Jamie Laing has expressed his regret over badmouthing his father in an interview as he prepares to become a dad himself.
The Made In Chelsea star, 36, is expecting his first child with wife Sophie Habboo, with the couple sharing their pregnancy journey on social media and their newly-renamed podcast, NearlyParents.
Reflecting on his childhood, speaking to Fearne Cotton on her Happy Place podcast, Jamie explained how he “really hurt” his dad, Nicholas, after blaming him for his parents’ divorce.
Opening up on the ‘huge guilt’ he felt over the comments, he told Fearne: ‘I spoke ill of my parents in an article once, of my Dad, I spoke badly of him, and he wrote me a letter and he had the article.
‘Imagine that, imagine your parents and he’s seeing you’ve done an article about you. My dad, by the way, never, ever spoke ill of my mum ever; he never said anything bad against her ever.’
Jamie said the article, in which he spoke about the effects of his parents’ divorce in his childhood, meant he and his father ‘did not talk for ages.’
‘I’ve never heard him say anything ever in his entire life right, but my mum more is very dominant and “oh God I had to be the single Mum and all these sorts of things” which is totally fair because she was hurting.’
He said that his dad sent him the article alongside the message, ‘I’m so sorry I’m such a disappointment.’
Fearne asked what Jamie thought Nicholas meant by the message, to which he said it was his way of saying ‘you don’t know both sides.’
He continued: ‘I think he wanted to say that he was sorry. My dad finds it hard to be emotional. He really can’t go there for whatever reason, maybe his childhood, but he can’t go there.
‘But it was him basically probably to say, I’m sorry, but also to say, I think he was hurt. So I think it was him saying, “You don’t know both sides. You don’t know the true story, so if you just say things, it’s really hurtful. I’m sorry that you have that. I represent all these things that you said”.’
However, Jamie said that now he is ‘really close’ with his dad, who was instrumental in his decision to have children after being ‘really nervous and scared.’
‘I didn’t know if I wanted to be a dad. I liked waking up in the morning and just thinking about going to the gym or walking to work. Yeah, that’s gone. Totally gone. Like that in one second,’ he began.
‘I spoke to my dad and I had a big conversation with him. My dad and I have become really close, especially over the recent years; he’s just the best.
‘I said to him, “Dad, what do you think about having kids?” and he paused and he said, “Well, if I hadn’t had kids I wouldn’t be having this conversation.”
‘I thought when I get to 90 years old, hopefully, and I’m in my rocking chair or an ice bath and Sophie’s there and we’re hanging out or whatever, you don’t want to look back at life and think I wish I’d done that.’
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.