Michael Hutchence’s brother Rhett reflects on the INXS frontman being their mother’s ‘favourite’

Rhett Hutchence has spoken about his traumatic childhood growing up alongside his rockstar brother, Michael.

In a teaser for the SBS show, Insight – Favourite Child, the 59-year-old artist said he was the less favoured child, which left him with ‘abandonment and rejection’ issues.

Rhett said their mother, Patricia, had always favoured the late INXS frontman because he was the less problematic one.

Confessions: Rhett Hutchence (right) has spoken about his traumatic childhood growing up alongside his rockstar brother, Michael Hutchence (left)

‘When you’ve got a child who’s a bit more of a rebel and a bit more, you know, causing more problems and things like that, I guess you have one because they’re liked a bit more and will be easier to handle,’ he said.

Rhett recounted returning home from school one day with Michael, only to find Patricia waiting in the driveway with two plane tickets.

She told the brothers that one ticket was for her, while the other one was for Michael, and then instructed him to go inside to pack a bag.

Past pain: In a teaser for the SBS show, Insight – Favourite Child, the 59-year-old artist said he was the less favoured child, which left him with ‘abandonment and rejection’ issues

After landing a job in Los Angeles as a makeup artist, Patricia relocated to the US with Michael for 18 months, leaving Rhett at home with a revolving roster of nannies.

Rhett was just 12 years old at the time, and confessed he spent a lot of time thinking he wasn’t good enough and wondering why Michael had gone with her.

He said his mother would try to ‘compensate’ by sending him gifts from the US every month, but the ‘damage was already done’.

Playing favourites: Rhett said their mother, Patricia (left), had always favoured the late INXS frontman because he was the less problematic child

‘I mean, I took it fairly hard, I took another path. My life took another path due to that. I think due to abandonment and rejection,’ he said.

As a teenager, Rhett fell into hard drugs, before finally entering rehab in 1992, where he ‘dealt with those matters of abandonment and rejection the first time’.

‘Up until then it was causing me grief or it was a reason I got to where I got, and then after that, being able to talk to them and having some clarity in my life, being able to speak with both parents about the issues, coming to terms with that, I slowly grew out of things,’ he said. 

Confession: ‘I mean, I took it fairly hard, I took another path. My life took another path due to that. I think due to abandonment and rejection,’ he said

He added: ‘I was searching for clarity for a long time and I finally got it, and quite happy with it now.’

Rhett, who is two years younger than Michael, has previously spoken about the impact Patricia and Michael leaving had on his life.

In an interview with New Idea magazine in November 2019, Rhett said their move led him onto ‘a pretty dark path’.  

Rebel: ‘When you’ve got a child who’s a bit more of a rebel and a bit more, you know, causing more problems and things like that, I guess you have one because they’re liked a bit more and will be easier to handle,’ said Rhett. Pictured, Michael as a child

According to Rhett, he always believed Patricia and Michael’s move to the US had been a last minute ‘surprise’.

It wasn’t until he watched the documentary about his brother, Mystify, that he discovered the move had been secretly in the works for months.

‘I only found out through watching the film that Michael had known about [the trip to America] for a few months before going, and it was a secret between him and mum that I never knew about,’ he said. 

Left behind: Rhett recounted returning home from school one day with his brother, only to find Patricia waiting in the driveway with two plane tickets for her and Michael

He added: ‘I’m glad I wasn’t aware of that while Michael was alive.’ 

Michael was found dead by suicide in his Sydney hotel room in November 1997 at the age of 37.

Insight – Favourite Child airs on SBS on Tuesday at 8.30pm. 

Tragic: As a teenager, Rhett fell into hard drugs, before finally entering rehab in 1992, where he ‘dealt with those matters of abandonment and rejection the first time’