Not long after that match, on June 13, 2022, Jeff Hardy was arrested for three felony charges including a “3rd DUI offense within 10 years,” “driving with a suspended/revoked license,” and “violating restrictions placed on a license.” According to Matt, he, Jeff, and Matt’s wife Reby were all in Orlando, Florida, that day after a signing at Dave & Buster’s when things went awry.

“Jeff had to go back to Jacksonville to do something. He was getting some sort of scan done – I want to say he was getting a scan done on his brain or something. And it may have been from even that injury in the Bucks match,” Matt recalled. “I remembered Reby and I had phoned home, because she was with me, and I remember landing in Raleigh, North Carolina, and turning on my phone and getting a bunch of messages and I had just learned that Jeff had been arrested.”

Matt recalled feeling sick to his stomach after reading the news, but despite being disheartened by everything, he was still very worried about Jeff. He first checked in with Jeff’s wife, Beth, but all the while, Matt knew that the situation would spiral out of control.

“The only positive I could say out of [the arrest] was that this was the straw that broke the camel’s back and made him change everything about his entire life,” Matt added. “He’s been the best version of himself ever since then.”

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit “The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.