Spencer Matthews: I was pretty selfish about my own life — then I met Vogue

Spencer Matthews was once a reality TV villain, today he’s a clean cut family man whose next challenge sees him attempt to run 30 marathons in 30 days for charity

Spencer Matthews: "I would just kind of do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. And then, I met someone that I really cared about and began to see my behaviour affecting that."

There was a time when Spencer Matthews was among the British media’s most maligned men.

‘There’s A Reason Spencer Matthews Is Still Made In Chelsea’s Most Controversial Villain,’ a 2022 article from women’s magazine Grazia reads. ‘How Spencer Matthews’s move from supershagger to woke-bro bankrupted Made in Chelsea,’ a headline from The Guardian unfurls. 

We are now more than a decade into the era that no one saw coming; one which plucked Matthews from addiction and self-sabotage into a clean-cut, family man — one set on abolishing former stereotypes and growing from trauma. What sparked the transformation?

“Meeting my Irish beauty,” he smiles from a July family holiday in Spain.

“No, I think it’s all part of growing up and taking responsibility for your actions. 

"I was pretty selfish about my own life. I would just kind of do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. And then, I met someone that I really cared about and began to see my behaviour affecting that. 

"When that happens, all of a sudden you begin to realise that maybe your parents are right. When I addressed it fully and completely gave up [alcohol], immediately my life became completely different. Far more beautiful, better, full of energy, and you know… full of colour. It’s a remarkable thing.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Irish Examiner (@irish_examiner)

Over the past 13 years, Matthews has been a reality TV star, an entrepreneur, a competitive athlete, a father, a podcaster, a documentarian, a royal-adjacent and first gentleman of wife Vogue Williams (“I actually think my family like me better since meeting her,” he says of their relationship). 

His story began on Made In Chelsea, the heavily produced reality series set on anglicising MTV’s rip-roariously successful The Hills. 

The story goes that Matthews met The Hills alumnus Spencer Pratt while studying at the University of Southern California and considered transferring the premise.

“That’s not entirely true,” he says. “While I was in California, I became friends with someone very close to Brody Jenner. And so I began seeing Brody and Spencer quite a lot at the height of their The Hills fame. I began wondering why this type of television show didn’t exist in London. And so when we came home, we spoke to a production company and shot a pilot, but nothing came of it.

“Then E4 called and wanted to give it a go. I was originally interested in becoming an actor, so when they asked me to be involved, I kind of jumped at the opportunity because it would give me some experience being in front of the camera. 

I also had hoped I could use it as a stepping stone into television and media. Little did I know I’d stay there for 11 years.”

THE SHIFT

Spencer Matthews: When I gave up alcohol, my life became completely different. Picture: Ruth Rose

Matthews packs similar stories — ones laden with enthusiasm and self-deprecation — into his own podcast Big Fish. 

The podcast is a storytelling format wherein he interviews guests, largely from the British media circuit, to discuss their secrets to success following a personal reinvention mechanic that has fuelled Matthews’ own drive and ambition. 

Guests range from Paralympic athlete Richard Whitehead to fashion designer Sophia Webster to comic Romesh Ranganathan, who each prove charming and inspirational in equal measure. Yet it is the host fans keep coming back for.

He does this while running several other enterprises, the main of which exists as Clean Co, a suite of luxury, non-alcoholic, zero-sugar, spirit alternatives. 

Matthews might not quite be a household name for most people living in Britain and Ireland, but among those attempting to overcome addiction issues, he is a figure of considerable repute, so the business was a natural fit.

Developed back in 2019, Clean Co products include alternatives to gin, flavoured vodka, rum, tequila and whiskey. 

The move was an important one for Matthews’ accountability and, an even better one for his pocket. (As The Sun notes, the company grew by 700% during lockdown, and Matthews’ Clean Co shares were reportedly worth £28 million as of 2021.)

“I quickly realised a gap in the market for a sophisticated, no-alcohol cocktail,” he says of the brand’s origin. 

