In celebration of International Men's Day on 19th October 2020, Marvin Humes, Iain Stirling, Roman Kemp and Ronan Keating (and Matthew McConaughey) become the first ALL male panel on Loose Women, now known today as the Loose Men...who are all here to speak up about issues and concerns that most predominantly challenge men! Here's some screenshots of some social media pages who are already showing support to the cause, encouraging people to open up about their emotions!
CALM:
MNM Blog:
Men & Mental Health:
(From left to right; Marvin Humes, Roman Kemp, Iain Stirling and Ronan Keating)
To begin the show, the panel spoke about why we need International Men's Day and the importance of it in today's society. Marvin discussed that at least 12 men die of suicide every day amongst other issues, but mental health is the number one reason for people to end their lives, which is a diffcult thing to hear, but that's why we need more male role models and inspirations who can talk to people who are going through difficult situations, to listen to those who are struggling, know that they are not alone and help is available to transform their lives. Ronan added that even to this day, he still has counselling where he develops and learns the tools in how to take care of himself, and able to pass it onto the males in his family including his 21 year old son!
The next section of the show saw the panel discuss the topic 'Do you find it hard to talk about your feelings? - to which Iain quickly replied that it's apparently difficult for men to show any form of emotions, and they're known for just 'dealing with stuff', which is a stereotype that needs to change. Roman added that advice needs to be given to young boys at school to help them with being able to open up about their emotions. Marvin spoke about a time in his life when one of his friends was at rock bottom, and another had gone through rehab and got the right help, with Marvin being able to connect them both with eachother turning their friendship from 'stranger' to a 3 hour conversation which saved his friends life!
Iain commented on the topic that men should feel more open minded to speak about any issues they are going through both mentally and also physically, adding that some men die from testicular cancer because they check their private parts, but don't feel comfortable enough to go a sexual health clinic or ask for help. He added they should be more acceptable topics to speak about, with Ronan commenting that it's upto the social media influencers and creators to be sharing positive and motivational content to their followers and fans, especially if they're looked up to by their younger audiences.
After the adverts, Ronan Keating's new single 'Forever Ain't Enough' was played, and it was another one of those music videos that was filmed at home during the pandemic; which led into the next topic of conversation about love. But before that, Brian Blessed was to reveal the Loose Men's Christmas competition where a viewer could win upto £50,000 tax free cash as well as over £20,000 of Christmas gadgets!
'Do you still expect men to make the first move?' - which is most certainly a complicated topic within itself was the next to be discussed on the show. Iain said that change should be made rather than having to keep up with the standard tradition of 'men messaging a woman'; adding that it should just be about finding somebody who wants the same sort of relationship as you. Roman Kemp said that he was inspired by him mum and sister's actions on how to act, saying that they are both strong independent women. He went on to say that dating apps like Bumble are there to encourage women to make the first move, which is something he is strongly in agreement with. He also spoke about his '3 action rule' in dating, that whoever invites the other to a date is the one that should pay for the meal. If for some reason, the other person says 'No', you resist and offer again, and if they say 'No' a second time, then they pay and you get a free meal! (I'll definitely give this one a go Roman, thanks for the tip!)...Ronan also added that on his first date with his wife, she paid, saying that 'I don't need no popstar paying for me', which made the boys chuckle, but also shows the change in society in terms of love, dating and relationships.
The boys were then joined by Matthew McConaughey who started the inverview by stating that he had almost two years with no work as he turned down a lot of his 'romcom' jobs - one worth over £14 million which the boys added was a 'big risk, with Iain adding that if there are any roles that need filling, he's free. He joked and said that he couldn't say 'Sorry mum, think about my creative career' if he turned down a job that offered that much money!
Roman then asked him how is able to transition from one of his characters into a fatherly figure in the house when he's not in any films, with Matthew stating that he is 'Mr Fun in the house', allowing his children to have milkshake for breakfast and sweets, but when he goes away to do filming, he's a little more harsh just to make sure there is a form of routine there for his children! Marvin introduced Matthew's new book called 'Green Light' which is simply about the years of diary entries over the last 25+ years where he wrote down about how he got to where he is now. He simply emplained the green lights as those that tell us to 'proceed' and 'carry on' rather than red lights which offer slow us down in life.
The chat continued as Iain reintroduced the topic of men's mental health, and how he could add to the topic. Matthew stated that he often likes a bit of 'me' time to figure out what he forgives himself for and what he is isn't going to put up anymore in life. Marvin swerved the conversation into the topic of football saying that he loves to watch football, especially his own team Chelsea with Matthew adding that he's also a great fan of the game. At the end of the conversation, Iain dropped the line 'We feel a lot looser having spoken to you' but Matthew twiddled his fingers to almost move the programme forward and wasn't amused by his joke...but I found it funny! Once the interview was over, Iain added 'I like the bit where I tried to tell a joke and he tried to wrap it up' - what a lad!
The next topic spoke briefly about each of the men's regimes, and Marvin began by stating that 1/20 men now wear makeup. Iain and Roman's 'throwback' picture were shown on the screen, with Iain comparing himself to an Auntie of his, and Roman, to a girl! Ronan joined in on the conversation stating that in his boyband Boyzone, Stephen was the only gay band member, and instead of thinking they would make him butch, he was able to sit the boys down and give them little tips and tricks for how to adapt their own skincare routines, which is just as important for men as it is for women! Iain adding a final comment that there are many products that have to specify 'male' or 'man' infront of it, including male moisturizer or guy liner, but it's the same stuff no matter what gender the product is aimed at!
The final part of the show saw Roman, Ronan and Iain guessing a variety of items that aren't necessarily the easiest to identify. The boys confused a menstrual cup with what they thought was a willy washer or Vernon Kay's thimble. Item number two was a clip on man bun which is most certainly a new addition to the weird and wonderful 2020 we've had so far, with Iain thinking it as a bum hole cover and Ronan thinking it was a hair extension of some sort. The third and final item was a facial cleanser which Roman correctly guessed by saying it was related to 'skincare', but Iain's 'tongue washer' (which he couldn't spell) an d Ronan's 'Baby sleep aid' were very far off of the correct answer! Roman won the gadget challenge, called 'Let's Play: Guess the Gizmo!' and that was the end of the Loose Men panel!
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