Jade Goody’s ex Jeff Brazier reveals sons are having ‘difficult time’ dealing with 10th anniversary of mum’s death
JEFF Brazier has discussed how his sons are coping ahead of the upcoming 10th anniversary of their mum Jade Goody's death.
The Big Brother star died on March 22, 2009 from cervical cancer aged just 27, and Jeff, 39, has raised their two sons; Bobby, 15, and Freddie, 14, on his own ever since.
Former Shipwrecked star Jeff, who retrained as a life coach following Jade’s death, has said it's been difficult watching his boys deal with the grief of their mother's passing.
Speaking at a panel discussion for charity Grief Encounter, Jeff, who is an ambassador for the cause which helps children to deal with the loss of a parent or sibling, opened up about his sons' struggles.
The TV presenter told the crowd: "I've been bringing up my two children who were bereaved, they lost their mum Jade 10 years ago.
"We're coming up close to the 10th anniversary, which is a really difficult time. It really stirs up so much in them. You can see their behaviour is slightly altered as a result.
Adding: "They promise as teenagers that it's not impacting on them, but obviously you know better as an adult.
"You can see it, and it's really difficult when your little babies are struggling or suffering with something that you can't take away."
Jeff explained how he has the parental instinct to "protect" his boys but hopes he can get them to the point where they can discuss their experience of grief honestly and openly.
He shared: "As a parent, you want to protect your family and we want to keep our kids away from things like that.
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"Of course, 10 years ago something happened that I couldn't take away, and it's been a crazy 10 years. We've gone up, we've gone down, we've gone up and that's pretty much on a weekly basis.
He continued: "But I take great comfort from the fact that they have some incredible traits, some tools that I know are going to really enable them to live incredible lives.
"So I have no concern over their future at all, it's just about getting them to a point where they are able to express their loss, because if they can do that, or at least I've told myself, that's my job done."
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