Everyone’s heard of the notorious O.J. Simpson. But have you heard of Charlie Pattinson?
If not, you should probably know a thing or two about him. After all, he’s the brother of Kate (formerly known as Kaetlyn) and Jackie (formerly known as Jacquelyn) Simpson, as well as the uncle of Brooke (formerly known as Brittany) and Syd (formerly known as Sydne) Simpson.
Pattinson, who had been married for 38 years to his wife, Pam, died in September 2015. Since then, reports have suggested that he was gay and that, in fact, he had been cheating on her with one of her employees, Brett Cochran, whom he met at a local gym. This story, though, seems to have been largely concocted by the media, motivated by an entertainment industry obsessed with celebrity and obsessed with creating controversy for the sake of controversy. The truth is quite different. Here are 3 things you need to know about Charlie Pattinson.
1. He Wasn’t Always Rich
The story of Charlie Pattinson going from rags to riches is one that Hollywood loves to embellish, but it’s also rather simplistic. In reality, he was born in England to a working-class family. His father was a milkman and his mother, an office worker. He grew up in a big house with five other siblings and a nanny. As a kid, he loved animals and was surrounded by them. He even had his own pet pig named Judy. She was later sent to a livestock farm when Charlie was 10 years old.
When he was 18, he left school and went to work for a stockbroker. Two years later, he founded a stock brokerage firm with a friend, which later merged with another firm to create Caring, Inc. After working his way up the corporate ladder for several years, he was ready to retire in 2013. At the time of his death, he was worth over $100 million.
2. He Wasn’t Always Popular Amongst the Celebs
Another Hollywood creation myth is that the famous and wealthy are usually isolated from society. Far from it. In fact, the truth is that quite the opposite is usually true. The rich and famous are usually among the most social people you’ll ever meet. And it’s probably because of this that they’ve found a way to incorporate social media into their lives.
For example, Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, continues to use her Instagram account to share family photos and updates about her life as a wife and mother. While Prince George also uses his Instagram account to communicate with his followers.
If you want to know what’s going on in the life of one of the most famous and wealthy people in the world, you should probably look no further than her Instagram account.
3. He Wasn’t Always Affectionate Toward Women
Some have suggested that Charlie Pattinson was a womanizer who only had sex with men. The reality, however, is that he was never particularly affectionate toward women. In fact, he always seemed more comfortable around men. The only women he ever showed much interest in were his nieces and he never had any actual sexual encounters with any of them. That is, until his deathbed confession.
According to the New York Daily News, before his deathbed confession, he had denied being gay. Reportedly, he had even gone so far as to propose to his wife of 38 years, Pam, during an argument. “You’ll never have children. You’re not capable,” he is quoted as saying. “I think it’s better if we don’t get married. We can still be friends.”
In later years, though, he had a change of heart and reportedly confessed to having had sexual encounters with men. According to the Daily News, this was probably because he had developed an attraction to Cochran, his former lover and the person he is believed to have had the affair with. One of his cousins, Tom Simpson, had heard that Pattinson was sexually attracted to men and sought the truth from him. In his interview with The New York Daily News, Tom Simpson said that he wanted to clear the air and that, eventually, he would come around and forgive his cousin. He said, “I’ve known him my whole life. He’s never been anything but an inspiration to me. My request to him was, ‘Look, if you ever do want to talk, I’m here. I want to help. I want to support you.’ I just think that when you’re on your deathbed, it’s time to come clean. I think he felt a lot of shame and regret. But he wanted to make sure that he had not deceived his wife. I don’t think he ever wanted to hurt Pam again. So I think that was his main motive, to make sure she knew the truth. He never got to tell her but at least he could repent to God and his family. That was his main goal.”
Whether or not you buy into this speculation about Charlie’s true motives, the fact remains that, at the time of his death, he had never fully accepted who he was and had spent most of his adult life trying to hide that side of himself from the public. It is, however, something that he is said to have felt comfortable enough to share with the people closest to him, namely his three surviving siblings.
As for the rest of us, we’ll have to settle for the fact that Charlie Pattinson will be remembered for being one of the most private and well-guarded people alive. Still, even now, over three years after his death, there are so many unanswered questions about his life that remain. It’s as if he knew something that we don’t know and he wanted to be the only one in the know.