I'm A Celeb cast reduced to tears over devastating health confession
Former star of The Bachelor Matty Johnson has been reduced to tears after hearing of his fellow I'm A Celeb campmate's degenerative health condition.
While opening up about their personal lives in the jungle, Matty J spoke candidly with Reggie Sorenson, who was the first female winner of Big Brother Australia in 2003.
Sorenson, 50, has previously revealed she is legally blind due to having a rare degenerative eye disease, and also shared in 2022 that she has been diagnosed with stage two Usher Syndrome, which impacts vision and causes hearing loss.
While facing her health issues, Sorenson explained to Johnson that she had faced online bullying since her diagnosis.
“I posted a video (on social media) of me dancing and (it was), ‘how can she be dancing, I thought she was blind’,” she explained.
“People need to be educated that blindness is a spectrum. Not everyone has to have the big black glasses and sit at home and not do anything. That is what people have in their heads.
“There is such a misunderstanding about blindness. Because I try and keep going all the time, sometimes you get knocked down because you try to keep going.”
Johnson then asked Sorenson about the future of her illness, asking, "Are you scared?"
“I think … I reckon I will probably change when it is all totally gone, I won’t be able to do as much as what I do now,” Sorenson replied.
When Johnson asked her what she will “miss most” upon losing her vision completely, her response saw him become visibly emotional.
“Seeing the kids, I think,” she told him. “I’ll miss the kids."
“I never know if it is my last day of when I will see again. That day is going to come, and that is why I am so blessed to be here, to enjoy and see all of this stuff and chuck it in the memory bank, to make the most of it.”
Later on, speaking to producers about their conversation, Johnson broke down in tears.
“Knowing what Reggie’s gone through … she’s a mum who is afraid of never being able to see her kids again, because she’s going blind,” Johnson said.
“All of a sudden, my struggles seem so insignificant (compared to) what she’s going through.”
Image credits: Ten