JEFF Brazier launched into the spotlight in the early noughties when he appeared on the hit Channel 4 reality show, Shipwrecked.
During his early days of fame he met the late Big Brother star Jade Goody, who herself had just become a celebrity. Here we take a look at their time together and what Jeff is up to now.
5
5
Jeff Brazier started dating Jade Goody in 2002, shortly after she came fourth on Big Brother 3.
The couple became parents to Bobby Jack in 2003, and then Freddie in 2004.
After two years together, the couple split up.
They never confirmed the reasons for their break-up, but speaking in the Channel 4 documentary Jade Goody: The Reality Star That Changed Britain, Jeff suggested that newspaper reports played a part: “Things that were personal to us kept appearing in the papers.
“[We’d ask] how do they know that? We were convinced that [each other] or people around us were selling stories and making money on things that were very contentious for us.
“‘You sold a story’, ‘no I haven’t you must have done it’, ‘I haven’t done it must be your mate’, ‘they haven’t done it must be your mate’, and trust disintegrated to nothing.”
Raising Bobby and Freddie
Jeff gained full custody of their two sons, after Jade tragically died of cancer on March 22, 2009.
Speaking about her death, he said: “I think most people know that for the last 10 years, I’ve been bringing up my children Bobby and Freddie after they lost their mum, Jade, to cervical cancer.
“It’s insanely unfair that they were robbed of someone that was such an incredible mum. I remember when Jade very bravely told them that she was going to be in heaven.
“For six months after that they were absolutely all over the place. From the moment your children are born and you hold them in your arms and you realise how small and fragile they are, I think you immediately become their protector.
“I very quickly realised that I was going to be responsible for the boys, for the rest of their childhood.”
Jeff’s sons have followed in their famous parents footsteps.
Bobby is a Strictly and EastEnders star, while Freddy joined his dad on the Celebrity Race Across The World in 2024.
5
5
Marrying Kate
Jeff began dating Kate Dwyer in 2013, and the pair were together for four years before they got engaged in Ibiza in 2017.
In September 2018, the couple got married in a spectacular cliff-top ceremony in Portugal.
Jade and Jeff’s children, Bobby and Freddie were best men for their father on his wedding day.
Jeff said in an interview with Hello! magazine: “This isn’t just any wedding, this is a really special one.
“It doesn’t just represent Kate and I putting rings on each other’s fingers. It represents the fact that we won at something really tricky. We won at becoming a family.
“Before it was just three boys rattling around in a house on our own, trying to get through life. “Then Kate came along and worked so hard at making us complete.”
5
Jeff Brazier now
Since Jade’s death, Jeff has regularly campaigned to raise awareness about cervical and testicular cancer.
He also fights for more young people to have the HPV jab, which would have stopped Jade getting the HPV infection that ultimately led to her cancer diagnosis.
Jeff writes and lectures about coming to terms with grief, alongside television presenting work.
He published a book called The Grief Survival Guide in 2017.
Jeff has also campaigned to encourage people to go to the doctor regularly, attend cervical smear tests, and conquer the Fear Of Finding Out (FOFO) that you may have cancer.
Speaking to The Sun Online, he said: “Jade had warnings, she had letters from the doctors and in her mind, she hoped that if she just ignored it, it would go away.