Olly Murs used to be “inseparable” from his twin brother Ben, but these days the siblings are further apart than ever.
The pair had a huge fallout back in 2009, when Olly shot to fame on The X Factor. Olly, who turned 40 on Tuesday (May 14) opened up about his estranged sibling on The Voice, where he’s a judge, and the singer grew emotional.
“We had a big argument,” the singer confessed, holding back tears. He continued: “I feel like the next time I am going to see him is going to be at the worst place to see someone. It will be at someone’s (funeral) that we lose in the family. I don’t want that to be the case.”
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“I miss having my twin with me… This bond as a twin, it was something I was proud about and I still am.”, reports the Daily Record.
(Image: Collect Unknown)
In 2019, Olly tried to reach out to Ben on their birthday, only to discover his twin had changed his phone number without telling him. So what happened?
The feud began when Olly skipped Ben’s wedding to sing in The X Factor semi-finals, leading to Ben slamming him as a “self-obsessed sell-out”. “Our family was torn apart because of X Factor,” Ben fumed back in 2009, blaming the rift on Olly’s alleged focus on fame.
“It was clear that people like Simon Cowell were more important to him than me.” Olly himself spilled the beans on The Voice, confessing to Will. i..am: “I was on X Factor and I couldn’t make his wedding because I was on the show.”
(Image: Ken McKay / Rex Features)
When quizzed about his brother’s whereabouts, Olly confessed: “I have no idea.” Despite the public fallout, Olly has previously suggested that their sibling strife stretched back way before the ITV talent show drama, even claiming Ben used the wedding snub as a smokescreen for a deeper divide.
“I don’t speak to my twin brother and that’s been extremely difficult. Long before X Factor there were problems between Ben and his girlfriend and our family,” he revealed to the Sunday Times Magazine.
“He used his wedding as an excuse for not having me in his life anymore… I reckon he never really liked us as a family.” But it wasn’t just Olly who had issues as their parents also felt the cold shoulder from Ben, who accused them of being changed by “fame and greed.”
(Image: PA)
Ben went to such lengths to cut off ties that he even adopted his wife Amy Hart’s surname and was furious when their mum Vicky spoke about his childhood ‘learning difficulties’ in the press.
Ben lashed out: “My parents wanted this bright, shiny Olly with the money who can give them the VIP lifestyle. They loved rubbing shoulders with Simon Cowell, or getting their kicks at Bon Jovi gigs they were all about those VIP selfies.”
“I’m not interested in anything like that, I have a lovely life with my wife and kids. I’ve worked hard, been to university and got a degree, I’ve never wanted anything from Olly.”
“I can’t believe what my mum did by talking about my childhood. I was so upset when I read it. Why has my mum, the person who should defend me, said things that are hurtful and untrue? “.
(Image: ITV)
Mum Vicky said the family feud had left her too sick to work. She told Sunday Times Magazine: “It was such a shock it made me ill. I even thought I had MS I had to use a walking stick because my legs were so weak. I also couldn’t work. I was on the verge of a breakdown.
“I’m much better now but my heart is broken. Ben’s broken my heart, and his dad’s, but I will not hear anything against him, I don’t think he understands what he’s done. I’ll go on loving him and sticking up for him until I die.”
Ben claims he had extended an olive branch to Olly following the birth of his son in 2013, but claimed his estranged sibling told him to delete his number, which Olly branded as “inconsistent.” Then when he hoped to make peace in 2017, Ben declined, insisting, “I’ve moved on.”
“I wish him all the best. But I’ve got my life and he’s got his. The last time I made contact I got the door slammed in my face,” he told the Sunday People.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
