Bachelor star Matt Agnew shows off major transformation for good cause

He teased a huge transformation, and now former Bachelor Matt Agnew is showing off his new look after shaving off all of his hair.

The 34-year-old reality TV star took part in this year's World's Greatest Shave to raise awareness of blood cancer in Australia and funds for the Leukaemia Foundation, and looks almost unrecognisable sans shoulder-length locks and facial hair.

Matt was barely recognisable in mid-2021 when he emerged from lockdown with long tousled hair, a far cry from the short back and sides he'd sported as the Bachelor in 2019.

Now, he went even further than the clean-shaven look he was known for on TV, deciding to take everything off - handing the clippers to Today show host Sylvia Jeffrey's to do the job on live television.

Speaking to Yahoo Lifestyle afterwards, Matt said it was a "humbling" and "liberating" experience.

"It's obviously a really important cause. And it was an opportunity I couldn't pass up," Matt tells us.

"The actual shave itself was, you know, nerve wracking and daunting to do. But you have this reminder and this grounding about why you're doing it the whole time and it gets you through."

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Describing the process to us, Matt said first long chunks were cut off to be used for a medical wig, and for a split second he thought perhaps his original short look "could stick around".

"You kind of very quickly can park those thoughts and remember, okay, this is so much more important. This is so much bigger than, you know, these small little personal feelings I'm having," he says of his decision to go 'full Bruce Willis'.

"I wasn't sure what my head shape would be like so I was very pleased to see that it is an appealing head shape," he added, joking he felt he was now in "esteemed company", even though some of his family and friend's "expressed doubt" beforehand.

And in terms of how he's feeling about the new look, he admits it may take some getting used to.

"It's really bizarre. I mean, today in Sydney, it's quite chilly and it still catches me off guard," he says. "I'll catch a glimpse in the window as I'm walking past it, and I still haven't gotten used to it."

Getting involved with the World’s Greatest Shave and the Leukaemia Foundation is a cause close to his heart because one of Matt's cousins and a friend's mother have both battled blood cancer.

Matt also had the 'confronting yet humbling' opportunity to meet with nine-year-old Noah who was diagnosed with blood cancer three years ago. The pair bonded over their love of space and Matt was floored by the youngster's brave and bubbly personality.

"It's meeting people like Noah, and young boys and girls like Noah, it's the thing that grounds you back and brings you back to 'this is why I'm doing it'," he says.

"I made a choice to shave my hair and they don't get that choice, they're kind of robbed of that choice when they have to go through these really intense medical treatments like chemo.

"And so I hope that even something as small as the fact that I'm very publicly shaving my hair, and now I look like maybe how they look, that it lift their spirits a little bit and does give them a little bit of positivity and help in some small way."

Despite the flurry of attention his long hair debut attracted last year, speaking to Yahoo Lifestyle before the big shave, Matt maintained he wasn't trying to 'go incognito' by changing up his appearance.

And he wasn't sure if his latest 'transformation' would turn as many heads.

"I'll probably be more recognisable in the sense that I'll resemble the look that the Australian public is more familiar with," he told us at the time.

"I guess the clean-shaven short-haired look is how the majority of people still picture me. I mean, saying that it's been what, nearly three years [since The Bachelor]? I'm always surprised I get recognised at all."

Matt had also said his friends and family would likely be happy to see the back of it.

"Definitely the detractors have been firmly against it the entire time so for them it's is a bit of, 'Oh, thank goodness, I'm so glad you're finally getting a haircut'."

To make a donation to support Dr. Matt Agnew's World’s Greatest Shave campaign, please visit worldsgreatestshave.com, click donate, and search Dr Matt Agnew.

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