Outback Wrangler Matt Wright finally reveals big health secret

Matt Wright has revealed the secret health battle he hid from the world while in court facing charges over a chopper crash that killed one of his mates.

EXCLUSIVE

Celebrity crocodile wrangler Matt Wright has revealed he was battling testicular cancer during his lengthy court ordeal relating to the chopper crash that killed one of his best mates.

Wright confirmed to news.com.au he underwent surgery last year and had a testicle removed.

The ordeal though was minor compared to the emotional toll the death of his mate and TV co-star Chris Wilson has had on him and his family.

Wright was on Friday sentenced to five months jail and fined $5000 after a jury found him guilty of attempting to pervert the course of justice over the fatal incident. The charges stemmed from events after the 2022 helicopter crash in West Arnhem land that killed Wilson and left pilot Sebastian Robinson with life-long injuries.

Outback Wrangler Matt Wright, pictured with wife Kaia, revealed he was secretly battling testicular cancer during his lengthy court ordeal. Picture: Instagram

The couple, already parents to Banjo and Dusty, are also expecting a third child. Picture: Instagram

“I got one of my nuts ripped out with testicle cancer last year and compared to everything else going on that was just a blip,” Wright said.

“I got it checked and within three or four days I was in Sydney getting one of my plums pulled out, that was it. Then back on with it and away we go.

“But this ordeal of this tear down that’s happened over the last three years of not just myself, my family, my friends, that’s been so much worse, it’s been absolutely outrageous and ridiculous in its own entirety.”

Wright said the public attention and reaction had most concerningly affected his wife who is expecting their third child – a sibling for six-year-old Banjo and Dusty who is three.

“Mentally, I just try and look at the positives in everything,” Wright said.

Wright revealed he had to have one of his testicles removed. Picture: Instagram

The couple also spoke of the toll the past few years have had on their family and friends. Picture: Instagram

Wright said that since the accident “there’s been a lot of lives turned upside down, communities broken up and mateships destroyed”.

“I think you know, with us, our family, it’s been relentless since the accident, the media have played a pretty big role … And then you’ve got rumours as well, so it’s quite easy to jump on a bandwagon and bully the shit out of a family on rumours. And that’s sort of what’s happened with Kai and myself.

“Once one starts, the next rumour starts, and the next starts, like we had our power cut at our house, our power box blown up, our signs torn down and our businesses graffitied, our chains cut, people shooting at our properties … it has been relentless.

“And then you’ve got Kaia at home not feeling safe because some fruit loops out there with death threats to Kaia and the kids, like it was just madness and mayhem there for a while.

“It was only a small pocket of people up here in the Northern Territory that were doing it, and we have a pretty strong community around us, but the impact that has mentally on a family, you know, you’re always trying to be positive, you’re always trying to put the next foot in front of the next and work through this.”

Kaia agreed the three years since the crash had been “horrific” for everyone.

“And then the aftermath and the grieving were so challenging and then it’s just the emotions and you know the challenges from that just have not stopped,” she said.

“It’s become this beast where it’s just taken different forms of bullying, anxiety, and financial hardship.

Wright is due to be sentenced on December 12 after being found guilty of two counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin /NewsWire

The couple spoke exclusively to news.com.au ahead of his sentencing.

Kaia took a swipe at social media bullies, saying “we expect better from our children”.

“Kids can’t take it, but adults can’t either. It’s not nice. The stories, the comments, the inboxes.

“We’re in the public space, so obviously we’re inviting people into our lives, but you just don’t expect people you don’t know to write horrific things. And it’s not nice if you post a birthday video of your child or something, and then, there’s comments like ‘enjoy the last minutes before he’s in jail, just horrible stuff’.

“It’s a small group of people, but unfortunately sometimes they are the loudest. So yeah, it’s been really hard. Financially it’s been hard. I mean, Matt was obviously doing a lot for the Northern Territory before all this, he was huge in the tourism sector. He was an ambassador for Tourism Australia and as soon as he was charged, everyone dropped him, his sponsors and everyone dropped him overnight. Journalists were ringing his sponsors encouraging them to pull away.”

Wright’s mate and co-star Chris Wilson who was killed in 2022 helicopter crash in West Arnhem in the Northern Territory.

Pilot Sebastian Robinson (L) pictured with Chris 'Willow' Wilson was left with life-long injuries.

Kaia said she was focused on “piecing life back together but it’s a long road”.

“We’ve got a lot to get through, and it’s a long road ahead. So it’s day by day. People lose their humanness in situations like this.

“I catch myself getting nasty when I’m worked up and I’m not nasty by nature, but I think people just when there’s grief and trauma and you’re getting blamed for things … some people don’t have the self-awareness to check themselves and to apologise or to pull themselves back in because so many lives have been impacted.

“It’s definitely not just us, and like I said, I don’t sit here feeling sorry for us because I know how many people have had the worst time ever in loads of different ways.

“But yeah, I don’t see it getting any better, but I hope people can at some point move on with some sort of peace.”