Spencer Matthews and Vogue Williams End Business Venture Amid 2016 Steroid Scandal Resurgence

Xander MacIntyre

When Spencer Matthews stepped into the Australian jungle in 2016, he wasn’t just there to survive. He was there to bulk up—for a fight, for charity, and, as it turned out, for the wrong reasons. Now, seven years later, the fallout from that decision is echoing through his personal and professional life. On November 15, 2023, the Evening Standard reported that Matthews and his wife, Vogue Williams, have quietly dissolved their joint wellness brand, Clean Living Co., ending a partnership that once generated nearly half a million pounds in revenue. The timing wasn’t coincidental. Just two days earlier, Williams had entered the jungle of I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!Murwillumbah as a contestant in Series 23, instantly reigniting public curiosity about why her husband was ejected from the same show in 2016.

The 2016 Scandal That Never Faded

It was November 18, 2016. Matthews, then 26, had barely set foot in the Australian jungle when ITV’s medical team pulled him aside. They’d found traces of oxandrin—an anabolic steroid—in his system. He’d been taking 2.5mg twice daily for eight weeks, under the supervision of London trainer Mark Jarvis at The Forge London gym, to bulk up for a charity boxing match against fellow reality star Alex Reid. The fight went ahead on December 10, 2016, at the O2 Arena, raising £250,000 for Stand Up to Cancer. But the show’s rules were clear: no performance-enhancing drugs. Section 4.7 of ITV’s Reality TV Production Guidelines mandated disqualification. Matthews admitted in a 2023 interview with Cosmopolitan UK: "Vanity, I suppose, had been the reason... I pushed back, but ultimately the show’s duty of care prevailed."

That moment didn’t just end his season—it became a permanent footnote in his public identity. And now, with Williams stepping into the same jungle, viewers didn’t just ask: "Who is she?" They asked: "Why was he kicked off?" The past, it seems, has a way of catching up.

From Joint Ventures to Separate Paths

Clean Living Co. launched in March 2020 with a mission: organic supplements, clean labels, Instagram-ready packaging. The couple co-owned it, promoted it together, and even filmed content as "the wellness power couple." By 2022, the business pulled in £487,320 in gross revenue. But by late 2023, the website went quiet. No announcements. No farewell posts. Just silence. The Evening Standard cited "sources" for the split, but offered no legal documents or financial details. Still, the pattern is clear: after years of shared branding, they’re now operating independently.

Matthews has quietly shifted focus to his role as non-executive director of Proper Water, a British bottled water company listed on the ASX. Meanwhile, Williams has deepened her ties with No7 Beauty Company, the Irish skincare brand headquartered in Dublin, where she’s now a lead ambassador. Their professional trajectories, once intertwined, are now distinctly separate.

A Pattern of Professional Separation

This isn’t the first time they’ve untangled professionally. In January 2022, they ended their podcast, The Spencer and Vogue Show, after 47 episodes—citing scheduling conflicts after Matthews filmed Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins in the Scottish Highlands. The pattern suggests a growing need for personal space within their public lives. Not divorce. Not estrangement. Just a recalibration.

And crucially, they remain married. With two children—Arthur Maximilian, born May 14, 2018, and Pip Rose, born September 3, 2020—their family unit is intact. The split is business, not bed. "They’re still posting family photos together," noted one London-based PR insider. "It’s not a breakup. It’s a brand breakup."

What This Means for Their Public Image

Williams’ return to I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!Murwillumbah was a calculated risk. She knew the questions would come. And she faced them head-on in interviews, acknowledging the past without defensiveness. "Spencer’s journey was his own," she told Good Housekeeping. "Mine is mine. I didn’t know about the steroids then. I wouldn’t have let him do it now."

For Matthews, the 2016 scandal remains his most enduring public narrative. His admission of "a serious error of judgement" helped him avoid a full media meltdown—but it didn’t erase it. Now, with the business dissolved, he’s free to redefine himself beyond "the steroid guy." For Williams, it’s an opportunity to be seen as more than "the wife of the guy who got kicked off."

What’s Next?

No joint appearances are scheduled through Q1 2024. Clean Living Co. remains inactive, with no plans for revival. Matthews continues his directorship at Proper Water, while Williams is expected to launch a new skincare line under No7 Beauty by early 2024. Industry analysts suggest their separate paths may actually strengthen their individual brands—free from the shadow of past controversy.

What’s clear is this: the jungle didn’t just test their endurance in 2016. It tested their resilience. And now, seven years later, they’re choosing to walk different trails—side by side, but not together.