JEFF Brazier was left in tears following an emotional moment on stage while recording a live podcast with Pete Wicks this week.
The TV personality opened up about his ‘heavy’ mental health struggles during the interview, which he even paused to apologise to his son, Bobby Brazier, with tears in his eyes.
Opening up about his struggles over the years, Jeff explained to Pete that he has taken part in The Unmasked Man – a mental health retreat for men.
Jeff explained that during his time on the retreat, he “took the mask off” when it came to mental health and opened up about how he was feeling.
He recalled having “something going on at home” – seemingly referencing his feud with son Freddy last year – and said it had left him feeling heavy.
“They did a check-in [at the retreat] so they’ll simply do ‘what’s your name, give me a number between zero and ten as to how you feel, and give me a word that associates,’” said Jeff.
He continued: “I was almost in tears, really, by the time it got round to me, and I had to say, ‘Jeff, 1, heavy’.”
“I feel emotional now telling you about it, but it gave me the opportunity to name it first and foremost, so it’s better out than in. Then I got the support from everybody else that was there.”
Jeff continued that letting his feelings out to others on the retreat made him feel “good” and helped him decompress from the struggle he was facing.
Clearly teary, Jeff then admitted he felt guilty for getting emotional in front of his son, Bobby.
“I want to apologise to Bob, almost…
“Because, he doesn’t often see me upset. But I know what a valuable lesson that is,” said Jeff, with his voice trembling.
The dad-of-two, who shared Bobby and Freddy with late partner Jade Goody, also described himself as “unrecognisable as a man” now, compared to the early years of single parenthood.
While Jeff didn’t explicitly say what struggles his family has faced over the last year or so, he did reference the drama between son Freddy and himself.
It was previously reported that Jeff and Freddy’s relationship had become strained following a dispute with Jade’s mum, Jackiey.
Jeff started proceedings to stop Freddy seeing his maternal grandmother Jackiey, 68, and insisted she was a bad influence on the teenager.
The family have since patched things up, putting the feud aside when Jeff became a grandfather for the first time as Freddy welcomed baby daughter Isla with his on/off girlfriend.
During the podcast, Jeff seemingly referenced Jackiey as he told Pete: “Someone has done, one of my children in particular, they’ve let them down, and they’ve let them down for a number of years.”
Jeff continued to admit that he has “anger” about the situation, but has learned to let it go.
Also appearing to make light of the rows with Freddy, Jeff said: “I would say my kids are my biggest teachers.
“I would say Fred’s more of a teacher than Bob, but for good reason,” he laughed.
