TV presenter Jeff Brazier has spoken poignantly about how much he wishes Jade Goody were alive to watch their sons grow into young men.
Speaking to The Sun’s Fabulous magazine as part of a new campaign to encourage people to have regular health checks, Jeff has opened up about losing his sons’ mum to cervical cancer in 2009.
Jeff’s boys, Bobby, 14, and Freddie, 13, were just five and four when Jade died on Mother’s Day.
The 38-year-old said: “Ultimately, you would just rather she be here, every day, every minute, to observe everything that is going right with them and everything that is going wrong.
“There are moments when I think ‘am I getting it wrong?’ I wish I had the other parent here so I could say ‘what do you think we should do?’
“I feel guilty about this and that. But also sad for her because she brought two beautiful boys into the world and the very least you deserve is to witness them growing up, enjoying their childhood and then flourishing into the wonderful men that they are going to be which is my privilege, hopefully, and should be hers.”
In a separate interview with The Victoria Derbyshire Show, he said Jade was irreplaceable.
“As much as I try and be the all and everything to them, I can never replace mum,” he said.
“It’s a sense of identity they lose. You find a lot of who you are in life through who your mum and dad is, and they have one who is present and still there and trying to get as much right as he can, and obviously they have lost that big character who was their mum and would give them twice as much unconditional love as they receive.”
Referring to how Jade had avoided having a smear test that could have detected her cervical cancer earlier, he said: “It’s hard on the kids and when you know it’s avoidable, it’s hard not to sit there and feel regret at times.
“Regret for a decision that wasn’t made or a decision that ultimately could have been made better.”
The heartbreaking interviews came after a recent survey found that one in three young women are failing to get regular check ups.
Before her death, Jade had been vocal in raising awareness about the importance of cervical screening, with BBC News reporting that doctors saw a huge rise in women booking appointments.
Read more: Jeff Brazier reveals “unbelievably special” present from his son
But as those numbers have fallen again, Jeff has teamed up with pharmaceutical company AbbVie and The Patients Association to encourage women to face their fears.
The new campaign comes a week after Jeff spoke out on Twitter about the importance of smear tests.
He wrote: “Fear of finding out doesn’t just occasionally lead to irreversible consequences, it can also leave the ones you love totally heartbroken in your absence.
“If people won’t do it for their own health, do it for those that love you.”
Jeff, who wrote book, The Grief Survival Guide, after losing Jade when she was only 27, recently announced his engagement to PR, Kate Dwyer.
They will be tying the knot this coming October and last month, he revealed that his two boys will be best men at their wedding.
He told The Mirror: “They are so excited and have already been working on their speeches.
“It’s going to be the most emotional moment I’ve ever experienced. It will be a recognition of everything we’ve been through and how strong we are now.”
Read more: James Argent getting in shape ahead of stripped off appearance on live TV!
Watch a video of Jeff below, in a short film called ‘The Fear Box’, created by Don’t Panic for AbbVie.
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