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Bert Newton's son Matthew to remember TV legend 'privately'
Following the recent death of TV legend Bert Newton at the age of 83, it was revealed his son Matthew, 44, wouldn't return to Australia from his home in the US for the funeral.
Matthew's mum and Bert's wife of 46 years, Patti Newton, 76, slammed reports this was due to a 'rift' in the family, revealing her son would be unable to attend because he simply cannot make it to Australia.
"It’s just the logistics of it all, and with Covid, and with everything else," she told the Daily Mail.
While their relationship in the past might have been strained, Patti stressed that was behind them.
"I’ve had so many conversations with [Matthew]. We had a conversation last night and all the family were here. [The media] want to make it a rift, but there was no rift. There was never a rift with Bert," she added.
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Sources close to Matthew have confirmed the father and son "managed to bury the hatchet" while Bert was in hospital in recent months due to an infection that prompted doctors to amputate his leg.
"They became close again in Bert’s final months, which was a source of huge comfort to him," the insider told New Idea.
While they won't be at the funeral the source said Matthew and his girlfriend Catherine Schneiderman, 28, are in "constant contact with Patti".
"As Matt and Patti begin to work out their next steps, he has told her he’s willing to bring Cat home when the chaos has calmed down to remember Bert privately as a family," the insider shared.
They added that Matthew would prefer to return home once things have settled down so as to avoid distracting from his father's service.
With international borders opening and Australian citizens able to fly into the country, Matthew may opt to wait until Christmas before flying home.
Bert had been receiving palliative care at the time of his death following a long health battle.
Matthew moved to New York in 2012, when it was believed his relationship with his parents Bert and Patti became strained. He has previously battled with addiction and mental health issues and has a tumultuous past.
Bert's state funeral will be held at St Patrick’s Cathedral, East Melbourne on Friday 12th November.
The service will begin at 10am and is expected to run for 90 minutes. It will be live-streamed through the government website and a link to view the stream will be made available closer to the event.
"Seating will be reserved in the Cathedral for official guests, family, friends and colleagues," the website reads.
In keeping with COVIDSafe guidelines, all attendees at the service must be fully vaccinated.
In lieu of flowers, Bert's family have requested contributions be made to VMCH’s O’Neill House in Prahran.
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