His brother Michael made history as the youngest Brit to summit in 1999 at the age of 22, but tragically died on the dangerous mountain.
And on Friday, Spencer Matthews, 34, praised his wife Vogue Williams, 37 – with whom he shares son Thedore, four, daughter Gigi, two, and son Otto, 11 months – for not “standing in the way” of his bid ‘ was to recover the body of his deceased brother.
The former Made In Chelsea star, who appeared on ITV’s This Morning, admitted he “had to leave Otto pretty soon after he was born” as he discussed the impact filming of his new Disney+ documentary Finding Michael was having on had his young family.
Spencer, whose wife gave birth in April 2022, told Dermot O’Leary and Alison Hammond, “I had to leave Otto pretty soon after he was born and I wouldn’t be able to do that if she weren’t so supportive.
“She’s so family-oriented that she would have done the same. She knew it was important for us as a family to take on this – she wouldn’t even come close to getting in the way.”
Grateful: On Friday, Spencer Matthews, 34, praised his wife Vogue Williams, 37, for not “standing in the way” of his attempt to recover his late brother’s body
Family: Spencer admitted he “had to leave Otto pretty soon after he was born” while discussing the impact filming his new Disney+ documentary Finding Michael had on his young family
Family: Spencer and Vogue share Thedore, four, Gigi, two, and Otto, 11 months
Spencer also explained that the original filming date had been pushed back a year due to Covid, so it was agreed that it would take place in 2022, well before they knew Vogue was pregnant.
Speaking affectionately of his late brother, the Made In Chelsea alum recalled: “I think we had a very loving relationship, I understand he was the sibling who was really pushing my parents to have another child. Now I’m 12 years older than him but I will always see him as my older brother.
“He had had great success with a number of other mountains, and Everest was right next on his list. He was a good boy, he just wanted to push himself.
Describing being told of his brother’s death, Spencer admitted: “I think if there’s anything to be thankful for it was that age, I wasn’t affected in the way my family was. I couldn’t quite imagine how he could have died.
“I was called into her bedroom. They said Michael got lost on the mountain. Just thought let me know if you find it. I think my parents did such a good job of protecting me from that. We went through it with pain but I look back on that time but I lived my life well as a kid.
And how the idea for the documentary came about, the reality star explained: “In 2017, the family received an email with a photo of a dead body.
“I did a little digging and found out that it’s possible to recover a body. There are a few cases of successful body recovery.’
Led by Nirmal “Nims” Purja, Spencer said of the expedition, “We were aware of the risks involved. That was something that was possible, he [Nims] could only inflict a very small amount of risk on his team, which brought us to the brink of agreeing.
Challenge: Spencer’s documentary Finding Michael is available now on Disney+
Emotional: On Thursday, Spencer fought back tears as he spoke on The One Show about his attempts to recover his late brother’s body on Mount Everest
RIP: Michael made history as the youngest Brit to summit in 1999 at the age of 22, but tragically died on the dangerous mountain
‘I want him [Michael] having a legacy, dying at 22, i want him to have a place in everyone’s hearts.
Of the trek, Spencer admitted, “It was cathartic in a way, doing the same journey that Michael did those years ago, and this part of the world and culture…
“I wanted to be as close to the mountain as possible, five and a bit weeks total, to immerse myself in the process and walk many paths through the grief and pain for the first time. I had suppressed these feelings for most of my adult life.’
In the Disney+ documentary, Spencer Matthews is filmed hearing his late brother Michael Matthews’ voice for the first time since 1999.
The TV star – who was 10 when his big brother disappeared – got to see unearthed footage given to him by his siblings’ climbing partner Dave Rodney.
In the film, Spencer said, “Dave notably brought to the table footage of Mike and Dave’s 1999 expedition to climbing and Mike’s take on the mountain, and I had never seen Mike before I flew to Canada to meet Dave in front of the camera.
“We weren’t the kind of family that did home video, and when I said to mom and dad when we agreed to do this documentary, I said I need all the footage from Mike, and they said, ‘We have no.” ‘.
“Luckily Dave had this amazing movie that I hadn’t seen, so it was my first time seeing it in Canada and it was the first time I’ve heard Michael speak since he was alive, since I was 10 years old.”
Tragically, Michael is said to have gotten into trouble after he began making his way south through the “death zone” on May 13, 1999
Moving: The TV star, who was just 10 when it happened, opened up to Alex Jones and Roman Kemp about Michael’s recent journey and how he was retracing his steps to try and get him home
Dave called Spencer’s big brother “the best pal I could ever have wished for on the mountain” as he reflected on the day Michael disappeared.
He continued: “Our dream was to be together on summit day. Although we climbed every single day of the expedition, unfortunately we didn’t climb together on the summit day.
“I should be with two other people and he with his guide. I didn’t find out until the next day that it hadn’t come down and that 40 degrees had gone below 50 and the breezes had turned into gale force winds.
