Why Jade Goody would be incredibly proud of her beloved sons as fans mark the eighth anniversary of her death
Jeff Brazier has shielded the boys from the spotlight - but has in recent weeks shared candid photographs of their home life on Instagram
IT has been eight years since Jade Goody lost her battle with cervical cancer.
Before her tragic death at just 27, the Big Brother icon was a devoted mum to sons Bobby Jack and Freddie, who were then aged five and four.
Jade would often be photographed with her adorable sons at film premieres, on fun family days out and for glossy magazine shoots, where she gushed about them in accompanying interviews.
Since her passing, Jeff Brazier, the boys’ father, has raised them out of the media spotlight.
TV presenter Jeff, who split from Jade in 2004 after two years together, flew them to Australia to keep them out of the public eye.
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“We went out there for three weeks just to really sort of take stock and try and find our feet amidst everything that was going absolutely bonkers at the time,” he told the .
Fiercely protective of his brood, Jeff has continued to shield them from the spotlight - but has in recent weeks shared candid photographs of their home life with his 51,000 Instagram followers.
And what dapper, charming young lads Jade’s boys have grown up to be.
As they enter their teens, it’s clear Bobby, now 13, and Freddie, 12, have inherited their fashionable father’s style.
One sweet shot shows Bobby dressed in a khaki green bomber jacket, skinny black jeans and suede boots travelling down an escalator alongside Freddie, who looks smart in a navy blazer and white shirt.
Jeff captioned the picture, which was taken in London’s Westfield Stratford City shopping centre, “So far so good.”
The extremely-close bond between the trio is explicit to see.
Jeff has shared snaps of them on beach holidays, curled up on the sofa together watching Match of the Day and celebrating sporting achievements at a football match.
One emotive image sees Jeff walking down the street with Freddie, hand-in-hand.
He captioned it: “He might be mischievous and tirelessly energetic but Freddy’s emotional intelligence, loyalty and deep caring for others tells me this little boy is going to fly through life #PeopleSkills.”
He praised son Bobby in a separate post, writing: “Definitely took his mum’s best features, I wonder if he’ll ever get any #modelling opportunities. #Handsome.”
Jade is never far from the family’s memory and they dedicate a day a month to chatting about her.
Jeff said: “On the 15th of each month that’s 'Mummy Day'. We can talk about her obviously at any time and we do, but the 15th of the month means we are particularly focused on it.
"We release balloons or we write letters and post them, whether they think they are going to get there or not it doesn’t matter, it’s expressing.”
Last month Jeff admitted he had found a "purpose" after writing a book about grief and becoming a bereavement counsellor.
Meanwhile, Jack Tweed paid tribute to his late wife on social media by sharing a photo of them together, before urging fans to honour her memory and get tested for cervical cancer.
Jack captioned it: “5th June, 1981 – 22nd march, 2009 #RememberJade #rip #smeartest.”
Fans immediately sent supportive messages, as one wrote: “Rip jade. never forgotten.”
One added: “Can’t believe it’s 8 years already rip jade x.”
And one even added: “Off for mine today…#smeartest.”
Jade lost her battle with cancer in March 2009, having married Jack just the month before.
She started what has since been named the Jade Goody Effect, as she urged her fans to get smear tests in order to detect early signs of cervical cancer.
What is Cervical Cancer?
Cervical cancer is defined as when the disease starts in the neck of the womb, otherwise known as the cervix, according to Cancer Research UK.
In 2014 there were 3,224 new cases – and 890 deaths, which means its the most common form of the disease in women under 35.
Generally, it’s caused by persistent infections with the human papillomavirus (HPV), which is contracted through sex. Thankfully, most young women in the UK are immunised against it, although boys aren’t.
Two strains of the HPV virus (HPV 16 and HPV 18) are known to be responsible for most cases, but most women who have them don’t develop cervical cancer.