The Traitors star Stephen Libby addresses speculation about knowing Matthew Hyndman before the show
“There were points where people thought I was in a relationship with every single male in the castle," said Stephen
By Aaron Sugg
The Traitors has taken the UK by storm as its “family tree” connections continue to emerge, now Stephen Libby and Matthew Hyndman have revealed whether they knew each other before entering the castle.
This year’s secret real-life connections included Ross and Ellie, who were revealed to be boyfriend and girlfriend, as well as Judy and Roxy, who turned out to be mother and daughter.
More recently, it was revealed that Jade and Amanda – who had a difficult relationship on the BBC series – were also connected through Jade’s boyfriend.
In a social media video, Amanda shared that she had previously worked closely with Jade’s boyfriend’s father while serving together in the Metropolitan Police.
“It’s funny because Matty is the kind of person I probably would have had knowledge of” – Stephen Libby on his connection to Matthew Hyndman
Fans speculated that The Traitors winner Stephen and fan favourite Matty may also have known each other before the show, given that both are gay and based in Scotland.
Stephen has now shut down the rumours, telling Cosmopolitan: “There were points where people thought I was in a relationship with every single male in the castle!”
“I was making my way around that castle, apparently, according to the internet,” Stephen quipped. “It’s funny because Matty is the kind of person I probably would have had knowledge of, because he’s also gay and he also lives in Scotland.”
“But since leaving, we have become so close” – Stephen confirmed he did not know Matthew before entering the castle
“It is strange that we actually had no idea who each other were before going in there,” he added. “But since leaving, we have become so close.”
During their time in the castle, the pair spoke openly about their shared experiences of religion and sexuality. The former cyber security officer recalled trying to “pray the gay away” while growing up on the Isle of Lewis.
While watching the episode about his early struggles with his identity with his parents in his hometown, Stephen told Attitude: “It was probably the best place for me to be, because although I’ve spoken to my family about this before, it’s not something that we revisit all the time, so it allowed us to have that conversation – and I wanted to make sure they knew that I’m okay now.”
Matthew is the co-founder of Ban Conversion Practices
Matthew has similarly spoken about the difficulties he faced confronting his sexuality in religious circles. The creative director previously shared his experience of conversion practices in a 2021 op-ed for The Independent.
As a 24-year-old missionary, Matthew was subjected to conversion practices after private online conversations in which he disclosed his sexuality as a gay man were accidentally shared in an email sent to his congregation.
He ultimately left the religious group, avoiding conversion therapy, and now, as an out and proud gay man, has co-founded Ban Conversion Practices – a UK-wide coalition campaigning against anti-LGBTQ+ agendas.
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