If there’s one person that embraced the mantra “New year, new me”, it’s Matty McLean. He’s entered 2023 as a happy newlywed after tying to knot to his longtime partner Ryan Teece and has a newfound confidence after a life-changing experience in Treasure Island: Fans v Faves.
“I have been very open about the self-doubt that I have been plagued with at various points in my life and playing this game has brought a lot of those emotions to the fore,” says the 36-year-old candidly. “I definitely feel more confident and I have more belief in myself.”
The defining moment was a recent challenge where he competed alongside Dame Susan Devoy, 59. They had to use nothing but their brute strength to push the opposition back past their flag to take out the win for their team.
Stepping into the arena, Matty had no belief in his abilities and felt the challenge was lost before they’d even begun. When their competitors very quickly had them on the back foot, Matty all but gave up until he heard the screams of Susan cheering him on and something changed inside him.
Putting it all on the line for the Faves with Dame Susan.
“I had all of those feelings of, ‘I can’t do this. I’m not strong enough. I’m not good enough.’ But then I had this insane moment of empowerment where someone was telling me that I could do it and I believed them, and it worked. It was really powerful,” tells Matty, who eventually pulled out the win alongside the squash legend.
“I told Susan afterwards, ‘You won’t appreciate the profound impact that this has had on my headspace.’ I’m hoping that I remember that feeling of accomplishment when I’m faced with moments like that in the real world.”
Matty is a superfan of shows like Celebrity Treasure Island and Survivor, and has made no secret of his disappointment at the way his team played the game during his first stint in 2019 – no one was interested in engaging with alliances or strategy.
Coming back for a second attempt, Matty has been like a kid in a candy store, embracing his role as captain and taking out the Fans team one by one.
While he’s living his dream, as a self-described people pleaser, Matty has struggled with some of the tough calls he’s made. The biggest was his decision to put Fan Jess Waru up for elimination after she’d exhausted herself at the challenge earlier in the day.
“It’s easy when you’re sitting at home watching these shows to say I’m going to make the big moves and be strategic and play hard,” tells the TVNZ 1 Breakfast host. “But to actually do that in real life to people that you really like and respect is difficult. Do I regret it? No because it was a smart move and it worked in our favour. But that doesn’t mean I haven’t stayed up at night over-analysing it and feeling incredibly guilty. But that’s the game, right?”
It has been two months since Matty and his real estate agent beau Ryan, 31, said “I do” in a romantic New Year’s Eve wedding at Auckland’s Parihoa Farm. Matty says being able to call Ryan his husband has made him happier than he ever imagined.
“Day to day, it hasn’t changed much, but I just have a really deep feeling of contentment knowing that I’ve found someone who I love so deeply, and who loves me back and wants to spend the rest of his life with me. It’s such an amazing feeling.”
Matty and Ryan’s romantic New Year’s Eve wedding.
After dealing with the stress of planning a wedding in 2022, the lovebirds are hoping that 2023 will be a more relaxing year. The only thing on the calendar is a month-long honeymoon in Europe.
“We’ve never done a big overseas trip together, so this could make or break us. We could be divorced before the year is out!” he jokes.
And as for children?
“We’ve been asked this a lot and the answer has never changed,” Matty laughs. “We love kids, it’s something we talk about all the time, but there are no plans in the pipeline. We’re enjoying marital bliss for a bit and then we’ll see.”
