Jeff Brazier has revealed his two sons remember their late mum Jade Goody as a hero after she put out a fire while on holiday with them in the Caribbean.
The 38-year-old reality TV star turned grief counsellor has raised Bobby, 14, and 12-year-old Freddie as a single parent following Big Brother legend Jade’s death from cervical cancer in 2009.
In a new interview, the former Shipwrecked contestant revealed one of his sons’ strongest memories of their mother was an incident that happened during a sunshine holiday abroad two years before her passing.
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Jeff, who wasn’t present on the trip, told MailOnline that his sons’ favourite memory of Jade was how quickly she reacted to stop a blaze spreading.
‘They were in Trinidad and Tobago and somehow she put out a fire,” he said.
“They recall it very fondly how mummy was very quick to react to the fact that something was on fire and that she put it out.
‘They were young and very impressionable at the time and just thought that was the most incredible thing.
“They thought, ‘Wow, my mum’s a lifesaver, she’s a firefighter!'”
Jeff said he hoped to return to Trinidad & Tobago with the boys one day as it holds a “special” place in their hearts.
Jade had been in the Caribbean with her then-boyfriend, later-husband, Jack Tweed, and the two boys when fire broke out near the villa where they were staying.
According to reports at the time, a pylon fell near a swimming pool where Bobby and Freddie were splashing around, forcing Jade to leap into action and get them out of harm’s way.
She was quoted as saying: “I came for a nice relaxing holiday and end up having to put out fires in my own back garden. It was really scary.”
Jeff chose to raise Bobby and Freddie out of the limelight but in recent years has begun posting more frequent photos of them to social media.
He joked in an interview with The Mirror last year the boys felt he’d stopped them being famous by removing them from the spotlight.
“They understand fame well enough to know that I made them un-famous! It was quite amusing when Bobby first said that.
“It’s hard for them to quantify the immeasurable difference me keeping them in the magazines and on the TV over the last eight years would have had on their sense of reality and their ability to come to terms with their loss.
“Maybe it would of been fine for us to do so but I wasn’t willing to gamble on their childhoods.”
In July, he admitted it was “bittersweet” for him watching the two boys grow up and knowing how much Jade would have loved to be there.
Posting a photo of son Bobby to Instagram, he said: “I can’t experience immense pride and satisfaction without equally feeling that it’s insanely unfair that mum isn’t here to feel what I’m feeling too.
“Think of all that love he doesn’t get that she would have given.
“I know there’s a lot of people that feel the same for people that should still be here right?”
Jeff has now trained as a life coach and grief counsellor and now works with other bereaved families, as well as appearing regularly on the likes of This Morning and Lorraine to raise awareness for cancer detection and discuss bereavement.
He released a book earlier this year called The Grief Survival Guide: How to navigate loss and all that comes with it.
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Jeff was separated from Jade at the time of her death and has since found love with PR worker Kate Dwyer.