Buddy Matthews explains why he photobombed a fan photo with his wife Rhea Ripley.
After news of their relationship became public in 2022, Rhea Ripley and Buddy Matthews announced their engagement in August of 2023. The couple married in June of 2024.
In a recent interview with Australian podcasting duo Ned & Josh, Matthews was asked about a viral photo that his wife took with a fan. In the photo, Matthews can be seen in the background with a bouquet of roses with a stern look on his face. According to the AEW star, looking stern during the photo op was done entirely on purpose as a way to protect his wife from fans who might overstep their boundaries.
“Yes. It originally started, uh, we were at a grocery store and I was at the deli and I was in line to get a sandwich. It was my cheat day. So I was very, very excited. And a fan came up to her and asked for a photo and I’m not losing my place in the line. So I’m standing there and being a polite husband, I got her some flowers. So I’m in the line with roses in my hand waiting to get my deli sandwich.
And I’m in the background just staring at this guy because obviously I have to protect her, right? There’s a lot of weirdos out there. So, you know, I’m ready to pounce. I’m basically just a unpaid security guard to her now.
Which I’m more than happy to do it. It’s just become now more of a thing. It’s like, I have such a good resting bitch face. It’s just kind of like, don’t come up to us. But when you have the star power she has, it’s very much like, oh, we’ll just avoid the guy that looks like he’s going to rip our face off for a photo.”
“I Definitely Got To Lean Into It” – Buddy Matthews On Photobombing Rhea Ripley’s Photos
Continuing, the star joked that he should lean into the idea of looking awkward in the background of photos that fans take with his wife.
“So yeah, they asked for the photos, like, ‘oh, can I get a photos with you guys?’ But if you’re not going to talk to me, I just kind of stepped back. So that’s when I kind of put myself in the position in the background and become like more of a, Where’s Wally now?
I was talking to some friends. I’m like, I definitely got to lean into it, make it more of my own gimmick.”
The original photo can be seen below.
Thanks to Ned & Josh for providing the quotes used in this article.