Jeff Brazier has spoken candidly about the "really sad" feelings brought on by empty nest syndrome after his eldest son, Bobby Brazier, moved to New York last year. The 47-year-old This Morning star saw his 23-year-old son head to the US, where he is pursuing a modelling career after leaving EastEnders and appearing on Strictly Come Dancing.
Jeff's younger son, Freddy, 22, who remains in the UK, recently spoke publicly about his time in rehab for drug addiction. The family continues to feel the loss of Bobby and Freddy's mother, Jade Goody, who died in 2009 after a battle with cervical cancer.
Opening Up on the On The Mend Podcast
Speaking on Matt Willis' On The Mend podcast, Jeff reflected on the emotional challenges of watching his sons grow into adults and adjusting to a life in which they no longer need him in the same way. He also discussed how grief has affected the family since Jade's death.
Reflecting on the sadness he felt after Bobby moved abroad, Jeff said: "It's like I'm just starting to get to grips with whatever this thing, empty nesting is, and I think, as men, we might have thought that only applies to the mums."
Feeling 'Redundant' and 'Quite Useless'
Jeff explained that he had felt "redundant" and "quite useless" at times, particularly when he knew Freddy was struggling with addiction but felt unable to help him. "And with Bob as well, I don't know, I mean Bob's living in New York now, so I went through a period of at least nine months to a year of feeling some really sad [feelings]," he confessed.
Jeff described the experience as a form of grief, explaining that parents must come to terms with their children leaving their childhoods behind as they begin building independent lives. "I think it is a grief in itself really and what you're grieving for is their childhood and the fact it's done now, they're into their young adult life and it's on them and there's far less influence for us to have and we like to have influence because it made us feel useful," he continued.
Questioning His Role as a Father
Jeff added that the transition had left him questioning his role as a father as his sons became more independent. "And now for that to almost be taken away from us by time and by them being the ages they're at, I just remember feeling like, right, who am I if I'm not, sort of, useful to you two? And I was trying to be useful and purposeful in ways that are not needed," he added.
Jeff also touched upon his relationship with Jade and their wishes to build a happy life for their children. "We wanted desperately for our children to have what we didn't, i.e. two parents together," Jeff continued. "We did our best at that for quite a significant amount of time. We were both, I don't know whether using the word broken best fits, but we were broken kids."
