Rio Ferdinand's son admits he 'hated' stepmother Kate and 'lied' about her out of 'loyalty' to his late mother

His mother Rebecca tragically died of breast cancer in 2015 at just 34 years old, and Kate joined the family when she moved into their home in 2018.

"I felt so guilty for liking Kate and loving Kate. I felt guilty for my mum's family, for my mum," Tate explained during the frank conversation.

He described feeling trapped in "no man's land" for a couple of years, torn between his growing affection for Kate and his sense of duty to Rebecca's memory.

The teenager confessed to deliberately attempting to undermine his father's relationship with Kate by fabricating stories about her behaviour.

"You just had a hater in the house," Tate admitted, acknowledging he would try to interfere in Kate's affairs out of jealousy.

One incident involved Kate arranging a phone delivery for Rio while the children slept, which Tate twisted into accusations that she was secretly meeting men on the driveway.

"Tate told people that when dad's not there, I'm meeting men on the drive. So then a few people thought that when Rio was out, I was meeting random guys on the drive," Ms Ferdinand recalled.

Another lie emerged when Ms Ferdinand asked the children to stay in a room briefly while a Valentine's Day balloon delivery arrived, which spiralled into claims she was locking them away whenever Mr Ferdinand was absent.

"I was just in such a confused state of mind. I didn't know what was going on," Tate reflected on his behaviour during that period.

Tate described his ocnfusion about Ms Ferdinand and how he constantly oscillated between warmth and coldness as he struggled with his conflicting emotions.

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

• Peter Andre quashes Katie Price's husband's claim he has 'adopted' her children: 'Yet another lie!'
• Jesy Nelson tearfully rages at government MPs for opposing SMA testing after daughters' diagnosis
• BBC Strictly star announces split from husband after eight years of marriage as she pens emotional statement

"I remember when I hated you. I hated you. And then we might do something good and then I would flip straight away back into loving mode and then I'd have to almost lie about what I did before to get myself out of it," he revealed.

The teenager explained this behaviour stemmed from feeling caught between two opposing forces within himself.

"It's a really weird feeling because one part of me really likes her... and then the other part of me thinks, 'Oh, there's a loyalty towards my mum here, what am I doing?'" Tate said.

He referred to this turbulent period as his "half-hating" era, during which he would alternate between refusing to speak to or even look at Kate and showing her genuine affection.

Both Ms Ferdinand and Tate acknowledged they have navigated what she described as a "hell of a journey" together as a blended family.

The former Towie star was keen to address any perceived rivalry with Tate's biological mother, telling him directly: "There's no competition between me and your mum. Your mum's your mum, your mum's always going to be your mum."

She added poignantly: "If your mum was here, I wouldn't be here doing what I'm doing right now."

Tate also reflected on how his father struggled immensely with grief following Rebecca's death, describing the period before Kate arrived as "probably dad's hardest point in his life."

Ms Ferdinand acknowledged her husband's difficulties, noting that when they first met, he "didn't really face issues head on" – something they have worked on together over the years.