‘@kjack_15 so sad. Dad 200 RL you 200 AFL & you don’t want us there, your parents. No appreciation for all the yrs helping you get there.’
That July 4, 2016, tweet from the mother of former Sydney Swans co-captain Kieren Jack lit a fuse that had been smouldering for years.
For two years, a rift had been quietly growing between Kieren and his parents, nurse Donna and rugby league legend Garry. It wasn’t a secret to Swans management – but until Donna decided to air the family’s dirty laundry, the public had no idea.
Within the Jack family, tensions had long simmered over lifestyle differences, the perceived influence of Kieren’s then-girlfriend, now-wife Charlotte Goodlet, and what insiders saw as a creeping jealousy from Donna and Garry as their son grew closer to his partner’s family.
In addition, Swans staff had privately dubbed Kieren’s parents ‘the Hungry Jacks’ for their reputation of always angling for freebies and special treatment from the club.
Donna’s anguish was clear, even with the clumsy wording. The incident that had cracked open the fault lines in their relationship was Kieren choosing to give club-issued tickets for his milestone 200th match with the Swans not to his parents, but to his future in-laws.
Former Sydney Swans co-captain Kieren Jack was estranged from his parents, nurse Donna and rugby league great Garry, for years before their recent reconciliation. Pictured in 2010
The rift was sparked by Donna and Garry feeling bitter that Charlotte was getting priority club-issued tickets to games. (Charlotte is pictured with Brandon Jack, left, at Kieren’s 200th game)
Donna’s anguish at not being at her son’s 200th game was clear, even with the clumsy wording
The gesture, seemingly small, was seismic in its impact.
In an instant, the Jack family feud became headline news, along with the false suggestion that Charlotte was somehow an unsuitable match for the premiership-winning golden boy and responsible for his rift with his parents.
In reality, the ‘bikini model’, as she was often called in the tabloids, had studied law in both Perth and Sydney and was employed as a producer at Channel Nine. She would go on to become a successful news anchor at Ten and now at Seven.
The suggestion that Charlotte was a Meghan Markle-like figure driving a wedge between Kieren and his parents was entirely unfounded.
There were also reports of Donna, jealous she was no longer the main woman in her son’s life, texting ‘the most appalling things to Charlotte’.
Meanwhile, as the divide deepened, Kieren’s brothers Rhys and Brandon were dragged into the mess. Rhys, the middle son, publicly sided with his mum and dad in a searing open letter. Brandon, a fellow Swans star who went on to become a writer, backed Kieren and remains estranged from Rhys to this day.
At the time, the Swans would not be drawn on details of the rift – said to have begun in 2014 when Kieren’s parents weren’t offered club-issued flights and hotel rooms for the AFL grand final but Charlotte was – telling reporters it was a ‘private family matter’.
Kieren also tried to keep the matter private, but he made it clear where his loyalties lay during a press conference ahead of his 200th game.
The eye of the storm: Kieren Jack and then-girlfriend, now-wife Charlotte Goodlet look tense after a Swans game on July 8, 2016. At the time, his rift with his parents was front-page news
When the family feud exploded, there were reports of Donna, jealous she was no longer the main woman in her son’s life, texting ‘the most appalling things to Charlotte’. (Kieren and Charlotte at pictured at the Swans’ Brownlow Medal function in September 2014)
He confirmed his parents were welcome to attend his milestone game but would have to pay their own way, then went on to defend his girlfriend in unequivocal terms.
‘She [Charlotte] hasn’t deserved the treatment that she has received, but she is strong, she’s an independent woman,’ he told reporters.
‘She’s not just a model – I can tell you that – and a lot of people here know that. I love her very much and I’m very proud of her.’
While he acknowledged ‘that my family did a lot for getting me to the position where I am’, Kieren appeared to criticise his mother for airing their dirty laundry on Twitter.
‘I have been pretty disappointed at the way the situation has been put out in the public eye,’ he said.
‘What I will say is my priorities of support are firmly with my partner and my little brother, who I love and care for very much.’
But time, as it often does, softened the edges.
Brandon Jack (right), who followed his brother to the Sydney Swans before retiring from football to become a writer, sided with Kieren (centre) and Charlotte (left) over his parents
The other Jack brother, Rhys, sided with Garry and Donna in the feud – as shown in this July 4, 2016, tweet. To this day, Rhys remains estranged from Brandon
Kieren made it clear where his loyalties lay during a press conference ahead of his 200th game
Recent statements by Kieren indicate he has mended his once-fractured relationship with his parents, bringing to a close one of the most bitter family feuds in Australian sporting history.
The arrival of Kieren and Charlotte’s son, Alfie, sparked a shift in perspective that made reconciliation with his parents possible.
‘[Alfie] was part of the reason we wanted to reconnect, too,’ Kieren told the Sydney Morning Herald earlier this month.
‘It’s small steps, but we’re in a much better place now, which is great.’
The tone is markedly different from the fractured days of old.
However, fans had already noticed the improvement in relations by looking to Garry Jack’s social media posts, which now reflect a softer, more reflective tone.
The days of public outbursts over ticket snubs are behind him; now, his posts reflect only pride and affection.
In a nostalgic Facebook post from a year ago, Garry shared a clip from a 1989 Today Show segment featuring himself, wife Donna, and a very young Kieren.
‘Wow 35 years ago, Liz was right – little Kieren didn’t go on to play rugby league,’ Garry wrote.
‘He went on to win an AFL Premiership, played in 3 grand finals, represented Australia against Ireland, won the Best & Fairest with the Sydney Swans & played 256 1st grade games!
‘Kieren had a great career, always his own man.’
While not every fracture has been fixed, the mood on Garry’s social media is cautiously optimistic – a sign the family is slowly rebuilding the bridges once thought burned forever.
Footy fans sensed a reconciliation after Garry began posting warm messages about his son on Facebook, including this throwback video from a 1989 Today show appearance
‘Always his own man’: The days of public outbursts over ticket snubs are behind him; now, Garry’s posts reflect only pride and affection for his son Kieren
Kieren’s reconciliation with his parents comes as he and Charlotte move from Sydney to Perth, where they recently bought a cottage in the western suburb of Swanbourne for $2.25million
Father and son were able to repair their relationship before Kieren moved across the country
Now, with Kieren and Charlotte expecting twins and living in Perth – where she works as a newsreader for Channel Seven – the former Swans star appears to be turning the page on one of the most painful chapters of his life.
One family wound remains unhealed – the estrangement between brothers Brandon and Rhys.
In 2019, Rhys, who once dabbled in both rugby league and Aussie rules at a semi-professional level, blasted his older and younger brother in a Sunday newspaper.
Not only had Kieren and Brandon become estranged from their parents, Rhys said, but extended family and close friends, too.
‘As much as you may seek to avoid it, or rewrite what happened, you can never deny where you’ve come from and you can never deny the important role your parents played in your upbringing at every step of the journey,’ he wrote.
‘Those are the people who are worth just as much as any jersey or premiership cup could ever be.’
Even now, Brandon remains estranged from Rhys.
‘That’s the longest estrangement, and one that I just don’t really have any thoughts on at the moment,’ Brandon recently told the SMH.
As for his parents, Brandon, like Kieren, has healed the estrangement.
In an interview promoting his second novel, Pissants, he recalled returning to his family home in Wollongong for the first time in six years. As Garry opened the front door to greet him, both men cried.
