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Matty Lee: Olympic gold medalist and I’m A Celebrity 2021 hopeful

He's now a national hero!

Matty Lee is not only an I’m A Celebrity 2021 hopeful, but he’s also an Olympic gold medal winner alongside Tom Daley at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

The rising star athlete is now set to become a household name – and it’s thanks to this incredible achievement.

So how old is he? And what is his relationship status? And what has Matty Lee said about Tom Daley?

Get the answers to these questions and find out more about this Olympic winner below…

Matty Lee
Matty Lee is an Olympic athlete and I’m A Celebrity star (Credit: YouTube)

How old is Matty Lee?

Matty Lee is 23. He was born on March 5, 1998.

He grew up in Leeds and started diving when he was just seven.

Read more: What is the ‘special’ ring Tom Daley gave Matty Lee?

Growing up he says it was still quite a niche sport. And he thanks his now Olympics partner Tom Daley for helping to make the sport mainstream in the British sporting arena.

He explained in a past interview: “I was seven years old when I took up diving, and it was my older brother who got me into it. Back then it was a niche sport so we’ve got no idea how he got into it in the first place!

“These days Tom Daley has really helped bring the sport into the spotlight and generate a lot more interest in it, which is great.”

Matty Lee
Matty and Tom Daley anxiously awaited the results (Credit: BBC)

What did Matty Lee win at the 2020 Olympics?

Matty Lee won the gold medal at the men’s synchronised 10m platform diving along with Tom Daley.

They narrowly beat Chinese rivals Cao Yuan and Chen Aisen.

Read more: I’m a Celebrity: The most iconic Bushtucker Trials in the show’s 20-year history

Matty and Tom scored 471.81 while Cao and Chen scored a close 470.58.

The British pair embraced as their triumphant scores were revealed.

This is the first Olympic gold medal for both of them. And Tom Daley’s fourth Olympics.

Matty Lee
Matty and Tom competing at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics (Credit: BBC)

Is the diver star on Instagram?

Yes Matty Lee is on Instagram and has over 367,000 followers.

His current handle is @mattydiver. He’s revealed much of his Olympic journey on his account.

However, the account is predominantly professional and doesn’t reveal much about his personal life.

Although we expect we’ll soon see his friends and family rooting for him to be crowned King of the Castle as they take over his social media accounts.

Matty Lee is a huge I'm A Celebrity fan
Matty Lee is a huge I’m A Celebrity fan (Credit: ITV)

What has Matty Lee said about I’m A Celebrity?

Matty is clearly ecstatic about appearing on the ITV series.

He’s declared taking part as the ‘cherry on the cake’ after his medal success in the summer.

And it seems being a I’m A Celebrity campmate has always been an aspiration – even if he didn’t expect his ultimate goals to align so closely.

Matty said: “Nothing ever prepares you for what life will be like after you do well in the Olympics.

“I was and still am mainly in shock that I am doing I’m A Celebrity.

“My two childhood dreams were to win an Olympic medal and take part in my favourite TV series.

“And now I am doing both this year!”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Matty Lee (@mattydiver)

Who is Matty Lee’s partner?

Matty has not discussed his personal romantic life. It is unknown if he has a partner and what is his sexuality.

However, in an interview with Team GB in 2019, he said he was bullied in school for diving and because bullies thought he was gay.

Yet once he started succeeding in the sport, the bullying died down.

Matty Lee
Matty Lee keeps his personal life private (Credit: YouTube)

Matty explained: “Growing up and being a diver wasn’t easy.

“I got bullied in the lower end of secondary school for diving, things happen like that and people can be so uneducated, they call you names, the main thing they said is that I’m gay. If I was so what?

“It’s funny because when I got to year 11 and started being successful, people started being excited and raving about it, now they all want to talk to me, it’s funny how things change.”

What has Matty Lee said about Tom Daley?

Matty and Tom appear to be fantastic friends and have only ever spoken highly of one another.

While speaking to Attitude magazine, Matty said they were “two best friends”.

He also said that Tom took him under his wing when he relocated to London to train with Team GB.

Tom Daley on a red carpet
Tom Daley and Matty Lee are best friends (Credit: SplashNews)

The diving star explained: “Obviously, Tom knew I was moving my whole life to London and stuff, so he very much took me under his wing.

“I didn’t know anyone in London at the time, so he introduced me to his friends.

“He had Monday night dinner clubs, and he would invite me to them, because I was quite shy, and not very good at talking to people I don’t know.”

Finally, Tom always has wonderful things to say about Matty. He’s also described him as his best friend and his “work husband”.

Matty regularly features on Tom’s popular YouTube series, which has included their 2020 Olympics journey.

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So what do you think? Let us know on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix.


Nancy Brown
Associate Editor