{"id":284783,"date":"2026-02-07T00:23:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T00:23:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/284783\/"},"modified":"2026-02-07T00:23:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T00:23:17","slug":"spencer-matthews-i-like-to-think-i-have-swapped-an-unhealthy-addiction-for-something-better-vogue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/284783\/","title":{"rendered":"Spencer Matthews: \u2018I like to think I have swapped an unhealthy addiction for something better \u2013 Vogue\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

The English star has left his wilder days behind him and is now a Guinness Record holder and looking ahead to his next massive challenge \u2013 the Tokyo marathon at the end of this month.<\/p>\n

Eton-educated Matthews says: \u201cI like to think I have swapped an unhealthy addiction for something better.<\/p>\n

I am addicted to Vogue, but I\u2019m not obsessed<\/p>\n

\u201cI am addicted to Vogue, but I\u2019m not obsessed. Life can be dull if you are obsessed with something and you think about nothing else.<\/p>\n

\"Vogue<\/p>\n

Vogue Williams married Spencer in 2018.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m blessed with Vogue\u2019s family because we all get along. Her aunties love teaching me Irish<\/p>\n

\u201cBut more so, I would like to think I swapped alcohol for sport because I do have an addictive nature.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was dependent on alcohol, but I didn\u2019t need it to function, I still had choice, and I would just choose to drink at 11am.\u201d<\/p>\n

Matthews has become known for his feats of endurance.<\/p>\n

\"Spencer<\/p>\n

Spencer completed a record-breaking 140.6-mile triathlon in Antarctica <\/p>\n

In 2024, his Great Desert Challenge saw him complete 30 marathons in 30 days, breaking a world record.<\/p>\n

At the end of 2025, he completed seven Ironmans on seven continents for Project Se7en, raising funds for UK male suicide charity James\u2019 Place.<\/p>\n

He says: \u201cI do have a drink sometimes and a pizza sometimes, because pizza is bloody delicious.<\/p>\n

\u201cI drink differently now. I ringfence times of the year where I can have drink.<\/p>\n

\u201cI adore January and February because most people have started a new regime and then you are all in it together. It\u2019s much nicer to have company.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the moment I am really into training for the Tokyo marathon, eating clean food, and I don\u2019t eat anything after 7pm and I\u2019m really enjoying the training. I love having a goal. And of course, there\u2019s no alcohol.\u201d<\/p>\n

Married to podcaster Vogue (40), the couple have three children, seven-year-old Theodore, five-year-old Gigi and three-year old Otto. The pair married in 2018.<\/p>\n

Matthews says: \u201cTheo wants to be a professional footballer and he has talent. He mostly plays with younger kids though but I can see he is good. I\u2019ll have to get him into a club so that he can be more challenged and learn more skill, that would be great.\u201d<\/p>\n

The family is living temporarily in a rented house while their plush new London period house is being redecorated, and Spencer expects it will take more than a year before it\u2019s ready.<\/p>\n

And the 37-year-old dad proudly admits he\u2019s hoping for his own Texan vibe in one room, while Vogue is leaning more towards stripes.<\/p>\n

Their period home is not far from their former London flat, which they moved into just six months into their relationship.<\/p>\n

\"Vogue<\/p>\n

Vogue Williams and Spencer Matthews at The British Podcast Awards.<\/p>\n

Excited about the move, Matthews reveals his plans for a man cave.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d love some dark oak vibes and maybe some cowboy horns and a few bits and bobs from the wild west.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love natural fabrics and some good lighting. Maybe some old whiskey signs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll have a gym at home, yes, and there\u2019s a really good one nearby too. We are all looking forward to not being cramped.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you make small changes, small positives, then I really believe that is the foundation for success<\/p>\n

Vogue\u2019s sister Amber has become better known in Ireland after her stint on the current series of Dancing With The Stars, and the podcast Vogue & Amber.<\/p>\n

Matthews says: \u201cI\u2019m only getting to know Amber, Vogue\u2019s sister, and she\u2019s a beautiful girl – she\u2019s funny and kind. We had dinner last night and I really enjoyed chatting to her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am blessed with Vogue\u2019s family, and her aunties love teaching me Irish. My favourite word is the Irish for hedgehog because it\u2019s such a descriptive word, gr\u00e1inneog. I am not bad at Irish.<\/p>\n

\u201cI speak to Vogue\u2019s stepdad Neil about three times a day. He\u2019s in business, so he gives me plenty of advice and we get on great.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you make small changes, small positives, then I really believe that is the foundation for success.\u201d<\/p>\n

I am by no means an expert on the perfect marriage, but I would say dinner without phones. Put the phones away<\/p>\n

Matthews was speaking in his role as part of the Benecol Habit Stacking promotion, which encourages small changes.<\/p>\n

Despite triathlons in Antarctica and setting multiple world records, Matthews says the hardest part of any achievement isn\u2019t the extreme moment, it\u2019s showing up on the ordinary days when motivation is low.<\/p>\n

His approach centres on \u201chabit stacking\u201d – building new behaviours into existing routines so progress happens even when willpower fails.<\/p>\n

\"Spencer<\/p>\n

Spencer is behind the Benecol habit-stacking theory for healthy choices <\/p>\n

He points to heart health in particular, an area where issues like high cholesterol often develop silently and are shaped by what we do consistently, not occasionally.<\/p>\n

But back to his main obsession, which is his famous wife. Between training and moving house and three children, where does the romance fit in?<\/p>\n

He says: \u201cI am by no means an expert on the perfect marriage but I would say dinner without phones. Put the phones away.<\/p>\n

\u201cTreating each other kindly. Using kind words. That always helps. <\/p>\n

If you have been affected by issues raised in this article, click here for helplines<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The English star has left his wilder days behind him and is now a Guinness Record holder and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":284784,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[93,61,60,12460],"class_list":["post-284783","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-vogue-williams"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284783","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=284783"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284783\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/284784"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=284783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=284783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=284783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}