Showbiz

Tate Ferdinand: Mothers Death Left Dad Rio Mad

Tate Ferdinand has said that the grief over his mother's tragic death aged just 34 made his dad Rio 'mad' in rare comments about his childhood 'trauma'.In a can...

Bintano News

June 24, 2026

Tate Ferdinand has said that the grief over his mother's tragic death aged just 34 made his dad Rio 'mad' in rare comments about his childhood 'trauma'.

In a candid interview on this week's edition of Kate's Blended podcast, Tate, 17, said he found his dad's behaviour difficult after his mother Rebecca tragically died from breast in 2015.

Rio is now married to former TOWIE star Kate Ferdinand. They are co-parents to Tate, Lorenz, 19, and Tia, 15, and they are also proud parents to daughter Shae, two, and son Cree, five.

Speaking on the podcast Tate described the emotional reactions from his dad as 'mad,' acknowledging that Rio was trying to hold the family together while grieving himself.

Tate also reflected on his own experience, saying that much of that period was a blur due to the trauma, and he often felt stuck between feelings of loyalty to his mum and wanting to bond with Kate, which left him confused and guilty for a long time.

Tate explained to Kate: 'In that space in between when mum passed away and when you come in, that was probably dad's, obviously his hardest point in his life, probably.

Tate Ferdinand has said that the grief over his mother's tragic death aged just 34 made his dad Rio 'mad' in rare comments about his childhood 'trauma'

In a candid interview on this week's edition of Kate's Blended podcast, Tate, 17, said he found his dad's behaviour difficult after his mother Rebecca tragically died from breast cancer in 2015

'But I remember a lot of the reactions we used to get from dad was mad. That's an emotional reaction as well. So think, he's lost his wife, you've lost your mum, he's working, trying to hold you three together. He would just shut us down.

'Like I remember at the start, I think we actually spoke about this briefly last time. At the start, I felt so guilty for liking Kate and loving Kate.'

'I felt guilty for my mum's family, for my mum. It's a really weird feeling because one part of me really likes her [Kate] and wants to like her. And then the other part of me thinks like, oh, there's a loyalty towards my mum here. What am I doing type thing?'

He went on to discuss the lasting effects of his childhood grief, admitting he has 'blurred' memories and suffered emotional blackouts from the period after his mother's passing.

Tate explained: 'I don't really know. I've got to be honest, a lot of it was a blur.

'Like, I don't really like, I remember bits and pieces and little like, like little stories and little things that happened in the big moments of like that time.'

'But day to day, my actual emotions I felt like regularly, I don't really remember. It's weird.'

Kate then told him: 'That's trauma though. That's you like your mum's passed away. And like you have a blackout of like certain feelings and emotions to like just cope.'

Elsewhere in the podcast Tate revealed he tried to sabotage his father's relationship with Kate out of 'loyalty' towards his late mother.

Rio is now married to former TOWIE star Kate Ferdinand. They are co-parents to Tate, Lorenz, 19, and Tia, 15, and they are also proud parents to daughter Shae, two, and son Cree, five

Speaking on the podcast Tate described the emotional reactions from his dad as 'mad,' acknowledging that Rio was trying to hold the family together while grieving himself

Rebecca and Rio are pictured in 2009

During the frank conversation, Kate and Tate reflected on the 'hell of a journey' they've been on as he admitted there was a period when he 'hated' her.

Speaking about the 'jealousy' Rio's children felt, Kate retold the story of how a delivery containing a present for the former footballer led to Tate accusing her of 'meeting random men on the drive'.

Kate said: 'Once I got a phone for Rio and the kids were asleep... someone came to drop it on the drive and they're a man.

'Tate told people that when dad's not there, I'm meeting men on the drive. So then a few people thought that when Rio was out, I was meeting random guys on the drive.'

Tate replied: 'You just had a hater in the house. I used to be so jealous. Not jealous, I don't even know the word, but I would try and like get into all of your business.'

The television personality also revealed how trying to hide a Valentine's Day balloon delivery from Rio's children 'spiralled out of control', after they began to spread the lie she had 'locked them in a room'.

'I said to the kids, 'Right, go in that room. Close the door,' because I had a delivery coming.

'How it's come out is, 'When dad's not there, Kate locks us in the room.''

She described the 'massive turmoil' she felt as people then began to question her if she 'was doing mad stuff' like locking the children in a room.

Recalling his side of the story, Tate said: 'I was just in such a confused state of mind. I didn't know what was going on. Dad didn't really like surprise us with things like that.

'So that was like a bit of a weird thing like, 'why am I being told to stay in here for five minutes?' You come back as if nothing's happened.'

Tate added the incident happened during his 'half-hating' era and he would play 'mind games' on Kate by flipping between being loving to not speaking or even looking at her.

'I remember when I hated you. I hated you. And then we might do something good and then I would flip straight away back into loving mode and then I'd have to almost lie about what I did before to get myself out of it,' he said.

In the past, influencer Kate has opened up about the heartbreaking struggle she experienced as a step mum to Rio's children after they lost their mother.

Kate battled strong emotions while bonding with her stepchildren, claiming she felt as she was 'walking in the steps of someone else's life' as her relationship with former footballer Rio blossomed.

In her book How To Build A Family, she wrote: 'If I could bring Rebecca back, I would in an instant because of the pain I've seen in them.

'A child losing their parent is horrendous. You want to scoop them up and bring their mum back to make them happy, but you can't.

'As a step-parent coming into a bereaved home, you can sometimes find yourself in situations where you feel like you're walking in the steps of someone else's life.'

Tate Ferdinand: Mothers Death Left Dad Rio Mad

During the frank conversation, Kate and Tate reflected on the 'hell of a journey' they've been on as he admitted there was a period when he 'hated' her.

More Entertainment Buzz