He’d be proud of this ..Matt loved the attention
Widower’s joy as marriage story of ’odd couple’ hits our screens
A MAN who married his best friend to get round inheritance tax says his late pal would have been “proud” of a new documentary about them.
Michael O’sullivan, 60, tied the knot with Matt Murphy, 85, in 2017 to avoid paying €50,000 tax on the Dublin home Matt left him in his will.
Father-of-three Michael, who was friends with the former butler for over 30 years, said his late husband would have loved the spotlight being on him.
Matt sadly passed away following a short illness last January. The RTE production offers an insight into the close friendship the two men shared. Michael told the Irish Sunday Mirror:
“He was such a great character and he comes across as himself and he would have loved it. He loved the attention.
“It was very emotional to watch it back. It’s a lovely piece of work that tells the story so well. “What’s nice about it is that it airs during the same week as Matt’s anniversary which is on the 14th.”
Michael admitted he never imagined their story reaching every corner of the world.
He added: “At the time of the wedding we didn’t really even invite people. I found a set of rings in Matt’s jewellery box that worked as wedding rings.
“It was so high profile at the time that I’m sure it inspired others to do the same
as us. We were like the odd couple.”
In the documentary – Let The Rest Of The World Go By – Michael delves into why they decided to go ahead with the ceremony.
He explained: “At the time it was a marriage of convenience, you know. We didn’t know it was going to be a big international story.
“It was an amazing journey. I needed somewhere to live and Matt needed someone to take care of him.
“Matt spent his whole life looking after other people, fussing over them, people relied on him. But who was going to look after Matt?
“Matt came up with the idea and said,
‘I will give you the house and you look after me and I will give you the house as payment’.” He said the first year of the marriage was great as they ventured out a lot, but in the year before Matt’s death his health started to deteriorate.
Michael said: “I noticed his mind slipping a bit. He would come out with some strange things. I would just go along with it. I didn’t say anything, it was harmless.
“The first year was great. We went in the car, we went walking a lot, to the cafe, we just went everywhere together. It was so good.”
Let The Rest Of The World Go By airs tomorrow at 9.35pm on RTE One.
He was a character and comes across as himself MICHAEL O’SULLIVAN ON DOCUMENTARY