Emotional Spencer Matthews reveals heartbreaking moment his parents told him is older brother had died when he was 10
SPENCER Matthews has revealed the heartbreaking moment his parents broke the news that his older brother Michael had died.
The reality star, 34, joined hosts Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary on Friday’s instalment of This Morning to discuss his new documentary Finding Michael, which is released on Disney+ today.
Spencer retraced his late sibling’s steps, after he disappeared while climbing Mount Everest in 1999 at the age of 22.
Spencer recalled that his parents called him to their bedroom and revealed that Michael had been lost of the mountain.
Presenter Alison asked: “When you go back to those years when you were only 10-years-old, can you remember the experience and what you were feeling when you found out he was not coming home?”
Spencer replied: “If if there is anything to be grateful for it is that I was that age – I was not hit by it in the same way that it hit the rest of my family.
“Michael felt like a bit of a superhero for me.
“I couldn’t wrap my head round how he could have died.”
Not fully understanding the severity of the news, a young Spencer told his parents to let him know when his older brother was found.
“My parents called me up to his bedroom, initially I thought I had done something wrong,” the former Made in Chelsea star explained.
“I was walking in there thinking why the serious nature of the meeting at that age.
“They said Michael has been lost on the mountain, for me, I was like ‘let me know when you find him’.
“I didn’t process the fact that meant it was more than likely that he was dead.”
He continued: “My parents did such a great job – I feel very thankful that I was quite sheltered from it.
“Our family moved through it with pain but I look back at that time and I was certainly able to live my life.”
Dermot added: “It’s an incredible thing to do to shoulder their grief and not project it onto you, that’s really impressive.”
Spencer said his journey was to try and recover his brother’s body, but to also continue his brother’s legacy.
Alison said: “He never made your age but you still see him as your older brother.”
Spencer responded: “At the time of his death he was 12 year older than me and by the time we head to Everest I’m 12 years older than him.
“It’s a kind of role reversal, I’m his older brother now going to get him. I will always see him as my older brother.
“I’ve always just wanted my brave young brother to have some kind of legacy, the fact that he lost his life at 22 and in such a tragic manner. I just like him to have a place in peoples hearts.”
While Spencer opened up about the emotional moment he heard his late brother’s voice for the first time in 24 years.
He said: “Dave in particular brought to the table footage from the 1999 expedition of Mike and Dave climbing and Mike’s attitude to the mountain and I actually had never, prior to flying to Canada to meet Dave, had never seen Mike on camera ever.
“We weren’t the kind of family that made home videos and when I said to mum and dad, when we agreed to make this documentary, I said I need all footage of Mike and they said ‘We don’t have any’.
“Fortunately, Dave had this incredible film that I hadn’t seen so I saw it in Canada for the first time and it’s the first time I’d heard Michael speak since he was alive, since I was 10.”
Michael’s body was left behind on the mountain’s chillingly named Death Zone at around 8,500 metres after he was caught in a storm.
The arduous journey was fraught with emotion, not only for Spencer but his family.
His mum Jane and sister Nina, speak for the first time publicly about losing Michael in the film.
In the film, Jane explains: “Mike was supposed to summit on the 13th and by the 14th we hadn’t heard anything.
“A storm had come in and Mike was missing. But it was too long after by then, I sort of knew that was it, he was dead. You don’t know if he’s fallen into a crevasse or over the edge or whether just from exhaustion sat down and collapsed.”