Discovered star Susan Boyle has blamed her fame and millions on a dispute that’s tearing her family apart.
The distraught 52-year-old singer blames herself for the feud that has split her family into two factions, telling her brother, Gerry, “I’m the bad one, it’s all my fault.”
“Obviously, it is not her fault – and the saddest part is Susan has only ever tried to keep all of us happy,” Gerry told the Sunday Mirror.
“It is a really nasty situation and lots of people have been very hurt over the years.
“Susan is stuck right in the middle of it and it breaks my heart seeing her so upset. But the reality is that the family is now so broken I don’t know if we’ll ever get it back.
“I would do anything for Susan – she’s my little sister. I want her to be happy and at the moment she is not. But there is nothing Susan can do to make this right. Maybe no one can.”
Susan’s once close-knit family became dysfunctional shortly after she shot to worldwide fame on Britain’s Got Talent in 2009. Family members set up a meeting to help Susan and discuss her finances, after she lent money to certain family members. But when some didn’t turn up at the last minute, a huge rift developed.
The family has now split into two factions between Gerry, eldest sister Mary and brother John against middle sister Bridie, nephew Alan and nieces Joanne, Jaqueline and Kirsty.
The feud has become so bad that neither side can stand to be in the same room as the other, leaving Susan stuck in the middle.
Susan has even lied, claiming Gerry blackmailed her into giving him $90,000 to help his company’s cashflow problems by threatening suicide.
But Gerry claims Susan offered him the money and only lied when quizzed by her family members about why she gave him money and not others.
“She came over for dinner last Sunday, as she often does, and I had to say something. I wanted to know why she said those things to other family members,” Gerry said.
“But she instantly broke down crying and said the suicide claims were a pack of lies. She said she was sorry – not just for me but for the whole family rift.
“It was hard to see how upset she was so I tried to make her laugh but there was no getting away from it. I never went to her home or approached her for the money.”
Gerry says Susan constantly feels pressured to give an explanation and often can’t deal with the situation.
“She knows better than anyone I would never commit suicide – that’s ridiculous. But when my sister Bridie and nephew Alan started asking questions she felt she needed to give a reason why she gave me the cash and not them,” he said.
“Susan always feels she needs to keep everyone happy by telling them what they want to hear. She doesn’t like confrontation.”
Since launching her successful single, I Dreamed A Dream, Susan has done whatever she could to keep her family happy.
Susan, who was keen to mend the family rift, allegedly gave more than $1.8 million to family in cash, salaries for posts on her staff, small business investments and bailouts.
She took on Bridie’s daughter Joanne as a PA and gave another admin role to brother James’s daughter Jaqueline. She then took on her lawyer niece Kirsty Foy to manage her revenue, giving her five per cent of profits from the sales of her first two albums.
In 2010 she gave $55,000 to each of her siblings and a further $55K to nephew Alan for his venture Boyle’s Boutique, which has never been launched.
Susan funded a niece’s photography business with $45K and provided two-year paid maternity packages for family staff members.
