Barry Keoghan has reportedly banned his younger brother Eric from the set of the upcoming Beatles biopic, amid claims his new girlfriend Danica Hall "isn't a fan" of him.
The Irish actor, 33, is playing Ringo Starr in the film and has been seen filming recently in London alongside Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney and Joseph Quinn as George Harrison. Eric, who has previously worked as Barry's assistant on his film sets, has not been spotted there.
A source said Eric is now back in Ireland and is no longer living with Barry at the house he is renting near London. "Barry is in the honeymoon phase with his new girlfriend, Danica Hall, and she is not Eric's biggest fan," the source said. "Barry decided it was best that Eric didn't stay with him and he has not been seen at filming."
Another insider told The Sun that Eric "didn't always bring out the best in Barry", adding that it was probably better the brothers were "not in each other's pocket".
A close but troubled childhood
Barry and Eric grew up together in Summerhill, an area in the centre of Dublin, with their mother Debbie, who battled heroin addiction. Little is known about their father.
Debbie's addiction left her unable to care for her sons, and at the age of five Barry and Eric were placed into foster care, moving between 13 different homes over seven years.
The brothers were later able to move in with their aunt, Lorraine Keoghan, and a cousin whom Barry has described as "a sister" to him. Lorraine, now 59, took a job as a cleaner in a pub to support the family while raising the three children in Summerhill. She adopted Barry when he was eight, as his mother remained unable to care for him. His father, who has since died, was not involved in his upbringing.
Debbie died at 31 after years of addiction, from pneumonia, septicaemia and hepatitis. Barry was 12 at the time and has said their shared grief for their mother strengthened his bond with Eric, whom he has called a "legend". Eric, who works backstage in art production on films, used to feature regularly on Barry's Instagram before the actor deleted his account.
Barry's new relationship
Barry's relationship with British aesthetician Danica Hall, who goes by Neeka, was revealed earlier this year. He is said to be "totally smitten" with her, and reportedly met her through her connections at a cosmetic surgery company on Harley Street in London.
Friends said in June that the couple had been together officially for weeks, with Barry enjoying a "low-key" romance after his high-profile relationship with the American singer Sabrina Carpenter. Danica, unlike Carpenter, has stayed out of the public eye and has removed all her social media accounts.
"Neeka is totally in sync with Barry," a source said. "She gets that he wants to live a quiet life and she is totally down with that."
The source added that Danica reminds Barry of his ex-girlfriend Alyson Kierans, a dentist he dated from 2021 to 2023 and with whom he shares a three-year-old son, Brando. Insiders told The Sun that although Barry and Alyson's relationship had ended, they would "share their son forever", describing Alyson as "a devoted mother" whose priority is caring for Brando. They said the sense of "normalness" Barry valued with Alyson, who was uninterested in a public life, was something friends believe he has found again in Danica.
Fallout from the Sabrina Carpenter split
Danica is Barry's first public relationship since he split from Carpenter in 2024, a break-up followed by online abuse after he was wrongly accused of infidelity. He was hit with claims that he had cheated with a "semi-famous TikTok influencer" after a blind item was sent to the gossip site DeuxMoi, a rumour later tied to influencer Breckie Hill.
Speaking on Benny Blanco's Friends Keep Secrets podcast, Barry described withdrawing from public life over the backlash. "I came off Instagram, social profiles. I stopped going to events, socialising," he said. "It's because there was a narrative out there that's not true. I never confirmed or said anything about it so I just disappeared."
When rapper and podcast co-host Lil Dicky asked if the narrative concerned cheating, Barry replied: "That I cheated, yeah. I don't want to ever bring anyone else into it but unfortunately, having a relationship in the public eye, it's amplified." He added: "You see the narrative, a girl made a video and then a girl made the same video and said sorry for making that up but no one seemed to latch on to that video."
Barry and Sabrina's relationship
Barry and Carpenter were first linked in 2023, but sources said the relationship became difficult as her career took off and she was pulled in "so many directions", leaving little time to maintain it. Carpenter's hit single "Manchild" is widely believed to have been written about Barry following their split.
Barry previously had long-term relationships with Shona Guerin, from 2017 to 2020, and with Alyson Kierans. Carpenter had a high-profile romance with former Disney Channel actor Joshua Bassett from 2020 to 2021 and was linked to singer Shawn Mendes early last year.
