MATTY'S TRIUMPH 'I' AM A WHOLE NEW PERSON!'

The newlywed Treasure Island winner reveals how he's finally wone his battle with imposter syndrome

- Sebastien Van der Zwan

Welcoming Woman’s Day into his stylish inner-city Auckland apartment with a broad smile and an aura of confidence, Matty McLean seems like a very different person to the one we chatted to in Fiji just before he began filming Treasure Island: Fans V Faves.

For a start, the Breakfast presenter, 36, is now a married man, having shared his wedding with realtor Ryan Teece, 31, in these very pages early in the new year. “There’s something really beautiful with the peace that comes from knowing you’ve found someone who loves you unconditionally and wants to spend the rest of their lives with you,” he grins.

But the main reason for his self-assured new vibe, says Matty, is the fact he’s finally won Treasure Island, a series he’s fantasised about competing in since it first aired in 1997, when he was 11.

“I fell in love with the show then and have watched every season since,” he recalls. “I saw Josh Kronfeld, Hayley Holt, Chris Parker and Jesse Tuke win. I desperately wanted that moment for myself. It still feels like a dream it’s actually happened.”

Of course, this wasn’t his first stint on the TVNZ 2 series – something Matty referenced after digging up the $50,000 prize for his charity Zeal  Education Trust, laughing, “Take that, Barbara Kendall!” He and the Olympic gold medal-winning windsurfer butted heads in the 2019 season of Celebrity Treasure Island after she questioned his strength.