Jack Osbourne has opened up about the long-standing rift between him and his sister Aimee, revealing in a recent podcast conversation that the siblings were “not close at all” long before they were reunited by tragedy.
In a candid appearance on the Disrespectfully podcast, the 39-year-old reality star and music producer spoke frankly about why Aimee, now 41, never joined him and Kelly on their groundbreaking MTV series, The Osbournes.
“When the show launched in 2002, Aimee really wanted to be a musician,” Jack explained. “She was into artists like Fiona Apple and Mazzy Star, mysterious, moody, almost underground. She saw appearing on MTV as low-hanging fruit. She didn’t want to ride our coat-tails.”
He went on to say that after the show’s massive success, Aimee dug in her heels. “She was like, ‘If I come on now, I’ll look like I’m jumping on the bandwagon.’ She wanted to stay private and obscure.”
Aimee’s decision to keep her distance from the world of reality television did nothing to endear her to a fan base that had watched her younger siblings’ every move.
© AARON PARFITT / BACKGRIDWhile Jack became known for his playful antics and Kelly found fame as the family’s fashion rebel, Aimee quietly built a different career. Under the stage name ARO, her initials, she released music that reflected the brooding style she admired.
Asked on the podcast whether Aimee had ever regretted declining to appear on the family show, Jack admitted he didn’t know.
© WireImage“I’ve never had that conversation with her,” he said. “We’re just not close at all. We don’t have a great relationship, she’ll be the first to tell you that. It’s no secret.”
He paused before adding: “I guess if I were her I’d have wondered if my life would have turned out differently if I’d been on the show. But I don’t know.”
That emotional honesty came just weeks before the Osbourne family faced one of its greatest challenges: the death of rock legend Ozzy Osbourne, their father, on July 22 at the age of 76.
Ozzy’s funeral procession through Birmingham, his hometown, drew thousands of fans who lined the streets to pay their respects. It was a galvanizing moment that brought every branch of the Osbourne family tree, Jack, Kelly, Aimee and their mother Sharon, together in public for the first time in years.
Aimee’s quiet appearance alongside her siblings at the cortege was a courageous step into the spotlight she had long avoided.
© PA Images via Getty ImagesWearing a simple black dress and sunglasses, she stood beside Kelly, Jack and Sharon, her face solemn but determined. Photographs from the day show Kelly gently touching Aimee’s arm, the two sisters exchanging a brief, unguarded smile that spoke of shared grief and the bonds of family.
In the weeks since, Aimee has shown her support for her father’s legacy in her own way. While Kelly has embraced public expressions of emotion, she wrote on Instagram of losing “the best friend I ever had,” Aimee has chosen to honor Ozzy through private acts of remembrance and by quietly championing his music.
Kelly, for her part, has spoken openly about her strained relationship with Aimee. On Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast in 2021, Kelly admitted: “We don’t talk. We’re just really different. She doesn’t understand me and I don’t understand her.” Her words echoed Aimee’s own frank assessment in a 2015 interview with The Independent, when she said, “I wouldn’t say there is an ease between us, but there is an acceptance. Do we socialize? No.”
Their mother Sharon, who married Ozzy in 1982, has expressed enduring regret over Aimee’s decision to stay out of the MTV spotlight. On The Talk in 2018, Sharon recalled, “She felt too that she didn’t want to grow up on camera. She hated the idea, it was appalling to her. And so she left at 16 and I regret every day that she did. It broke my heart when she moved.”
Read the full article here
