It all kicked off last week when Jeff Brazier reportedly launched a devastating legal bid to stop son Freddy from seeing his gran, Jade Goody’s mum Jackiey Budden. And now insiders say Jeff will do anything to protect his kids.
They tell Closer, ‘Jeff promised Jade he would protect their boys with his life, and that’s what he’s doing. Jackiey was given written warnings and then polite marching orders, but she’s turned this into a bitter war of words. Friends claim she’s out to take Freddy. Not because she wants to protect him or to be a good Nan, but as her trophy.
‘Jeff won’t stand by and let her destroy Freddy’s life. He says he saved Jade from her mum and will do the same for his boys.’
Jeff, 45, has been a single dad raising sons Bobby, 21, and Freddy, 20, on his own following Jade’s tragic death in March 2009 from cervical cancer at the age of just 27 – when Bobby and Freddy were only four and five respectively.
While the exact details of why Jeff felt the need to take such drastic action on behalf of his son is unclear, Freddy is known to regularly stay with Jackiey – who previously admitted to having a difficult relationship with Jade due to a drug problem. In an open letter to her daughter in 2015, Jackiey, now 68, wrote, ‘I feel so guilty. I’m sorry, Jade. I wish I’d been a better mum. Jade, I’m sorry for the times I let you down.’
Jeff has always seemingly had a complicated involvement with Jackiey – who appeared on Big Brother with Jade in 2007 – due to her struggles with drugs over the years, but she has gradually been reintroduced back into Bobby and Freddy’s lives.
Bobby has previously said of his nan, ‘I didn’t see her for ages – for way too long – but I went to see her twice recently. And honestly if there’s one woman you shouldn’t underestimate, it’s my nan. Honestly, she’s like a wizard! It’s nuts.’ However, in recent years, their relationship has become fractured, with Jackiey not invited to watch the actor receive the Rising Star NTA in 2023, nor to watch him perform on Strictly Come Dancing.
While Bobby has apparently now cut off Jackiey, the same can’t be said of Freddy, who sometimes stays with his nan at her flat in South East London. During their time together, Freddy – who has opened up about struggling with bipolar disorder and ADHD – is alleged to have shared videos to TikTok of himself seemingly taking drugs at her home, as well as a video of her swearing and ranting at him, but both have since been deleted.
The source continues, ‘Freddy feels wrong cutting Jackiey off. Pals claim she can be manipulative, but while they say it doesn’t work on Bobby, Freddy gets sucked in. He’s an empath – so much like his mum – who wants to see and believe the good in everyone. This leaves him vulnerable.
‘Jeff gets that Freddy is conflicted, but this is for his own good. And Jade would stand by Jeff – she knew how toxic her mum was and could be. Even just being around his gran is bad news, and the last thing Jeff wants is Freddy being close to someone who normalises the use of drugs. For Jeff, drugs are never acceptable and he doesn’t want Freddy around them or a part of that culture.’
For her part, Jackiey has responded to Jeff’s legal action, saying, ‘It doesn’t matter. Do I want to see Freddy? Of course I do. I see Freddy all of the time. I will see him.’
And while Bobby has been thriving in the spotlight – reaching the final on Strictly Come Dancing in 2023 as well as winning awards for his work as Freddie Slater on EastEnders – Freddy has only recently started to come into his own. Indeed, last week it was announced that he was under new management, having garnered a legion of fans with his stint on Celebrity Race Across The World with his dad last year.
And the source adds that Jeff hopes Freddy understands where he’s coming from and knows that he has made this difficult decision from a place of love.
‘Jeff knows Freddy can make his own choices. When he’s in a good headspace he will make the right ones, but at the moment it’s his job to protect him as his Dad,’ they tell Closer. ‘After travelling the world together, they reinforced their father and son bond – there’s no way he’s going to let Jackiey unpick all of the good that’s happened over the past year.’