“I often compare it to the meat-free market, which had so many products that didn’t really cut it up until Impossible Burger came around. Now you can choose that and it’s a fine alternative. We wanted to create the same with our cocktails.”

Spencer Matthews with wife Howth influencer Vogue Williams. Picture: Jed Cullen/Dave Benett/Getty Images

There is a taboo that those who made their name in reality television may never be taken seriously. It’s a reality — that word, again — both Matthews and his wife live daily; the latter having joined the reality television circuit back in 2010, when Fade Street, came to life on RTÉ.

Though both have moved on, both separately and together, their pasts regularly haunt them, with some suggesting they don’t deserve the same respect other, non-reality-starting broadcasters do. (‘No one cares!’ a comment reads under a clip of Matthews discussing working with Williams on Good Morning Britain). 

Though neither seems particularly preoccupied with their past lives, and nor should they be, others are — something they’ve courted skillfully and with ease. For those who follow Matthews, they might have an inkling that “reality”, or a misnomer of the same, has followed his life for some time now. 

Not just because of the amorphous quality of Made In Chelsea, or any of the other television shows he has participated in, but because his reality by way of being a public persona, has been more a hint at his life than than a full reality.

Though his existence may appear glamourous and riveting — a former Etonian, brother-in-law to Pippa Middleton, and a life divided between Battersea and Saint Barthélemy, where his parents own a luxury hotel — it has not been without its strife.

At 10 years old, Matthews’ brother Michael became the youngest British climber to summit Mount Everest at 22, only to die hours later on the descent. 

In 2017, the family received a photograph of a body on Everest that looked as if it might be wearing the same colour summit suit that Michael was wearing when he went missing. The family spoke and agreed that if it were possible, they should try to bring Michael home. 

Spencer Matthews attempted to retrace the steps of his older brother Michael in the documentary Finding Michael.

For this, Matthews opted in. He filmed his journey for Disney+, in a spectacularly moving documentary on familial love, loss and duty. Unfortunately, luck was not in their favour and Spencer did not find his brother’s body in Finding Michael. 

For Matthews, it closed a chapter that had, unfortunately, struggled to ever really open, yet also redirected him towards a new North Star: Giving back.

“I think people often assume that I partake in fitness challenges to feel closer to Mike,” he says. 

“And that’s not exactly true. I do feel closer to Michael when I do these races, and it’s a very pleasant thing for him to be in my thoughts in difficult times, but charity is the primary driver. Of course, if those who knew Michael see a similarity between me and him, then that’s a beautiful thing. I love and respect him and if my kids could be like him, that would be wonderful.”

CHALLENGE OF A LIFETIME

At the end of this month, Matthews will attempt to run 30 marathons in 30 consecutive days, for a total of 1,266km; a distance longer than the length of Britain. 

The feat will take place entirely on sand, beginning in the Jordanian desert of Wadi Rum — where temperatures are likely to exceed 40°C — and finishing near the Dead Sea. 

It is the equivalent of five The Marathon Des Sables; a seven-day, ultramarathon, approximately the distance of six regular marathons and known as the toughest footrace on the planet. His chosen charity partner is Global’s Make Some Noise, a group which supports some 100 small Britain-based charities, whose central focuses range from homelessness to bereavement to children with disabilities.

Spencer Matthews training for 30 in 30. Pictures: Matt Stone

“These things always come with a degree of personal development. And pain,” he smiles. 

“But I like pushing my body and mind as far as they can go. It’s kind of a love/hate thing – even if you fail, you learn something. Of course, the charitable element is something that’s very dear to me, too. It speaks to so many people, and that means a lot.”

When asked about a potential target, Matthews smiles widely: “I have a million pounds in the back of my mind. But you know, my targets are usually big and hairy. Really, we’re just trying to do as much as possible.”

• For more information on Matthews, Clean Co. or the challenge, you can follow him on Instagram @spencermatthews