Trewley Precious Wass has hit back at viewers of The Secret Lives of Gypsy Wives who continue to question her gypsy heritage.
The TikTok star, 26, admitted that the “anger” directed towards her background has left her “confused” since the Channel 4 show launched.
The Secret Lives of Gypsy Wives premiered on Channel 4 last month after Trewley invited cameras into her life.
However, she says she and her family continue to face backlash from people who refuse to accept that she is a ‘real’ gypsy.
Trewley Precious slams Secret Lives of Gypsy Wives critics
Trewley has been open from the beginning about her family background. Her late father Sid was a Romani gypsy, while her mum Tina is a gorger, a term used for non gypsies.
Despite this, Trewley has faced criticism from some members of the traveller community. She and her siblings have lived on a council estate in Essex since they were born, which has caused further questions about her heritage.
Some people have even questioned Trewley’s roots because of the bad language she uses when speaking to her mum. Members of the traveller community have argued that this does not fit with being a true gypsy.
But Trewley has now hit back at those critics. She appeared on Paul C Brunson’s podcast, We Need To Talk, where she defended her family and her background.
“My dad was a gypsy,” she told Paul. “He was born in 1953 on the wagon on the side of the road near the woods. He had a very strict and poor upbringing.”
Trewley explained that her dad’s father, her paternal grandfather, was “not around”. She said her grandmother was “hardworking”, adding: “She worked the fields and [my dad] worked the fields.”
Sid was first convicted of street robbery aged 10 after stealing food, according to Trewley.
“Imagine that, having to go and rob someone because you’re hungry?” she asked Paul. “I’ve been raised by survivors. And then people are angry at that, which is very confusing.”
Trewley’s tears over mum Tina
Trewley also opened up about how her dad met her mum Tina during the 1980s. She revealed Sid had been married several times before, each time to gypsy women.
Trewley said: “My mum, no matter that she is a gorger, is a very prideful, strong, independent woman.
“My dad was obsessed with my mum, even though she wasn’t a travelling woman.
“She still had traits of one. He’d married other travelling women before but they didn’t do a good job because he stayed with my mum.”
Trewley said the two sides of the family “hated each other” when she was growing up. She claimed both sides believed the other “wasn’t good enough”.
She then became emotional while discussing the backlash Tina has faced for not being a traditional gypsy wife.
“I get so defensive over her,” she admitted. “I wouldn’t let anyone say what they’d want to say to her without me being there. I’m not having that.”
Trewley Precious began to cry as she continued: “She’s good woman, a very good woman. Having people say bad things about her has been really hard.
“The amount of times she’s had to fight for who she is and you think I’m going to let strangers have a go at her? It’s not happening.
“It’s always been us against the world and it always has been. So those jumping on the hate bandwagon, ‘You’re late. You’re late to the party’. This has been happening my whole life. Boring. Yawn.”
- The Secret Lives of Gypsy Wives continues at 10pm on Mondays on Channel 4. The entire series is available to stream online now.
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