Gordon Ramsay's nightmare

last updated 8 January 2015

From the magazine

Gordon Ramsay’s career may be flourishing, but his personal life has been hell. The British celebrity chef, who recently added a New York restaurant to his $40 million empire, has spent two decades coping with his brother’s heroin addiction. “It’s been one of the most painful things in my life,’’ Ramsay tells Louise Gannon in Page Six magazine. “I’d been paying him two and half grand a month, because this time—yet again—he was supposed to be sorting himself out.’’ He wasn’t. Ronnie Ramsay was recently jailed in Indonesia for heroin possession and sent word to his famous brother that he needed $12,000 to hire a lawyer. Gordon said no. Within days, he began getting anonymous phone calls threatening his life and his children. “I’ve changed my numbers, got extra security in the house, but I’m not giving in,’’ Ramsay says. “I’m not living like that anymore.’’ In his effort to rescue his brother, he’s paid a small fortune for several rehab programs and once even bought him heroin so he could attend their father’s funeral. Nothing has made any difference. So Ramsay has decided to cut off all contact. “To be honest, all I feel is relief—relief that this hideous weight I’ve carried around all these years is off my shoulders. It’s not a great situation, but no amount of money I give to him will change anything. I want Ronnie to get better, but no one can do that except him.’’