It was a highly awkward moment for everyone who witnessed it.
On Sunday, Spencer Matthews attended the TV Baftas, walking the red carpet with his wife, Vogue Williams, who is pregnant with their fourth child together.
The couple, who have been married for almost eight years, chatted to the press, plugging their latest projects before joining the queue for paparazzi pictures.
Suddenly, a face from Spencer’s past appeared behind. His former Made in Chelsea co-star, Millie Mackintosh, arrived in a dazzling £465 gold two-piece from the Australian label, Arcina Ori.
Instead of greeting his fellow MIC alumnus, however, Spencer walked straight past her to speak to the BBC’s Anita Rani, who interviewed him two years ago for a documentary.
Millie, seemingly put out by his reaction, busied herself by checking her makeup in a phone screen while Spencer returned back to his waiting wife.
For many, his apparent snub will come as a surprise.
Spencer Matthews appeared to snub former flame Millie Mackintosh at the Baftas
Vogue Willams and Spencer were otherwise very chatty on the Baftas red carpet
After all, the father-of-three was best man at Millie’s 2018 lavish wedding in West Sussex to Hugo Taylor and the favour was returned at Spencer’s nuptials to Vogue on his family’s Glen Affric Estate in Scotland that same year.
Sunglasses designer Hugo, 39, and Spencer had been inseparable during their years on Made in Chelsea, which first aired in 2011 and followed the lavish lives of young West London socialites.
Hugo quit the E4 show in 2012 after only a year, followed closely by Millie and then Spencer, who announced he was leaving for good in 2016.
Despite the revelations in February that Millie and Hugo were divorcing after seven years of marriage, according to insiders, loyalty to his best man was not the reason behind Spencer ignoring the influencer.
For those who run in TV circles, it comes as no surprise that the social media personality blanked a figure from his Made in Chelsea past. Insiders tell me: ‘Spencer has made a point of distancing himself from them all.’
A source close to the situation says: ‘He is no longer friends with any of them. Even his best friends on the show are no longer around, he and Hugo have grown distant and he is nowhere near as close with Jamie [Laing].’
According to the source, Vogue has had a hand in this separation from his debauched past, preferring to ‘keep him on the straight and narrow’.
It is believed that Spencer’s wife is keen for him to cut ties with his Made in Chelsea friends
Spencer was best man to Hugo Taylor when he married Millie in 2018. The couple have now separated
The source explains: ‘Vogue hasn’t really made an effort to get to know any of the old gang outside of events and it’s put a strain on Spencer’s relationship with them all.’
Fans of the Channel 4 reality series, which is now in its 31st season, will remember Spencer as the show’s most notorious love rat, constantly cheating on his girlfriends and drinking copious amounts of alcohol at high-end events.
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As another source puts it: ‘Vogue sees herself as the next Lorraine Kelly and all the qualities that tie Spencer to Made in Chelsea are ones she would rather keep under lock and key.’
Instead of hanging out with his former pals, the now self-proclaimed sober Spencer opts for extreme running.
In 2024 he broke a Guinness World Record by completing 30 marathons in 30 consecutive days entirely over sandy terrain.
But one particular challenge in 2021, put Spencer to the test.
I am told that during the Marathon Des Sables – a six day ultramarathon across the Sahara – the sportsman struggled mentally and reportedly told fellow endurance runners his previous mistakes in life were the reason behind him doing the challenge.
Vogue, who was the third contestant voted out in last year’s I’m A Celebrity, has always been an avid supporter of Spencer’s running career, constantly posting messages of support on her social media.
However, when he is not running, his past party-boy persona is said to rear its ugly head.
Spencer is no longer as close as he was to MIC pals Hugo Taylor and Jamie Laing
Millie and Spencer dated during his time on Made in Chelsea, a period of life he seems keen to put behind him
Vogue was not, I have been told, best pleased about an ‘incident’ that became the talk of Jamie Laing’s Marbella wedding to his Made in Chelsea co-star, Sophie Habboo, in May 2023.
While Vogue was 1,500 miles away looking after their three children (Theodore, now seven, Gigi, five, and Otto, three) at home, guests at the wedding included MIC royalty Ollie Locke, Ollie Proudlock, Emily Blackwell and model Lottie Moss.
Rumours at the time spread on WhatsApp that Lottie and Spencer got together at the wedding. While she has always denied that anything untoward took place, Lottie has conceded that she and Spencer did indeed ‘party together’ at the celebrations.
There have been whispers among certain circles that because the ‘incident’ took place at Jamie’s wedding, this has since affected his relationship with Spencer – both professionally and personally.
The pair’s award-winning and lucrative podcast, 6 Degrees from Jamie and Spencer, which was broadcast on BBC Sounds, suddenly ended not long afterwards, amid claims Vogue had insisted Spencer pull the plug on the show.
‘There’s a feeling that whenever Spencer hangs out with his old crowd, things go awry,’ an insider tells me, ‘so it’s better off if he’s kept doing his own thing.’
