It is perhaps no surprise then that, as a source says: ‘Jeff wants to meet the girl’s family so that they can all deal with this together.’

His surprise baby news has prompted a reconciliation with dad Jeff, 46, after following several months of the father and son being at war with each other.

Sources close to the Braziers say Freddy has discussed his forthcoming fatherhood with his father – This Morning’s parenting expert. 

Jeff is said to be ‘extremely supportive’ alongside other close family and friends who have vowed to help him in any way they can.

A friend told The Mail on Sunday: ‘It has blindsided him and has been one of the things that has really brought him and his dad back together but it’s so devastating that Jade isn’t here to see it.

‘Jeff was one of the first people he decided to confide in to ask for advice, and he stepped up straight away and wanted to help in any way he could.’

And he appeared to address the news about Freddy’s impending fatherhood just a day earlier, with a cryptic Instagram post.

Taking to his Stories, Jeff issued a plea to his followers for a ‘parenting guidebook’ on ‘unconventional early adult years’.

He shared a selfie of himself lying on the couch with his youngest, with Freddy curled up alongside his dad with his head resting on Jeff’s chest.

Captioning the sweet snap, Jeff begged fans: ‘If someone could send me that parenting guidebook, particularly “early adult years the unconventional path” that would be really helpful, thanks [kiss emoji and laughing emoji].’

Millions of fans fell in love with Freddy last year, when he and his father appeared on Celebrity Race Across the World.

The pair were seen having some tough moments and opening up about their family dynamic, as well as arguing about Freddy and his brother Bobby’s upbringing during the 30-day trek.

In one scene Jeff stormed off after Freddy claimed they were ‘not open as a family’, prompting his father to reply: ‘What have I done for the last seven or eight years? You need to take responsibility, that is part of this.’

Freddy has endured a turbulent few weeks following a high profile battle with his dad over the last six months – after Jeff launched legal action in a bid to prevent the aspiring model from seeing his grandmother, Jade’s mum Jackiey Budden.

In a bombshell U-turn, Freddy accused his grandmother of getting him hooked on strong cannabis when he was just 12 – having previously insisted she had never been responsible for his drug use. 

In a preview from his podcast, he said: ‘No it wasn’t with my nan [the first time] although my nan is definitely the person who introduced me to reefer and got me hooked. It’s one of those things, I was 12’.

He continued: ‘I’ve been smoking since I was 12, I’ve been to rehab, I’ve been sectioned, I’ve had manic episodes, I’ve been sectioned. There’s been a real journey and it’s been a tough one’.

Freddy also claimed that he had spent years fearful that Jackiey would end her life if he did ‘prioritise’ their relationship, amid her ongoing feud with his father Jeff.

He said: ‘I feel like if I didn’t prioritise the relationship with my mum’s mum Jackiey, and I didn’t feel like I had to be around for her, I was scared that if I wasn’t, she’d kill herself.’

Adding: ‘And I had that in my head for so long to the point where I pushed my dad away and I would stay at my nan’s for months, go on mad ones.’ 

His comments prompted Jackiey to blast back, insisting she is not responsible for his cannabis use.

She said: ‘I’ve read all these things he’s said about me and I just can’t believe he’d say them. It just isn’t true at all – I can’t believe it.’

Freddy lost his mother, former Big Brother star Jade, to cervical cancer in 2009 when he was just four years old.

In June he shared a now-deleted TikTok post about his mental health, featuring personal photos of himself with his brother Bobby and late mum Jade, alongside a series of captions about his state of mind.

The video, set to the heartbreaking audio of Ricky Gervais’s character expressing his sadness in a scene from his Netflix show After Life, Freddy’s video included statements from the audio which included: ‘I feel sad all the time. I’m not the person I was!’ 

‘I lost most of me and all the good stuff, all the happiness enjoying, I feel like I’m nothing you know?’

‘People think I’m sort of OK you know? Like, I’m getting on with it, I’m snarky now and again, and this is a lapse. But it’s not! This is me all the time now. I’m not well but I remember what it was like to be normal so I do an impression of that.’

‘But this is what I really am and I want to be normal again. But I’m weak you know?’ 

Captioning his post, Freddy penned: ‘As a man, I bottle up my emotions and hide my feelings away. I rarely let them out to play. Feelings are being felt and thoughts are being heard and played out.’

He then asked his male followers how they were mentally and urged them to speak out about how they felt and what was ‘hurting them’.

In March, Freddy revealed he had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder in a candid video about his ‘serious’ mental health. 

The Race Across The World star discussed his struggles with bipolar and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in a TikTok post filmed for No Cause, No Cure, Epilepsy Awareness.

Bipolar causes unusual and often sudden changes in mood and energy levels, while ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by persistent inattention, hyperactivity and impulsiveness.