Jamie Redknapp has revealed that his son Charley reacted badly when he was told Frida Andersson was pregnant, saying the news landed like a lead balloon when he picked him up from school. The former footballer said Charley’s world had been turned upside down, while Beau found it easier to take in.

The comments bring new detail to a family change that has already played out over several years. Jamie, 52, and Louise Redknapp divorced in 2017 after 19 years of marriage, and he later welcomed a child with Andersson in November 2021. That left Charley and Beau adjusting to a home shaped by separation, remarriage and a new younger brother.

Jamie said he understood why Charley was upset because the change felt enormous to him, even if he believed nothing was going to alter for his sons in practice. He described the moment as the point when a settled life suddenly no longer looked settled, which is why the reaction from Charley was so sharp.

That strain has eased with time. Jamie said Charley and Beau have now embraced their roles as big brothers to Raphael, and he later wrote on Instagram that Charley is the best big brother. Louise Redknapp also shared a photo montage marking Charley’s 21 years, a reminder that the family’s public story now sits alongside the private adjustment that came with Raphael’s arrival.

Jamie has not often spoken in detail about the break-up, and he left personal material out of his 2020 autobiography. But his latest remarks sharpen the one question that matters here: how long it took Charley to accept the idea of a new sibling. On Jamie’s account, the answer is that acceptance came only after an initial shock that was strong enough to show just how much the family had changed.

Raphael turns four next month, which gives the family another milestone to mark after a transition that began with a difficult conversation outside school and has since ended with Charley and Beau taking on a role Jamie says they have now fully welcomed.