Jeff Brazier has spoken about the lasting impact of Jade Goody's death on his sons, admitting he could never replace her and that her absence is still felt daily, 17 years on.
Speaking on Matt Willis's On The Mend podcast, the TV presenter opened up about the trauma his sons Freddie and Bobby have lived through, and how it has shaped their family life.
Avoiding the 'mum and dad' label
Jeff said he never tried to replace Jade, who died from cervical cancer in 2009 at the age of 27. He told Matt Willis: "I can't find any meaning around her losing her life when she had so much to give. She was the fierce, protective mum that they both really could have done with."
He added: "I tried to do as much as I can, but you can never replace. I didn't ever try and replace her. I think a lot of people maybe get it wrong when they say you've been mum and dad. I think that's wrong."
Jeff continued: "I feel disrespectful to Jade if I ever acknowledged that and said 'yeah, thank you'. I haven't. I was the dad. I could only play that role. They lost their mum. You can't fill those boots no matter who I met and how lovely they were, they're never going to feel that void."
Struggles with addiction and family challenges
The 22-year-old Freddie has faced addiction and life struggles, which Jeff attributes to the loss of his mother. Jeff revealed he searched the streets to bring Freddie home and even went to the police for help, trying to physically stop him leaving the house.
Jeff said: "Her void is felt on a daily basis because our family is far from perfect. We've got a lot of challenges that we still face to this day. A lot of it is probably, the root source of that, is their loss."
He added: "I think prisons are probably full of people that have lost someone, and just didn't learn how to control their emotions or didn't learn how to heal. There's a lot of things for us to work on and work through and we continue to do that to this day."
Freddie's recent life
Freddie fathered a child with former girlfriend Holly Swinburn last year, but multiple splits and a period of not speaking have added further strain to the family.
Jeff admitted he and Jade had struggled to make their relationship work, despite their hopes of providing a stable family life for their children.
