Are Vogue Williams and Spencer Matthews desperately trying to avoid 7 year itch? Huge changes spark fears, pals reveal
SPORTING beaming smiles as they posed with their three adorable kids on a family day out last week, Vogue Williams and Spencer Matthews looked as loved-up as ever.
But behind the social media sheen, rumours are rife that the media couple – who are approaching their seventh wedding anniversary in June – are desperately trying to avoid the cursed seven year itch.
It comes after Vogue, 39, publicly admonished Spencer, 36, during an appearance on the Netmums podcast last month.
The outspoken Irish star claimed she does “80%” of the chores, complained he prioritises his sleep and noted that the pair were having “tiffs” about their division of household labour.
Now, sources say the truth behind the rocky romance rumours are due to a major change in family dynamics: Vogue has become the breadwinner, thanks to a money-spinning endorsement deal with Fairy, bolstering the £1.4million she brought in last year alone.
There has been a massive shift in their dynamics
Insider
Our insiders reveal: “Vogue was justified in saying she takes on the lion’s share of the tasks at home, but it comes as her career is skyrocketing and she is earning serious money.
“The Fairy deal has been a huge pay day for her, and that’s coincided with Spencer focusing on his endurance challenges. There has been a massive shift in their dynamics.”
Spencer also raised eyebrows when he recently quit the popular podcast he and Vogue hosted together, to “pursue other business interests” and launching his own new wellness podcast, Untapped.
This pivot came after admitting that his record-breaking 30 ultra-marathons in 30 days were a “transformative” period of his life, that prompted a “moment of clear realisation” and he is now undergoing intense training to complete seven Ironman triathlons in seven continents this year.
As a result, this will mean more time spent away from the family nest, leaving Vogue juggling her own busy career with the bulk of the childcare – something the honest star has been upfront with her fans about finding tricky.
In fact, just this week, she broke down in tears on social media after a day of solo parenting, admitting: “My favourite job is being a mom but my GOD it’s hard.”
Wedding ‘snub’
While in the early days of their romance the couple were famed for gushing over one another, the way they publicly discuss their relationship has seemed strained of late.
Vogue, for one, seems to have grown tired of carrying the majority of their family burdens, admitting: “In the nicest way possible, I would say I fix the broken radiator and I do the school run.”
Another sign that Spencer appears to be undergoing a huge shift in his life has been evident in his relationship with former best pal Jamie Laing.
He was not present on Friday to support his supposed best friend Jamie Laing who completed his gruelling Comic Relief challenge of five ultra-marathons over five days, raising an incredible £2million for charity.
The pair briefly fell out in 2023, when Spencer was left “p****d off” to not be invited to his best friend’s intimate wedding ceremony, and was accused of “snubbing” the event to go on holiday.
Later that year, Spencer attended the Spanish leg of Jamie’s wedding to Sophie Habboo, while Vogue stayed home for work commitments.
After the ceremony, wild claims the former Made In Chelsea playboy had an alleged fling with Lottie Moss circulated on social media – something they both strongly denied but were embarrassing for him and Vogue, regardless of how far-fetched or unfounded the allegations might have been.
Spencer has overhauled his image after quitting alcohol following his 2018 wedding to Vogue.
Speaking last year she admitted the couple would “definitely” not have lasted had he continued drinking. “I thought I would lose her,” he admitted.
Vogue avoids alcohol as it gives her crippling anxiety, but Spencer said he could drink 10 pints a day at the height of his boozing, and “could have died” as a result of his alcohol abuse.
So it was a surprise to many when Spencer admitted he enjoys a drink again.
Vogue has compared his previous relationship with alcohol to her father’s, who she said would be in the pub at 5pm every day – and once remarked how her dad “died of fun”, as he “was always out drinking and smoking, having the absolute time of his life with zero concern for his health”.
Like Spencer, Vogue first rose to fame on reality TV, taking part in Fade Street, a Made in Chelsea-style reality series set in Dublin, in 2010.
She became more widely known thanks to her marriage to Westlife singer Brian McFadden, who she wed in 2012. The couple divorced in 2017, and Vogue met Spencer on set of The Jump that same year.
But while there were certain similarities in their past, Vogue has spoken of her mum Sharon, an air hostess, struggling as a single mother of three when she was younger – though Sharon, who split from Vogue’s father when she was seven, later married successful businessman Neil Wilson.
Vogue has admitted she was a “monster” growing up, and says she “deserved” it when her mum kicked her out of home at the age of 17, after she was suspended from school twice.
Bed-hopping
Spencer – the son of self-made multi-millionaire landowner David Matthews – has some widely known misdemeanours in his past.
Writing candidly in his autobiography, ex-Etonian Spencer revealed he lost his virginity aged 13, and told how he crashed a Lamborghini during a Dodgeball Rally.
He said taking cocaine “wasn’t right” but “sometimes people want to experience things for themselves”.
Spencer, whose brother James is married to Pippa Middleton, was a city trader when he joined the cast of Made in Chelsea, where his bed-hopping and womanising ways made him a standout star.
However, as a transformed character, he has since said it is his “worst nightmare” that his children will grow up and see his former behaviour.
In fact, he does not like how his behaviour looked to any of the show’s young audience.
“I feel my actions shouldn’t be popular,” he said. “Many young lads find it hilarious when I cheat on someone, but I don’t – I think it’s very upsetting for the girls.”
The idea of being unfaithful would be a momentous waste of time
Spencer Matthews
He later had to pull out of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here for using steroids, a decision he put down to “vanity”. He credits meeting Vogue on the 2017 set of The Jump with changing him as a person – though she was not immediately bowled over by him.
“He wasn’t the nicest on Made in Chelsea,” Vogue has said. “My first thoughts weren’t very pleasant but they quickly changed.”
Spencer, too, quickly changed, and before long he was enthralled with Vogue.
“The idea of being unfaithful would be a momentous waste of time,” he has said. “I wouldn’t want to do that to her. Things change.”
Of course, like any couple in a long-term relationship juggling several kids and demanding careers, there are always going to be ups and downs.
After basing themselves more time in Vogue’s native Ireland in recent years, the pair recently put their £4.7million Battersea pad on the market – a stressful time for any couple.
But despite the challenges they face, Vogue and Spencer certainly seem determined to weather any storms.
In February, following a skiing trip together, Vogue looked to the future and said: “I hope we ski together until we’re 80.”
Their legions of supporters who have followed their relationship via their former podcast will surely hope the same.