Matty J and Laura Byrne slam ‘unfair’ I’m A Celeb finale

Matty J and wife Laura Byrne have aired their problems with what unfolded behind the scenes of Sunday’s I’m A Celeb finale.

I’m A Celeb contestant Matty J had an emotional on-air reunion with wife Laura Byrne and their two children during Sunday’s finale.

But now, the couple are lifting the lid on what was happening behind the scenes, with Byrne saying her involvement in the show’s finale had been “really hard” and felt “unfair.”

In the lead-up to the finale, Byrne travelled with their two young daughters Marlie-Mae, five, and Lola Ellis, four, from Sydney so she could be on-hand for the family reunion that is a key scene in every I’m A Celeb finale.

Speaking on the Life Uncut podcast, she revealed that it took “three separate flights” and 24 hours of travel to get to the set, which films in the bush near Kruger National Park in South Africa.

“That in itself was really hard. It was like 24 hours by the time we got door to door. Midnight transfer with two children who were absolutely f***ing ropable,” she said.

Byrne brings the couple’s two daughters into camp …

… where dad breaks down in tears.

Byrne said that once they’d arrived, she and her children all had to share one room “with not enough beds”, before a lengthy day on set.

“I felt like I was the emotional buffer between the children and production … I felt like I’d just been flogged for days. It was hard. It was really hard for me,” she said.

In scenes that played out in Sunday’s finale, former Bachelor Matty J and his fellow top three contestants – Big Brother star Reggie Bird and retired NRL player Sam Thaiday, who went on to win the show – were each surprised by their family members, who then watched on as they participated in one final, gross-out challenge.

“When we had our reunion, it was maybe half an hour I think where we had time together and then they’ve got to pull us apart,” Matty J recalled.

“The kids don’t get it, the kids don’t understand. They’re like, ‘I’ve just met my dad, and then I’ve got to go.’ And then we did that trial where we had to have s**t poured on our heads, and Lola’s in tears being like, ‘Why are you attacking my dad?’”

The family reunion was emotional – but the couple say it didn’t last long.

Byrne confessed she was against her husband going on I’m A Celeb from the start. Picture: Damian Shaw

Laura said that through the filming of the finale, there were “three instances” where the children were reunited with their father, only to be separated again: The initial reunion, the final trial, and then the announcement of the winner.

She said once the winner had been announced, she and the children assumed Matty J would get to come home with them.

“[But] then they kept Matt on set until 6 o’clock and we went home earlier. And it was so hard on Lola particularly,” she said.

“And then I had to deal with her big emotions around ‘Why is my daddy not coming home?’ And it felt like this unfair false start. I think that’s why it was so hard for me. It was coupled with a lack of sleep and just trying to manage these tiny humans that really felt as though what they needed was not being catered for in that moment, and they needed their dad.”

News.com.au has today contacted the Ten Network for comment about the couple’s complaints.

Byrne also admitted in the Life Uncut podcast that she was against her husband participating in I’m A Celeb from the start, reminding Matty J that she “wasn’t a supporter of it in the first place.”

And Matty J confessed he struggled at times with his month living at camp, confessing that early on in the show, and in scenes that weren’t televised, he broke down crying in the camp Tok-Tokkie, where campmates go to chat to producers and film their confessionals.

“I just burst out crying, and I was like, ‘I f***ing cannot do this,’’ he said, revealing he’d been struck with a panicked thought while alone doing the dishes: “What have I f**king done? This is a nightmare.”

Originally published as Matty J and Laura Byrne slam ‘unfair’ I’m A Celeb finale