A Troubled Journey of Family and Struggles
Cheryl’s estranged brother, Andrew Tweedy, has been seen living in a tent outside a supermarket, begging for money. The singer, 42, is said to have made numerous attempts to help him get clean, including funding a £20,000 stint in rehab. This is not the first time that Andrew has faced such challenges.
In 2021, he was discovered to be homeless, and recent photos show him living outside a Morrisons in Jarrow, South Tyneside. According to reports, Andrew spends his days hoping that customers will buy him food. He has shared his struggles with the media, saying:
“I have been in rehab three times but I’m not going back. I am one of those people that take one step forward and ten steps back. Every time.”
Andrew has a history with crime and was in court last month for being drunk and disorderly outside Morrisons. When officers arrived, he reportedly told them to “F*** off” and added, “What you going to do?”
According to The Sun, it is reported that Andrew told the officers when they arrived to ‘F*** off’, and added, ‘What you going to do?’ The Daily Mail has contacted Cheryl’s representative for comment.
In 2021, Cheryl’s embattled brother spoke to The Sun about his situation. He said that the singer probably had no idea that he was homeless. Andrew revealed:
“This is what I’m fing living like. I’ve been begging here for more than three months and it’s something that has really broken my heart. I’ve got so much fing pride. With the family I’ve got, I shouldn’t be here. It’s horrible. None of them have contacted me. Even though Cheryl’s not helping me, she’s still my family. She probably won’t even know I’m on the streets, I don’t blame her at all. This is the lowest I’ve ever been.”
According to newspaper reports, a tearful Andrew was discovered sleeping alongside bottles of urine and empty cans of beer in his makeshift home in northern England. He also shared the tent with a homeless friend. Andrew, who has a son, revealed he was forced to live on the streets when his relationship broke down earlier that year.
Andrew has had a long history with crime and has appeared in court more than 50 times. His criminal record includes:
- Taking part in his first robbery aged 13.
- Being sentenced for four years over the brutal mugging of a teenager in 2005.
- Jumping bail and spending five weeks on the run.
- Being placed in a Young Offender Institution for the stabbing of two students in a street fight in 1996.
- Serving three years before getting out on parole.
- Being jailed once more in 2011 for six years for his involvement in an armed robbery at a Post Office.
A local officer reportedly said they do not have any ‘real right’ to move Andrew from the plot where his tent was erected, as the land was owned by the council. He was said to be awaiting temporary accommodation.
The former labourer became hooked on glue at a young age, after growing up on a heroin-ravaged estate in Newcastle. Andrew long continued to battle drug and alcohol addiction, despite numerous help attempts by his younger sister Cheryl. It’s unclear what Andrew’s circumstances are currently.
The Girls Aloud star has never publicly mentioned her heartache regarding Andrew, but he has acknowledged her unquestionable support on multiple occasions. Speaking from his jail cell in 2008, he told the Sunday Mirror:
“Cheryl wants to help me – but I’m too far gone. I know I’m breaking her heart, but I’m not strong enough to sort myself out. It tears me up to think I’m causing my little sister so much pain. I’ve told Cheryl she should be ashamed of me, but she says she loves me and she’ll never give up on me.”
She was said to have been ‘crippled by worry’ about her older brother and was spotted making covert jail visits as he served time for a violent robbery. “She came on her own,” said Andrew. “She looked so sad and so tired, totally different to how she looks on TV or singing on stage… It broke my heart to see her so cut up.”
According to reports at the time, Cheryl held her brother’s hand during a prison visit and begged him to let her and former husband Ashley Cole pay for his rehab. But the Newcastle native rejected the offer. He acknowledged that she was behind him “every step of the way” but refused the help because he was scared of letting her down.
While brutally honest about his own failings, he said in 2008 that he hopes one day be able to get his life back on track and repay Cheryl for all of her kindness.
