The lengthy feud between Jeff Brazier and Jackiey Budden has reportedly reached fiery new depths, with the This Morning presenter allegedly now taking legal action against Jade Goody’s mum.
Tensions are understood to be at a high between Jeff Brazier and Jackiey Budden(Image: Instagram/jeffbrazier)
Tensions are at a high between Jeff Brazier and Jackiey Budden, with the This Morning presenter having reportedly taken steps to stop her from seeing his son, Freddy Brazier. Jeff, 45, welcomed 20-year-old Freddy with his late ex-partner, Jade Goody, who tragically died from cervical cancer in March 2009 at the age of just 27.
The former couple also shared 21-year-old Bobby Brazier, who has gone on to become a star in his own right as an EastEnders actor and Strictly Come Dancing contestant. Unfortunately, Jeff, who has reportedly now launched legal proceedings, has long not seen eye to eye with Jade’s mum Jackiey, who has previously branded him a “c***”. Meanwhile, TV personality Jeff previously explained that there have been numerous “pitfalls and stumbling blocks” in terms of keeping things amicable with his sons’ maternal grandmother.
As children, Bobby and Freddy were spoiled with unsuitable gifts from their maternal grandmother(Image: Getty Images)
According to Jeff, during his sons’ childhoods, grandma Jackiey would spoil them with “unsuitable” gifts without checking in with him first, including a mobile phone and a hamster. In a blog post penned for The Huffington Post in 2012, Jeff wrote: “Late nights and excessive amounts of sugar are a grandparent’s prerogative and were the least of my concerns. I got a phone call from an excitable Freddy telling me he was now the proud owner of a hamster!
“Great, I feel I have more responsibility than I really know what to do with as it is, let alone introducing a pet into the equation. As I explained to Jackiey, it would have been nice to have been asked because now I’ve been put into a position where I have to be the mean parent who says no and ruins the fun.”
He continued: “This happened before with mobile phones. Yep, a year ago, she got them a phone each so she could have direct contact with them both, and I don’t remember being asked if I minded on that occasion, either. I understand she wants direct contact, but they are just too young to be carrying these things around responsibly, so we keep them in the house. I can’t fault Jackiey when she’s got the boys; I just wish we could work together a little better.”
Jeff previously claimed he ‘would never want to stop’ his sons from having a relationship with Jackiey(Image: Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Eventually, the strained relationship broke down completely, and there was a period of several years when Jackiey didn’t see her grandsons at all. In 2014, during a discussion about grandparents’ rights on This Morning, Jeff shared: “It has ended very well, but five years ago, she went off on her own path, and it wasn’t quite right to have that contact, and she made it quite difficult because she went to Tenerife.
“But as she settled in herself, the boys kept a lot of contact with her and at the moment she’s very helpful and very prominent in their lives.” Jeff proceeded to add that he “would never want to stop” his sons from having a relationship with Jackiey, given that she is the “last blood link to their mum”.
Jacqui has shown a preference for Jade’s widower Jack Tweed, who she’s described as ‘the only man who never took anything off of her’(Image: Phil Harris / Daily Mirror)
Two years later, Bobby confirmed he had reconnected with Jackiey. Opening up to social media followers, Bobby expressed his heartbreaking wish to have a Christmas dinner surrounded by his family, with “both his grandmothers” present.
Bobby revealed: “Yeah. 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.”
Although she’s been publicly critical about Jeff, Jackiey has previously shown affection for Jade’s widower Jack Tweed, who she married mere weeks before her tragic death. In a 2019 interview with the Mirror, Jackiey described Jack as the “best boyfriend she ever had”, pointedly stating: “He is the only man who never took anything off of her.”
In September 2023, the feud between Jeff and Jackiey became more fiery after the outspoken grandmother claimed she’d had to buy her own ticket for the National Television Awards (NTAs), where Bobby was being honoured with the Rising Star award. When quizzed about her thoughts on Jeff by reporters, Jackiey bluntly retorted: “He’s a c***”. Not backing down, Jackiey claimed “he has been one for f***ing nine years.”
Grandmother Jackiey was conspicuously absent from Bobby’s Strictly journey(Image: Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images)
She then doubled down on her comment, arguing: “I haven’t got a problem with [calling him that]. He’s been a c**k for f*****g nine years. Bobby doesn’t need that stress on his head. He’s my grandson.”
In a follow-up interview with the Mail Online, Jackiey fumed: “When I came out for the NTA Awards, I’m loud and it’s the drink and someone went ‘oh I bet you’re really proud’ and ‘how do you get on with Jeff Brazier’ and I said ‘he’s a c***’. Next minute I’m on the internet and all over the papers. As I came out of the O2, someone overheard me say it, so they sold the story.”
Jackiey was also conspicuously absent from Bobby’s 2023 Strictly Come Dancing journey. While Jeff, stepmum Kate, and younger brother Freddy were there cheering him on from the audience, Jackiey was nowhere to be seen.
Now, The Sun has reported that Jeff has launched legal proceedings to stop younger brother Freddy from seeing Jackiey. This comes after the model allegedly stormed out of the family home to stay with his grandmother at her southeast London flat, following an alleged argument with Jeff.
An insider told the publication: “The fact that Jeff is going down this route shows how concerned we all are, and how our efforts to keep Fred safe are being grossly undermined by other people.” Just last year, sources alleged Freddy and Jeff’s disagreements would become so heated that he would often head straight to his grandma’s doorstep.
Speaking with the Mail at the time, a source said: “Freddy will often turn up on the doorstep, sometimes very unhappy, and wanting to see his nan. He and Jeff often argue, the rows can be bad, things go really, really pear-shaped between them, and that’s it, he leaves.
“While Jackiey has her issues – and will be the first to admit she isn’t the most perfect or archetypal grandmother – he can share his feelings with her, which is something he can’t do at Jeff’s.”
