Spencer Matthews Opens Up About Marriage Strain Due to Drinking
Spencer Matthews has candidly revealed that his wife, Vogue Williams, was on the verge of leaving him due to his excessive drinking habits. The former Made in Chelsea star, aged 37, met Williams, also 37, in 2017 while both were contestants on the reality TV show The Jump. They quickly became engaged, married the following year, and now share three children: Theodore, seven, Gigi, five, and Otto, three.
The Turning Point in Their Relationship
Over the years, Spencer has frequently discussed how his boozy lifestyle placed significant strain on their marriage, nearly causing its collapse. In a recent appearance on the On the Mend with Matt Willis podcast, he elaborated on a critical period when a divide emerged in their relationship. This rift began when Vogue became pregnant with their first child, Theodore, and stopped drinking entirely, while Spencer continued his habits unabated.
Spencer shared, "I was very aware that if I carried on with my drinking and bad habits, that she would get bored, and she would leave me. And I knew that, and she never made that a thing. She never sat me down and gave me some kind of ultimatum or anything like that. But I could feel it. I could feel that she was a bit disappointed in me."
He highlighted how the pregnancy spotlighted his drinking, transforming what was once joint fun into solo indulgence. "He made a big difference, I think, to our relationship, obviously, because I think what felt like joint fun became solo fun quite quickly because, obviously, she stopped drinking completely," Spencer explained.
Confronting the Issue
As Vogue began to notice Spencer drinking alone more frequently, she started questioning his behavior. "To begin with, I would say, like, 'Darling, we’re watching a film, like, of course it’s, like, normal to have a few glasses of red wine'," he recalled. "Like, we’re at home chilling. And she’s like, 'You’re drinking on your own'. And I’d be like, 'yeah, because you’re pregnant?'. And she’d be like, 'Well, because I’m not drinking, do you have to, do you have to drink?'. And we’d have the odd chat like that."
These conversations prompted Spencer to reflect deeply on his actions. "And you kind of eventually, you just begin to think, why am I drinking on my own? And you begin to question stuff, perhaps for the first time," he admitted.
Spencer's Journey to Moderation
Addressing his past struggles, Spencer clarified that he does not consider himself an alcoholic, as he can now drink in moderation. However, he acknowledged that in the past, "having one glass would have turned into ten and then I’d be out all night." Today, he describes a transformed relationship with alcohol: "I’m sober most of the time, now. I’ve gone from problem-drinking on a daily basis to having a drink if I feel like it very irregularly. I no longer see it as a problem. I have great balance in my life."
He also linked his previous career as a trader at ICAP to exacerbating his drinking habits, noting that the culture encouraged heavy consumption. "I was a trader at ICAP, and we would drink five to 10 pints every single day and then take clients out at night and if you couldn’t do that, you wouldn’t get the job, basically," Spencer revealed on Vogue's Taboo Talk podcast.
A Moment of Clarity and Reconciliation
After a particularly heavy night of drinking alone, Spencer experienced a "moment of clarity" that spurred him to address his issues. "It’s not like I just fancied giving up drinking. I could have lost you, I could have lost work, I could have died – not to be overly dramatic about it, but that’s the way it was heading," he confessed.
In response to persistent divorce rumors last year, Vogue Williams took to Instagram to set the record straight. She posted, "It’s with great sadness that I have to let you know that Spen and I are NOT breaking up! I usually avoid addressing baseless and cruel rumours, but this just keeps coming up. It’s disappointing to see this narrative being pushed almost daily when it’s absolutely not true, and much more importantly, I don’t want my children hearing these lies in the playground."
She emphasized their happiness, adding, "I’m not sure what the angle is or where it’s coming from, but the whole thing feels very strange and mean. We’re very happily married and in love and I hope posting the truth on my own platform might make it stop."
