OVER the last 12 months, Kate Brazier has found her life completely turned upside down as a family feud, abusive behaviour, and rows over being a stay-at-home-wife rocked her marriage.
The PR guru, 35, – who took on the role as stepmum to Jeff’s grieving two sons – clung onto her marriage to Jeff Brazier for as long as she could, before finally calling it quits for good a few weeks ago. Here, insiders tell us what finally broke Kate, and reveal the heartbreaking battle she was fighting behind the scenes.
Our insider revealed: “The last year has been incredibly hard on all the family and unfortunately Kate is the one who has really suffered in it all.”
Last night The Sun told how Kate and Jeff, 46, who were together for twelve years, are now living apart after “a year of hell” involving issues with Freddy Brazier, 21 — Jeff’s youngest son from his relationship with tragic Big Brother star Jade Goody.
Amongst those issues was an escalating rift with stepmum Kate. In a cruel post, Freddy listed things he “hates” which included: “Step parents”, which was said to be “like a dagger in the heart” for Kate.
The insider explained: “It’s no secret that Freddy has been struggling and has a number of issues, which has meant everything else has taken a back seat.
Kate knows she’ll always come second to the boys.
Insider
“Freddy has been quite vocal about not liking Kate and is said to have been verbally abusive towards her at times.
“Kate really thinks Jeff could have stuck up for her more in it all but instead she felt pushed out.
“People seem to forget that Kate has been a mother figure to both the boys since they were very young and has really given her all to support them and Jeff.”
Kate was just 24 when she first met the boys, it was five years after their mum had died and she admits she became a part of their life “without a clue what I was doing or how to help”.
From the outside Jeff appeared to have it all under control – Bobby his oldest lad, 22, was on EastEnders and Strictly, he was living the dream hosting on This Morning and Freddy was finding his feet in the world.
But behind the occasional picture perfect instagram posts, the truth was far darker and Freddy was battling his inner demons.
What followed was a devastating and very public family fall out, which saw Jeff launch legal action to block Freddy from seeing his gran, Jade’s mum Jackiey Budden, 68,
He accused Jackiey of being a bad influence on Freddy amid fears for his welfare.
In another bombshell, Freddy announced he was to become a dad for the first time with influencer girlfriend Holly Swinburn.
Jeff immediately stepped up and made it clear that he would do what he could to make sure the baby was safe and happy – which appears to have come at the detriment to other things in his life.
The insider continued: “Things reached breaking point when Freddy revealed he was having a baby.
“Jeff is incredibly involved and Kate just knows it’s going to be a chaotic nightmare. Jeff is desperate to make the situation OK for his son.
“But it’s meant the issues he had with Kate have been massively amplified by the pregnancy and its caused a lot of stress.
“Kate knows she’ll always come second to the boys – and that’s fine. She gets it. But it’s all become way too much.”
In a new twist, Freddy has since split from Holly after a row over their dog, throwing decisions about the baby into chaos.
‘A RETREAT FOR EXTENDED FAMILY’
Over the weekend Jeff hinted his marriage was over in online posts and made it very clear where his priorities lay – with his soon to be extended family.
Revealing he had bought a new home, he wrote in a thinly-veiled dig: “After three years in the commuter belt to make things easy for everyone else, it was when I ultimately became a storage facility that I realised it was time to suit myself and open fields make me happy.”
He went on: “I wanted to be in a home that felt like a calm retreat for my soon-extended family.
“I realised some time ago that success equals peace and I’ve found the perfect environment for what feels like a transitional time in all our lives.”
But it seems Kate feels like the right decision has been made, she is back living in her apartment in Hackney and jetted to Vegas for the weekend for the US Grand Prix.
In her selfie from the trip, Kate wrote: “Possibly one of the best days of my life.”
Her words will no doubt be a crushing blow to Jeff, who is said to have been desperate to make things work after everything they have been through.
But yesterday he was not wearing his wedding ring as he reported for ITV’s Good Morning Britain from Reykjavik in Iceland.
A MOTHER FIGURE IN THEIR DARKEST TIMES
The couple first got together in 2013 before tying the knot in 2018, where the boys played a big part.
The wedding was a huge milestone for Bobby and Kate because it was the first time he told he loved her.
She recalled: “Fred says it to me every day, but Bobby is more reserved, so for me that was truly amazing and shows how far we have come.”
Bobby joked in his speech about how he struggled with their relationship initially, saying: “This is a bit awkward, but to cut a long story short, I didn’t really rate you to begin with,”
“But now I’m so glad I can genuinely tell you I love you. You being around has made things a lot easier for us boys, and we appreciate you a lot.”
Fast forward to this year though and there has been a huge shift in relationships.
Freddy, who lost mum Jade, then 27, to cervical cancer in 2009, when he was just four, heartbreakingly told his followers: “I don’t know how to love because I’ve never been loved.”
But Jeff and Kate briefly split at the end of 2022, partly due to clashes over their lifestyles — Jeff is a homebird while Kate enjoys socialising.
Back then Kate told pals she did not want to be a “stay-at-home wife”. But the couple agreed to give their marriage another go after Jeff revealed he was the loneliest he had ever been.
And things certainly looked rosy for some time – but as Freddy’s personal crisis escalated, Bobby also made a surprising decision to quit EastEnders and the spiritual lad moved to India to join a Hare Krishna commune
He said Freddy “needs to grow up” after images emerged of his younger brother and his nan Jackiey smoking a suspicious-looking cigarette next to the Thames in London.
Jeff reluctantly backed down from his legal action in August, and while he started communicating with Freddy again sources said his relationship with him remains strained.
And it seems despite his best efforts, drama continues to follow Freddy and whether he will be back with the mother of his child by the time they are born remains to be seen. Kate for one isn’t prepared to wait around to find out.
Jeff and Kate have been contacted for comment.