MAT ROGERS ‘MUM WOULD BE PROUD’
The rugby legend says his late mother sent him a heartwarming sign during his time on Survivor
Mat Rogers would often spend his evenings watching Survivor with his mother Carol before she passed away in 2001, and now he’s taking part in this year’s season Survivor:
Champions v Contenders, the rugby star says he feels her presence more than ever.
“It was her birthday during filming and I was on the beach, looking up to the sky and a cloud formed next to the sun. It looked like a person with their arms in the air cheering. It was pretty cool,” says the 42-year-old. “She’d be overwhelmed to know I was on the show.”
Since his retirement from the sports field, Mat has set up a charity, 4 ASD Kids, to help kids with autism. His son Max, 12, was diagnosed with autism at the age of two.
Mat also has daughter Phoenix, 10, with his wife, former model Chloe Maxwell, and two adult children, Jack, 22, and Skyla, 18, with first wife Michelle.
Mat says he’s “super proud” of Chloe for holding the fort during his absence. “I came home to a wife who was rapt to have me back but I feel she has another string to her bow by doing what she had to do by herself. We’ve always been super-supportive of each other,” he says. SURVIVOR: CHAMPIONS V CONTENDERS MondayThursday, 7.30pm, Ten