Spencer Matthews has spoken frankly about his marriage to Vogue Williams, admitting that his heavy drinking almost led to its demise.
The former Made in Chelsea star, 37, married Irish media personality Vogue, 40, in 2018, one year after her divorce from Brian McFadden.
Together, Spencer and Vogue share three kids: son Theodore, six, daughter Gigi, five, and son Otto, three.
Their relationship is pretty public, as they often speak about one another in interviews and offer fans a glimpse into home life via social media.
When Vogue was in the I’m A Celebrity jungle recently, for example, Spencer sang her praises from afar, saying he was ‘so proud’ of her ‘brave stint’.
However, Spencer has now reflected on the time when things weren’t so rosy, telling Davina McCall that the strength of their marriage started ‘slipping’ in 2017.
Appearing on the host’s Begin Again podcast, Spencer, who completed 30 marathons in 30 days for charity last year, reflected on how Vogue has helped to ‘transform’ him.
‘How have you become this guy?’, probed the former Big Brother host.
‘Marrying an amazing woman who I want to be better for, I think, has been very helpful,’ he began sweetly. ‘Genuinely, the person I used to be isn’t good enough for my wife.’
Davina went on to praise the couple for how they ‘support each other’, having ‘watched them fall in love’.
‘I saw you see something in her that it felt like you’d never seen in anyone before,’ she said. ‘You were looking at her in wonder, like, wow, there are girls like you.
‘She’s so real, and funny, and naughty, and hot. And all the things that would be good for you.’
Spencer declared Vogue a ‘very special person’, saying she’s ‘got it all’.
‘And she lights up rooms that she walks into. She’s immensely popular. I’ve never met anyone, really, that doesn’t immediately warm to her. Incredible sense of humour. Very beautiful.
‘And you only have to spend a few hours with her around her kids to just see what a special mother she is, as well. Completely selfless and very special.’
The podcaster added that he ‘made a very conscious effort to become better’ when he first met Vogue.
‘I had big problems with alcohol,’ he stated, recalling his stint on Channel 4’s The Jump eight years ago, a controversial reality show in which celebrities tried to master various winter sports, with Spencer winning the fourth series of.
‘I was a very heavy drinker,’ he remembered from that time. ‘I went sober for her initially. It then immediately almost became for me as well.
‘I had no idea the profound impact that that would have on my life. But initially, it was, I don’t mind saying, for her.’
On how his blossoming romance at the time influenced his decision to get sober, Spencer added: ‘Not at her request, by the way. I could just see the relationship slipping.
‘I could see that she would lose interest in me and put me on some scrap heap somewhere if I didn’t make an actual change to my own health.
‘The fear of losing her was quite real.’
Spencer had ‘never felt that before in previous relationships’, openly saying he was once ‘quite selfish’.
‘And I would go out and drink and stay out all night and do whatever I wanted. And if it didn’t work, it didn’t work, and that was that. I’ve never considered marrying anyone but Vogue.’
Spencer left Made in Chelsea in 2015, but it wasn’t until three years later that he realised his alcohol addiction, which had damaging consequences for both his relationships and health.
Previously, the star said drinking ‘controlled’ his life, leading to him making ‘incredibly bad decisions’.
When first child Theodore was born in 2018, it was a huge push for him to turn things around, prompting Spencer, who once started sweating just tying his shoelaces, to work on his fitness.
He also went sober for four years and now only drinks occasionally.
Transforming his health after hitting ‘rock bottom’ has allowed Spencer to become what he calls an ‘extreme endurance athlete’.
Last August, he broke a World Record for his 30-marathon challenge in Jordan, West Asia.
Spencer also embarked on a Mount Everest journey in 2023, with his family’s agreement, in an attempt to recover the body of brother Michael, who died while scaling the mountain in 1999, aged 22.
His latest fitness challenge saw Spencer complete Project Se7en – a full Ironman triathlon on each continent, which he did in 21 days and set two records for in the process.
Beyond fitness, he’s remained committed to minimising his alcohol intake, founding CleanCo, a non-alcoholic spirits brand focusing on living a ‘life less wasted’ and offering sophisticated alternatives that he was once unaware of himself.
Additionally, he and Vogue have firmly blasted split rumours many times, saying in March this year that reports of them being on the rocks were ‘baseless and cruel’.
Need help?
The NHS recommends Drinkline, the national alcohol helpline. If you're worried about your own or someone else's drinking, there is a free helpline you can call in complete confidence. Call 0300 123 1110 (weekdays 9am to 8pm, weekends 11am to 4pm).
Or you can use Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), a free self-help group with a 12-step programme.
