Matt Formston and Rebecca: A Love Story Built on Self-Improvement and Partnership

When big wave surfer and Paralympic cyclist Matt Formston was writing a list of the traits he desired in a partner, he realised he wasn't half of the things he expected of someone else. So he began working on himself, and eventually found his way to now-wife Rebecca, aka Bex.

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Matt: I had a successful business and sporting career.

It all looked nice, but I wasn't really happy. I'd had a bunch of failed relationships.

It's easy to blame the other person but I realised I needed to take accountability.

I wrote at list of 12 things I'd like in a wife and realised I wasn't at least six of them.

I needed to build a version of me that had those things so I could reasonably expect them of someone else.

That was 2008 and by 2010 I got my first executive job, started riding for Australia. Sounds like a lucky year but there was nothing lucky about it.

The luckiest thing was I met Bex.

Bex: We met online, which was quite pioneering for the time. Really unromantic story.

I'd moved from the UK and had been in Sydney for a couple of months and was trying to meet new people.

We agreed to meet at the beach. I knew he was blind, but I didn't really know how blind.

I got to the beach and just sat down. It was quite busy.

He rang and said, "Where are you?" I said, "Just to the right of the stairs wearing a blue hoodie".

Somehow, he found me.

Matt: I just wandered around looking awkward around people until I guessed it was Bex.

Bex: We went for lunch and I said, "Here's the menu" and he said, "I can't read it".

That was awkward.

A two-for-one deal

Matt: From there we started hanging out every weekend.

We took a camping trip a month later and my parents, who lived nearby, turned up with the whole family.

I remember Bex just being OK with it all. She didn't baulk at it. That was a big tick for me.

On the way home we got stuck in a traffic jam and she just chatted and didn't complain. I fell in love with her in that traffic jam.

Bex: Meeting Matt and being in Sydney was all very exciting and new.

I really liked Matt's passion for where he lives. He's a proud Aussie.

Getting through tough times

Bex: When having our first baby, he was born right in the middle of a full-on training campaign for Matt for the Paralympics.

I knew that was going to happen but didn't really think it through. I was only 26 and had no family here.

Suddenly I had this newborn and my husband is on his bike for the whole of his paternity leave.

And when he was only eight weeks old, Matt went to Mexico for a couple of weeks.

That was a lot.

Matt: That trip I did when our eldest was eight weeks old, I set a world record on that trip.

When my legs wouldn't go and I couldn't breathe, I just thought about Bex at home with the baby without me and no-one was beating me.

Similar happened with our other two kids.

In 2016 when our daughter was born, I was on an Olympic campaign.

Our other son was born in 2018 and I'd booked a filming trip to Indonesia and didn't even have phone coverage.

It's been hard on our relationship.

Teammates in life

Matt: I've got a list of achievements that fill up more than a couple of pages, but I didn't have any of them until I met Bex.

She's my bedrock. She's allowed me to do all the things I'm able. And she doesn't get any credit for those, but she should.

I've got teams everywhere, but my best teammate is my wife.

Bex: Life with Matt is busy. Exciting. There are always different things going on.

But the relationship is safe and reliable. Even though he's crazy, I trust him.

I can't imagine my life anywhere else.