“But I’m so glad that Spencer and Bear and the crew did what I believe will not only be legendary, but will touch absolutely everyone who has experienced grief and loss and help them through that process.”
On Thursday, Spencer fought back tears as he spoke on The One Show about his attempts to recover his late brother’s body on Mount Everest.
The reality star choked while discussing how Michael made history as the youngest Brit to reach the summit in 1999 aged 22 but tragically died on the dangerous mountain.
He told Alex Jones and Roman Kemp about Michael’s last trip and how he was retracing his steps to try to get him home.
Spencer said: “When Michael went missing it was too late by the time some people realized he was missing. Nobody really survives the night. A few cases maybe.
Emotional: Spencer was on the show to talk about his new Disney+ documentary Finding Michael, which released on Friday
Brothers: Spencer (left) spoke openly about his older brother (right), with whom he bears a striking resemblance
Michael is said to have gotten into trouble after he began making his way south through the “death zone” on May 13, 1999.
He was the brother of Pippa Middleton’s husband, the racing driver turned hedge fund manager James Matthews (47).
The experienced mountaineer, who had previously scaled Aconcagua, the Pyrenees and the Swiss Alps, died as the 162nd person on Everest.
Spencer went on to describe how he made the “difficult decision” to take on the mission himself.
“In 2017 the family was sent a photo of a body on the mountain and they claimed it could be Michael. In fact, it looked like it could be with similar peak suits. It’s really the first time I thought even physical recovery was possible.
‘My head kept ticking, ‘What if it’s him?’. I certainly grew up feeling like he was up there and died and was left there. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a corpse to mourn for my family?
“We scraped together all the information we had. I hadn’t seen some of the footage of Michael on the mountain before,” he said, becoming more and more emotional as the interview progressed.
“It was the first time I saw him on camera because we didn’t do home videos or anything like that when we were kids.
Sad loss: Michael became the youngest Brit to reach the summit of Everest at the age of 22, but disappeared on the mountain just three hours later
Honesty: Spencer said: “He’s frozen in time. I’m his big brother now. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I wanted to bring it home for my mother.
“Retracing his steps and understanding his last days a little bit better was quite cathartic for me…”
The former Made In Chelsea star filmed Finding Michael with the help of survivalist Bear Grylls and record climber Nirmal “Nims” Purja.
Ahead of the publication, he told the Sunday Times: “I’m not the most emotional person but the closer we got to the mountain, the stronger my feelings got. It’s the closest I’ve felt to Mike since his death.
“He’s frozen in time. I’m his big brother now. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I wanted to bring it home for my mother.’
Spencer added, “I couldn’t stand the idea of him being alone out there on the mountain with people walking past him on their way to the top.
The trailer for Finding Michael begins with Spencer looking at a picture of his brother in a red ski jacket and saying, “I hate that picture. All I see is a young man about to lose his life.”
He continues: “Michael was my big brother. Odd 20 years later we get this photo of a dead body, it looks like it could be Michael.
“My heart says we should go and find him. And if we can, take him home. We need the best possible people. We have one of the largest, Nims Purja. We have to search the whole mountain.’
Tears: Spencer added: “I couldn’t stand the idea of him being alone out there on the mountain with people walking past him on their way to the top
Brothers: TV personality Spencer was 10 when Michael (to the left of sibling James) tragically died aged 22 – having become the youngest Brit to climax in 1999
Spencer kisses his wife Vogue Williams and holds their newborn baby who says, “God I hope you find him.”
She is later seen getting emotional during a video call with Spencer, who is on the expedition.
World record holder Nirmal is leading the 10-person search party armed with drones, and the trailer shows the crew facing unexpected and extreme challenges, as well as intense time pressure when the weather approaches.
TV host and executive producer Bear says, “Stay safe. If you reach Mike, I’ll hear his voice screaming so loud.”
He later added: “On average, seven people attempting Everest lose their lives each year. No mountain is worth dying a second time.’
Spencer hiked to South Base Camp via Namche Bazaar, a town in north-eastern Nepal that is often the starting point for expeditions to and from other Himalayan peaks.
He made the journey just five days after the birth of his son Otto, after a “weather window” made climbing the mountain possible.
Spencer would otherwise have had to wait another year to start the search and reveals he had the support of his wife, Vogue.
Project: During the film, Spencer embarked on a heartbreaking mission to climb Mount Everest to find the body of his brother Michael
The South Base Camp is at an altitude of 5,364 meters.
Describing the hike, he said, “You don’t have to be Superman to do it. You come across this city [Namche Bazaar] in heaven. It is wonderful. It’s above the clouds. It reminded me of Asgard.
“Part of the film is that we follow the exact steps that Mike and his friends went through. We stay in the same places and follow the same path as him. It’s going to be a really powerful and amazing film.
Directed by Tom Beard, Finding Michael launches March 3 on Disney+