Before anyone starts rolling their eyes at that headline and criticising us for slightly exaggerating yet another celeb's transformation in the name of journalism, we politely ask that you hear how we came to write this Big Brother story.
It was just after 9am on a chilly af Tuesday morning, we were sipping on an oat milk Caramel Macchiato because drinking a Toffee Nut Latte or a Pumpkin Spice latte in January is just pure chaos. We were scrolling through heat's Instagram feed looking for stories as we normally do at this time of day (because we're totally paid money to do that) and stumbled across a surprise stunning specimen of manhood on our phone screen; short, shaggy hair, strong tash game, ample chest fuzz (that admittedly gave us a tingle and a shiver – although that could have been the copious amount of sugar in our overpriced coffee) and a stunning sun-kissed tan.
WHO WAS THIS MAN?
A new influencer? An Islander we'd forgotten all about? A heat colleague (that would be awkward)? No, no, no, it was none other than the delightful Matty Simpson from Big Brother 2023, sporting a completely new look on his holibobs. And it took us at least four or five seconds to realise that this was indeed the mullet-wielding Matty we'd gotten to know on our screens just weeks ago. You see – a true transformation. So, lower your eyes if they're already up there and correct your cynical attitude...
Since being evicted from the Big Brother (via a brutal af fake letter from home), Matty has taken a side step away from the spotlight, opting to go travelling with his hunky boyfriend, Connor, instead, and from the looks of things, that was totally the right call, as he's gone from hunk to HUNKULES in a matter of weeks – yes, we watched Hercules last night.
Matty recently shared a topless snap of himself in Costa Rica, sporting a MUCH shorter haircut, a trimmed moustache, a generous amount of chest hair and a new glowing tan, captioning the snap, "POV his view, my view, the view 🥥🐚🦪🦀 and yes.. i’m still alive."
His Big Brother housemates were quick to thirst over him right alongside us, with Hallie Clarke commenting, "MATTY YOUR EYES 😍😍."
Noky Simbani followed suit by writing, "All stunning 😍," with bestie Yinrun Huang commenting, "Sun-kissed couple 💕."
In a previous grid post, Matty updated his fans on his travelling plans for the next few months, writing, "Sorry I’ve been MIA since I got to Costa Rica… there’s not much Wi-Fi. but thats kind of a good thing because it means I’m off my phone a lot more.
"I don’t start doctoring again until August, so from now until then I have no solid plans. I want to see as much of the world as I can in the next 8 months.
"Just me, myself, a boyfriend and a backpack 🎒.
"Connor leaves to go back to work in 3 weeks so I’m gonna try to get from Costa Rica all the way to Mexico City by myself in three months. 2500km by bus/hitchiking/kindness of strangers/trains… let’s see what happens 😮💨."
Here's hoping he finds regular Wi-Fi on his travels cause, yeah, swoon. More of this content, please.
Matty, if you're reading this, we must get you in for Torso of the Week when you're back. Drop us a DM when you're done living the absolute dream.
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Ben Pulsford is a digital writer for heatworld and Closer online and a London-based drag queen known as Beary Poppins. We know what you're thinking – HOW does he do it all? No clue, but he manages to keep up with his fave reality shows Love Island and Big Brother, too, while looking UNREAL three to four times a week, so we're happy.