“DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES” star Jesse Metcalfe has a tragic family secret: His father is addicted to crack cocaine, broke, has lost an eye in a brawl and been evicted from his apartment.
But Jeffrey Metcalfe refuses to ask for help from his son, who plays hunky gardener John on the hit show.
“Jeffrey is going to die soon because of the things that he is doing,” declared Robert deRedon, his longtime friend and former landlord in New London, Conn.
“I used to beg him to get in touch with his son. But Jeffrey has refused. He said they didn’t get along.”
HAVEN’T SPOKEN
When contacted by The ENQUIRER, Jeffrey said: “I love Jesse and I am very proud of what he has managed to do. But we haven’t spoken for many years.
“He doesn’t need to know what has happened. He needs to get on with his own life. It’s not in his best interests to get involved.”
Jeffrey’s sister Pam La Ware and her husband Jim have let Jeffrey stay in their home in nearby Waterford since he was evicted.
“He doesn’t want to do anything that would hurt Jesse,” Pam told The ENQUIRER. “He doesn’t feel it would be appropriate to hurt him in any way.”
Jeffrey hasn’t seen his son since he split with his mother Nancy — whom he never married — when Jesse was 5. And his life really went down the tubes after he was fired from his job as a longshoreman, a friend told The ENQUIRER.
“He was smoking crack cocaine. They did a random drug test that came up positive for cocaine use.
“Jeffrey was given the option of going to rehab or losing his job. He did start a recovery program, but he dropped out.”
TRAGEDY
Jeffrey’s former landlord deRedon disclosed: “Jeffrey never got his job back, and because he wasn’t working, he couldn’t pay his rent.
“On October 23, Jeffrey let some so-called friends into his apartment and there was a violent robbery. I heard yelling and screaming and chairs flying — and then I heard a blood-curdling yell from Jeffrey.
“I called 911, but before the police and ambulance got there, two guys and a woman ran out of Jeffrey’s front door. I looked in — and Jeffrey was standing there with his eyeball dangling from his face. Paramedics rushed him to the hospital, but doctors couldn’t save his eye.
“While Jeffrey was still in the hospital, I went to his apartment to clean up. There was dried blood all over the place, and empty packets of drugs and drug paraphernalia.
“There was so much rubbish in the bedroom that he slept on the couch instead.
“Jeffrey now has a false eye and is trying to get help from the state, claiming he was a victim of a crime.”
The landlord served an eviction notice on Jeffrey in mid-November, which mentioned the drugs and drug paraphernalia and read in part: “I ask no drugs, prostitutes. But Jeff has people in and out all during the nite.”
NO COMMENT
When told about Jeffrey’s sad situation by The ENQUIRER, Jesse’s spokesperson said the “Desperate Housewives” star had no comment.
Jeffrey’s friend added: “Jeffrey watches Jesse, 26, on television. He’s very proud of him. But he doesn’t want to call Jesse because he doesn’t want him to know what a loser his father is.
“Sometimes Jeffrey wishes he had been a bigger part of Jesse’s life growing up — but there’s nothing he can do about that now.”
— ROBIN MIZRAHI and ALEXANDER HITCHEN
