The oldest brother of pop star Cheryl hit the headlines over the weekend after pictures emerged of him living in a dirty tent surrounded by bottles of urine and beer after winding up homeless.
Andrew Tweedy, 41, said his famous sister probably didn't even know the sad reality of his situation as they were no longer in contact.
"With the family I've got, I shouldn't be here," Andrew told The Sun, admitting he'd resorted to begging strangers for money.
Andrew said he did not blame Cheryl for not coming to his aid, after revealing how she had tried to support him through various troubles in the past.
By contrast to her older sibling, Cheryl is reported to be comfortably living in a £3.6million mansion in Hertfordshire with mum Joan - who she has described as her 'rock' through struggles in her own personal life - and four-year-old son Bear.
The lavish surroundings are worlds away from the tough Newcastle council estate where Cheryl and her siblings grew up.
When Cheryl was mocked for her humble upbringing during her stint as a judge on The X Factor, she quipped back: "I am very proud of my roots and I am very, very, lucky."
"I grew up in a tough area in Newcastle. I saw drug and alcohol abuse, crime and poverty," she recalled.
"I remember living on baked beans, eggs and bread, if it wasn't out of date. If we got a McDonalds or a Chinese takeaway, oh my God, that was a treat, a luxury."
We take a look at Cheryl's early life on one of Newcastle's roughest council estates and what became of her family members.
Mum Joan Callaghan
Joan Callaghan is mum to five children and grew up on a council estate in Byker, Newcastle.
She had a tough upbringing with an alcoholic father and fell pregnant with her first child with then boyfriend Anthony Leighton at the age of 16.
After welcoming baby Joseph two weeks before she turned 17, Joan married Anthony two years later.
The couple had two more children Gillian and Andrew but split soon after.
At the age of 21, Joan met 17-year-old Gary Tweedy, who she went on to have two more children with; daughter Cheryl and son Gary.
While Joan and Gary never married, all five of Joan's children took his surname.
When Cheryl was 11 years old her parents went their separate ways.
In the backdrop of her turbulent upbringing, Cheryl turned to performing with mum Joan encouraging her talents from school plays to weekend dance classes.
"She was quite pushy when Cheryl was little — but only because she wanted the absolute best for her," Joan's sister Ann recalled.
At the age of 19 Cheryl auditioned for ITV talent show Popstars: The Rivals, which turned out to be her ticket to the big time.
The Geordie lass went onto achieve huge success as a member of chart-topping girlband Girls Aloud and as a solo artist, though she never forgot mum Joan who was never far from her side.
From flying with her around the world, joining her in swanky nightclubs and spending Saturday nights in her X Factor dressing room, Joan was rarely seen without Cheryl.
The mum even moved in with the star when she married her first husband Ashley Cole.
In 2020 it was rumoured that Ashley had a casino built into the house as a 'hideaway' to 'escape from Cheryl's mum'.
Millionaire David Gilbert, who previously owned the house, said that the couple invited him back for a tour to see the changes they had made and he was shocked at the transformation.
"There was a spiral staircase to it and Ashley said that was where he bolted to escape Cheryl’s mother," he revealed.
After the pop star's relationship with the footie ace hit the rocks amid allegations of cheating, Cheryl said: "I’ve come to the conclusion that I don’t trust anybody in life except my mother and my dogs. I love having her there”.
Joan even packed up and moved to America with Cheryl for her short-lived stint on The X Factor US.
When Cheryl split with Liam Payne her mum Joan was initially blamed for the break-up with a source saying the matriarch moving into their home had been detrimental to the relationship.
Cheryl angrily hit out at the rumour at the time and defended her mum's reputation.
"I hate responding to stuff esp at such difficult times but I cannot sit here and listen to such nasty, false articles regarding my mam. I don’t know why they involve her in stories about me. I can assure you she has absolutely nothing to do with any of it.
"I am a grown woman who is capable of dealing with my own life. She is a soft and kind woman who doesn’t deserve to be dragged into something that has nothing whatsover to do with her."
Cheryl's brother and sisters
Cheryl's oldest brother Andrew, 41, hit the headlines over the weekend as it was reported he was living in a tent in the north of England.
Tweedy told The Sun that he is no longer in contact with his family and that sister Cheryl probably has 'no idea' that he's homeless.
"I’ve got so much f***ing 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."
He previously claimed that Cheryl had tried to him amid his struggles, and had visited him in prison.
Cheryl recalled her shock at learning her parents were never married, despite her siblings taking the name 'Tweedy.'
The brothers and sisters later learned that Garry Tweedy is not the biological father of all them.
"Andrew was going so berserk that he looked like a crazy person. But however mad he looked, this was sounding horribly realistic.
"Mam spoke softly ‘I was 21 when we met, me and your dad’. I already had Joe, and you two,’ she looked at Gillian and Andrew now, but not at me," Cheryl recalled.
Son, Bear
Cheryl is also a mum herself to son Bear, who she has decided to keep out of the limelight since his birth.
She welcomed the now four-year-old with former partner Liam Payne in March 2017.
While Cheryl and Liam split shortly after, they have continued to co-parent their boy.
In a recent interview Liam revealed that Cheryl wants Bear to become a 'yoga person' and snub a career in showbiz.
Asked whether he'd allow Bear to appear on a singing show like The X Factor, Liam replied: "This is a tricky one. I think his mum hopes he’s going to be this yoga person.
"His mum is very chilled these days.
"I would never stop him but I would let him know the risks. My parents did not experience what I had. I want him to do something he enjoys doing every day."
While Cheryl has kept Bear out of the spotlight, she made a rare exception at Christmas last year when she allowed her social media followers to hear his adorable voice fo the very first time.
The toddler could be heard saying: "Merry Christmas you filthy animals and a happy new year," in a cute Geordie accent in Cheryl's festive video.
