As one of the OG members of theMade In Chelsea cast, and coming from inordinate familial wealth, it's fair to say Spencer Matthews is pretty well off. His father is hotel owner and former race driver David Matthews, and Spencer was educated at the prestigious Eton College.
However, in a recent interview with The Mirror, Spencer revealed that he will be withholding his fortune from his children, Theodore, six, Gigi, four, and Otto, two, who he shares with his wife Vogue Williams. 'There’s no point in doing well in life and then giving it all to your kids. It’s doing them a huge disservice,' he said.
Spencer went on to explain that he has taken inspiration from comedian Jimmy Carr, who has previously been frank about the idea of 'trust fund kids' on the Diary Of A CEO podcast. He said: 'Jimmy quite eloquently talks about trust fund kids who are given everything, and he sees them as just being really unfortunate, actually, and I would completely agree,' continuing 'If you’re a young man who’s just given everything, or a young woman, who’s just given everything, you may not ever understand the need to work because you have what you think you want, and then, therefore, you won’t ever feel proud of yourself. You won’t ever have a sense of achievement.'
He defended his decision further on an appearance on This Morning, where he was discussing his recent fitness challenge, in which he ran 170km in 24 hours. When the topic turned to trust fund kids, he said: ‘I think it's important to help your kids if you can. Give them a steer in life, obviously. As my dad has helped me, my mum has helped me, from time to time,' continuing, 'but you know, trying to understand how to make your own way in life is really important, feeling proud of yourself for your own achievements, not being given everything on a plate is what I meant by [comments saying he would not be leaving his wealth to his children].'
He finished by saying 'It's important for the development of the child. You need to earn your own way in life. That's not to say I wouldn't give my kids a helping hand.'
In recent years, Spencer has started living more cleanly after being open about his struggles with alcohol. Her previously told The Independent how heavy drinking impacted his health and relationships. 'I was a confident kid, and then I lost my way as a teenager and throughout my 20s and felt a deep sense of shame and regret around a lot of my general behaviour,' he said. 'I made incredibly bad decisions around alcohol to the point where I felt like it controlled my life. When I used to drink, sometimes to excess on a daily basis, I could barely run a kilometre. I would sweat tying up my shoelaces. I would be panting walking up a single flight of steps.'
However, since starting a family Spencer has made fitness a priority. He ran 30 sand marathons in 30 days last year, breaking a Guinness World Record in the process, and is already planning his next feat - seven Ironman-style triathlons across seven continents.
He is already ensuring his children have challenges and Theodore has recently joined his local Parkrun, perhaps inspired by Spencer’s ultramarathons. 'Theodore is starting to run now. He ran two kilometres the other day. I was just so proud of him because the kid got around two laps, and some kids give up after one lap because they’re given that option. The more comfort you wrap around people, the weaker they will become,' he told The Mirror.
No nepo baby status for the Matthews clan, then!
Alice Hall is the Staff Writer at Grazia UK. She was previously a Junior Features Writer for The Daily Telegraph. At Grazia, she writes news and features about pop culture, dating, health, politics and interiors.