Gordon Ramsay says he’s ‘been to hell and back’ with heroin addict brother Ronnie and has a ‘guilt complex’ over his ‘dysfunctional’ family

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Gordon Ramsay admits he feels guilty, a feeling he attributes to witnessing his younger brother’s long battle with heroin addiction.

The famous chef grew up sharing a bedroom with his older brother, Ronnie, 58. Their family moved frequently between low-income housing estates while he was growing up. He has described his father, Gordon, as a troubled man who struggled with alcohol and was often violent.

Although Ronnie later achieved great success as a chef, restaurant owner, and television personality, he struggled with drug addiction and was dependent on heroin for most of his life.

In the second episode of his new Netflix documentary, Being Gordon Ramsay, Gordon Ramsay opened up about his difficult relationship with his younger brother. He revealed that his brother has struggled with heroin addiction for over forty years, despite the fact they were close growing up and even shared a bunk bed – his brother is just 15 months younger than him.

I’ve been through incredibly difficult times with him, and now I feel a lot of guilt. I keep thinking things could have easily gone the other way – that I could have been in his situation instead.

He added: ‘I’ve been dealt the dysfunctional card.’ 

I’ve always been fascinated by Gordon Ramsay’s story. It’s incredible to think that the world-famous chef, now worth around £180 million, grew up on a challenging council estate in Renfrewshire, Scotland. When he was nine, his family – his parents, and sisters Yvonne and Dianne, along with his brother Ronnie – made a big move to Stratford-Upon-Avon. It just shows you where hard work and determination can take you!

This was the first in a series of moves, as the family kept relocating from one rental home to another while their father’s alcohol use increased.

He shared that he had a very difficult and painful relationship with his father, as revealed in the first episode of his new documentary.

Dealing with someone who has a drinking problem is incredibly difficult. It’s hard to understand what they’re going through, and it often makes you feel anxious and uneasy.

You’re anxious about finishing the alcohol and knowing what will happen afterwards.

In a 2023 interview on the Big Fish podcast with Spencer Matthews, Gordon Ramsay shared that he was committed to achieving success in his career without relying on drugs or alcohol.

He explained that having a difficult upbringing, moving around a lot and experiencing hardship, motivated him to turn his life around and escape a tough situation. He grew up living on fifteen different public housing estates.

It’s always tough starting at a new school or sports team. You have to build new friendships, and sometimes you end up doing that more than once in a single year.

This is really upsetting. I was just trying to improve things for my family, to give them the stability and opportunities I always wanted when I was growing up. I didn’t anticipate achieving this much, but like all accomplishments, it’s been the result of hard work.

Gordon Ramsay says his mother, who used to be a nurse, was the most influential person in his life. She worked three jobs to support the family.

One of the first things I wanted to do when I found success was to take care of my mum. It meant so much to me to be able to buy her a house with a garage, and a car of her own. As a son, it’s incredibly important to me to look after the woman who sacrificed everything to raise us – she truly went through so much to ensure we had everything we needed.

He added: ‘The flipside to my success is my brother’s addiction to heroin. It’s bizarre isn’t it?

Growing up, we lived on multiple council estates, often sharing a small bedroom with bunk beds. Being brothers only fourteen months apart, we experienced a lot of changes together.

He notes that he’s constantly reminded of how things could have turned out if he’d made different choices, and if he’d believed the country should have given things to him instead of striving to earn them.

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2026-02-18 13:18