Why Spencer decided to get on the wagon
From wild womaniser to clean-living papa bear
While Spencer Matthews was once known for being quite the Chelsea party boy, these days he is anything but. As husband to Vogue Williams and father to their 14-month-old son Theodore, Spencer seems worlds away from the arrogant reality star he once was. OK, that may not be strictly true – but one vital difference in the 31 year old is that, last year, he decided to give up alcohol.
Last week, Spencer told fans, “Sobriety is a lifestyle choice I made a few months before becoming a dad. In the back of my mind for many years, I had always felt that my relationship with alcohol, although seemingly harmless, was unhealthy and somewhat destructive. Drinking led me to make poor decisions and achieving my full potential was slipping away.”
Back in his Made In Chelsea days,
Spencer developed quite the wild reputation and admitted to cheating on girlfriends, taking steroids and experimenting with drugs. In his 2013 autobiography, Confessions Of A Chelsea Boy, he revealed that he had once taken a double dose of acid at a rave and had experienced vivid hallucinations as a result. In his Instagram post about launching his new Clean Liquor low/no-alcohol brand, Spencer continued, “I had abstained from alcohol for lengthy periods at a time, but in doing so, had made drinking at the end of that period a reward – a pat on the back for my achievement. It was a vicious cycle... I had to change my relationship with alcohol in order to become the man that I knew I could be and that my family would be proud of.”
In Spencer, Vogue And Wedding Two – the couple’s current reality show – Spencer’s long-time friend Hugo Taylor, 33, remarked on his friend’s new-found lease of life. While reminiscing, Hugo said, “There was a stage when you did nothing, sat at home and just drank. Called me six times in one day to be like, ‘Can you come over? It’s 11am.’” Spencer replied, “Yeah. ‘What are you doing? Get over here, I’ve just cracked open a bottle of Johnnie [Walker whiskey].’”
In the show, Spencer also affirmed, “You won’t ever find someone who’s given up booze who regrets it.” Now, over a year sober, he puts his new clean-living attitude down to his happy family unit. “There has been a serious shift in my priorities and what’s important to me,” he says. “My wife and son are my world and being there for them in every way possible is the only thing that matters to me.” n