Amy Bradley’s brother defends family amid homophobia allegations

More than two decades after Amy Bradley vanished from a Caribbean cruise, her brother Brad Bradley has spoken out against what he describes as a wave of online hostility and misrepresentation - sparked by the release of a new Netflix documentary.

The three-part series, Amy Bradley is Missing, revisits the 1998 disappearance of the 23-year-old American, who was last seen aboard Rhapsody of the Seas - a Royal Caribbean ship en route from Aruba to Curaçao. Despite years of investigation, Amy’s fate remains unknown.

While the documentary has reignited public interest in the case, it has also prompted criticism of the Bradley family - particularly around their response to Amy’s sexuality.

“We’re being vilified. The internet can be brutal,” Brad told PEOPLE. “We’ve learnt to live with it over the years - there’s always been support, but there’s also a darker side. People who don’t know us are making sweeping, hurtful assumptions.”

One of the more contentious aspects of the documentary is its treatment of Amy’s bisexuality. The series touches on her coming out and suggests that her family, particularly her parents, initially struggled with acceptance.

Brad, however, says the portrayal is misleading and incomplete.

“There’s this narrative online that we were intolerant, that we pushed her away. It’s simply not true,” he said. “Yes, our parents needed time to adjust when she came out in 1995—but by the time of the cruise, that was long behind us.”

He also criticised the documentary for omitting key details - most notably, that Amy was in a relationship with a man at the time of her disappearance.

“She wasn’t just dating women. She was bisexual. She had a boyfriend then, and he was very much part of our lives. That part of her story was left out.”

Two months before the cruise, Amy had confessed to her girlfriend, Mollie McClure, that she had kissed someone else while drinking. The revelation led to a falling out, and Amy later sent a handwritten letter - described by Brad as a “message in a bottle” - pleading for forgiveness.

“That letter meant a lot. It showed she was trying to make amends. And it’s taken on a whole new meaning since she went missing.”

Brad believes Amy may have been hoping to reconnect with McClure after the cruise, despite her ongoing relationship with her boyfriend.

“She’d written to him too, saying she wanted to slow things down. I think she was trying to figure things out. That’s normal at 23.”

Brad also addressed the online speculation that his family’s attitudes may have contributed to Amy’s disappearance or mental state.

“People are saying she couldn’t live with a family like ours. That’s just cruel. Her girlfriends stayed over. We went on holidays together. Mollie was at our house last Easter. We’ve always welcomed the people Amy loved.”

He added that he and McClure remain close friends to this day.

Amy was last seen in the early hours of the second day of the cruise, sitting on the balcony of her cabin after a night out at the ship’s nightclub. By morning, she was gone. Despite extensive searches and an ongoing FBI investigation, no trace of her has ever been found.