The Real Housewives are paying tribute to someone named Matt Byars. It is all over social media and there are photos aplenty. Yet, the big question in the midst of all of this is who exactly is or rather, was Matt? It appears that he has passed away which is tragic. Keep reading for all the details and what is known.
Who Is Matt Byars?
Early on Friday, November 22nd, a plethora of Bravolebs and Real Housewives have been posting tributes. They have taken to their social media accounts to celebrate the life of Matt Byars. All of the ladies knew and loved him, from Melissa Gorga to Ashley Darby to GG Gharachedaghi and more. They have been praising what a wonderful person he was. How he was the light, full of positivity and laughter but tragically, it appears he did not feel the same about himself.
RHONJ star, Melissa Gorga shared her feelings on Instagram with a reel of the two of them. They were side-by-side and this is a fragment of her tribute:
“Thank you for bringing me my very 1st performance of “ON DISPLAY”- you and I- WE ARE LOYAL.
They don’t make them like us. I wish I could have saved you.”
Melissa had just spoken to Matt earlier in the week and, like many of the tributes to follow, had no idea what pain he was in. Shahs of Sunset alum, GG noted how Matt Byars was one of the first people she worked with when she embarked on her TV journey. Yet, she echoed Melissa’s sentiments:
“Oh Matt… I’m so sorry this world failed you. You were always a shining light of optimism and humor.”
This begs the question of who Matt actually was. According to Bravo, he was RHOP star, Karen Huger’s “everything.” Yet, he was so much more. He did PR and was a devoted talent manager who Huger had known since Matt was a teenager, she recalled in 2019:
“I’ve known Matt since he was about 17, 18 years old. I encourage Matt when life is difficult. A lot of people call me ‘Mama Karen’ in Potomac because I love helping young folk. When life was trying to him, I reached out and told him to go to school, and he did, and now we work together. Matt is wonderful, wonderful in PR. I do have a PR, Matt is not my PR, but I would say that Matt is in a line of my agent, my booking person, and it works for me.”
More Love For Matt
After news broke that the thirty-seven-year-old had passed, Ashley Darby encouraged everyone to reach out to Karen Huger. Since she had known Matt Byars for two decades, this was likely very traumatic and heartbreaking for her. Margaret Josephs of RHONJ fame also had nothing but praise for him as he was there during her book tour and was a guiding light:
“Schlepping me on book tour through Covid, cuddling in my room, making everyone feel like a star and they were the only person that mattered. I hope you know now how loved you are and you will forever be in our hearts. Love you.”
She also acknowledged how he would literally do whatever he had to for the ladies in his life. RHOA’s Cynthia Bailey was also devastated to hear about this and noted she had far too many memories to go through. He had a connection to all of the Real Housewives and they genuinely appreciated him. Now, they will lean on one another to get through this.
Do you remember hearing about or seeing Matt Byars? Let us know and sending so much love and light to those who knew him. This is absolutely heartbreaking.