A fit, well-dressed, devastatingly handsome celebrity man — yep, here come the gay rumors. Matt Rife has been dodging gay rumor bullets almost since the beginning of his career, but are they fact or fiction?
Matt Rife is a well-known, self-reported “late blooming” hot guy, meaning when he was younger he found himself shall we say, less desired. Now he is athletic, trim, and let’s be honest, really hot. Yet as with most good-looking, well-groomed celebrity men, the gay rumors were not far behind. Many have surmised Matt Rife may be gay or bisexual, despite also being rumored to be a bit of a playboy. So which is it? Or could it be both? To find the truth, we dug deep, well honestly not even that deep, but we did dig, to find out if Matt Rife is truly gay. Here’s what we uncovered.
Is Matt Rife gay?
Matt Rife has made a name for himself as a standup comedian, actor, and social media celebrity. The 28-year-old Ohio native has produced several of his own comedy specials such as OnlyFans, Walking Red Flag, and Matthew Steven Rife. He is part of the improv comedy sketch Wet’N’ Wild, and also has a special on Netflix titled Natural Selection. Basically, he is a very successful guy.
While many might feel part of his success is due to his natural good looks (we mean, those cheekbones alone, come on) he actually reports his good looks are a bit of a problem in his career. In an interview with New York Post he explains that as a handsome comedian, people hesitate to laugh at his jokes, focus on all the wrong things about him, and question his success.
His “pretty boy” good looks and charm have also caused a lot of questions about his sexuality almost from day one. He admitted to Page Six it was difficult to date, as “When I’m touring six days a week, 52 weeks out of the year, it’s incredibly hard to maintain a relationship.” Yet despite the ever-present rumors, Matt Rife is decidedly not gay.
While he does like to keep his love life low radar, he openly dated the well-known actress Kate Beckinsale in 2017. She was 43 and he was 21 at the time, yet the pair were pretty hot and heavy. The couple’s relationship was, as Rife put it, “complicated, for sure,” however, and the two called it quits. In 2019, when the British actress began dating Pete Davidson, according to Page Six, Matt advised the SNL star to “run.”
Rife was also rumored to have a brief relationship, or fling, with Lucy Hale following his split from Beckinsale. Neither confirmed the relationship, but it appeared common knowledge on the Hollywood scene. Now in 2023, there is a new leading lady in Rife’s life, and she is definitely female.
Who is Jessica Lord?
Matt Rife is currently in a relationship with English actress and dancer Jessica Lord. While he explains he likes to keep his private life quiet, the two have confirmed a relationship. The couple has only been dating a short time, but had known each other for almost a year and a half before getting together. They became public about their romance in June of 2023, and have been going strong ever since. The two were even spotted enacting some major PDA at the Forbes Top Creator List launch.
While the two are official, Rife’s 6.2 million follower Instagram is surprisingly scrubbed of any personal pictures of the pair. It is mostly career-oriented and perhaps that is the way he likes it. Her Instagram too is basically just professional photos and pups.
Rife has revealed that Lord is incredibly supportive of his career, and is unphased by the attention — often unwanted — that he receives both on social media, and onstage. His comedy often includes frank conversations about looks and sexuality, which can sometimes elicit odd outbursts from the audience, but Rife reveals Lord seems to take it all in stride.
Yes, the two are decidedly and openly together, hopefully putting a rest to all the lingering questions over Matt Rife’s sexuality. With three famous girlfriends and one long-term relationship under his belt, it would appear Matt Rife is certainly interested in women. This certainly doesn’t rule out bi- or pan-sexuality, there’s just no evidence to suggest anything other than a heterosexual orientation on Rife’s part, at least as far as the public knows, or has any business knowing. Although in truth, we doubt Rige’s relationship history will put an end to the seemingly ever-present rumors around Matt Rife’s sexual preferences, but here’s hoping.