Jeff Brazier regrets not being more present during his children's adolescence.

As the hit Netflix series Adolescence sweeps the nation, TV star Jeff Brazier has been reflecting on his experience as a single father to his two sons, Bobby and Freddy. The 45-year-old media personality, who tragically lost his wife Jade Goody to cervical cancer in 2009, opened up about his one regret while raising his young children.

Brazier appeared on a special episode of Loose Women alongside Craig Doyle, Jordan Banjo, and Iain Stirling to discuss the impact of Adolescence and the important conversations it has sparked. When asked about his experience raising his children alone, Brazier credited his mother and Aunty Leslie for their immense support.

He then went on to explain that he put a lot of pressure on himself to cope with the challenges of single parenthood, relying on a coping strategy he developed in his own childhood - staying positive and rolling up his sleeves. "Naturally, that became my go-to," he said, "but looking back, I realize I could have done things differently."

Brazier shared that he made his world "really small" to focus on what was right in front of him, and he was constantly shielding himself with positivity. He admitted that he wasn't paying attention to his own emotional well-being or asking himself how he was coping. "I regret that now," he said, "but I know it's a natural response and there's no shame in that."

If he could go back in time, he would tell his younger self to be a "full menu" - to show the full range of emotions, including the negative ones, and to share them with friends. Brazier believes this would have been crucial for his own mental health and for his children to see. "You need to be the full menu for yourself as much as for them," he said.

In a letter to his younger self, Brazier discussed similar topics and acknowledged that he wasn't able to do all of these things at the time. However, he has since done a lot of work on himself and strives to be as emotionally open and vulnerable as possible for his family.

The episode of Loose Women ended with Brazier encouraging anyone going through a similar experience to reach out for help and support. "If you've got a story to share, please get in touch with us," he said. "We'd love to hear from you."

Loose Women airs on ITV on weekdays at 12:30pm.

[This article has been trending online recently and has been generated with AI. Your feed is customized.]
[Generative AI is experimental.]