All About Matt Rife's Mom, April Rife

Matt Rife and his mom, April Rife, have been through thick and thin together.

For most of Matt’s childhood, the mother-son duo lived in Ohio with April’s father, Steven Rife. Eventually April married Matt’s now stepfather and the couple had a child of their own. But after his father’s sudden death, Matt said he relied on his grandfather’s support and wisdom as a boy.

“My dad passed away when I was about one and a half years old and later I got a stepdad, but he and I never had a real relationship. So my grandfather was really my father. I spent every weekend with him from the moment I was born. My mom and I lived with him for the first five years after I was born,” Matt explained during an interview with Magazine Numéro in March 2023.

Now a viral sensation, Matt started cracking jokes when he was a teenager, when April and her dad took him to comedy clubs. The trio were in the pack and Matt’s biggest fans. From there he got a spot on MTV Wild ‘N Outsmall guest role on Brooklyn Nine-Nine and amassed a massive following on TikTok, before getting its first aptly-titled Netflix special in 2023 Matt Rife: Natural selection.

Although April doesn’t like the spotlight, that hasn’t stopped her from cheering her son on every step of the way. Here’s everything you need to know about Matt Rife’s mother, April Rife, and their sweet mother-son relationship.

She raised Matt in Ohio

Matt Rife and his mom April Rife.

Matt Rife’s Instagram

Matt’s Midwestern roots run deep. In the interview for 2019 Columbus Undergroundthe comedian shared what it was like growing up as a child in Ohio.

“Ohio is such a fun place to grow up because everyone played outside, and [we lived in] an incredibly safe neighborhood,” he told a local newspaper. “My parents would leave the car keys in the car with the doors unlocked every night. It was a very carefree – irresponsible – but carefree place to grow up. And, it was a lot of fun. My friends and I would play together outside, do sports.”

As he’s gotten older, Matt said he’s been overcome with a desire to “go do more things that Ohio just doesn’t have,” but regardless, “I just remember it was a good place to grow up.”

He also has a daughter and three stepdaughters

Matt Rife and his mom April Rife.

Matt Rife’s Instagram

Matt’s father died shortly after his birth in 1995. When Matt was 5, April married his stepfather, who had three daughters from a previous relationship. Matt was the youngest until the couple welcomed their first child together, a daughter named Taylor.

Growing up in a blended family with five mouths to feed wasn’t easy for his mom and stepdad, Matt admitted in an interview with Very Good Light.

“My mom works in an Amazon warehouse, and my stepdad is a car mechanic. We didn’t have much growing up anyway,” he explained.

Matt had a very close relationship with his mother’s father

Matt Rife and his grandfather Steven Rife.

Matt Rife’s Instagram

Matt cannot look back on the trajectory of his comedy career without giving credit to his late grandfather, Steven Rife. Talking to Hola Aloha magazine, the comedian talked about their special relationship and how Steven introduced him to the world of comedy. A World War II veteran, Steven died in November 2022. In an emotional tribute to his late grandfather, Matt thanked him for being “my best friend in the whole world” and “the greatest man I’ve ever met”.

“Growing up without a dad, he was my father. He taught me every thing I know and gave his whole life for me. He’s been to every baseball game, taken me to every comedy show, made me blueberry waffles every morning and he’s the first person I’d call whenever something happened,” Matt captioned a sweet photo gallery of him and Steve. “Words cannot describe what he meant to me or I hope very much that I will miss him every day for the rest of my life.”

Matt added: “Thank you so much for being my best friend, my teacher, my father, my grandfather, my inspiration, my soul, my everything.”

His comedy special from 2023. Matthew Steven Rife, is dedicated to his grandfather. “His name was Steven, and my middle name is Steven. I was named after him, so it seemed like an appropriate title for the special,” he told Numéro Netherlands.

Matt bought his mother a house with one of his first big paychecks

Matt Rife and his mother April Rife.

Matt Rife’s Instagram

When the big paychecks started rolling in, Matt knew he wanted to do something special for April to show his appreciation for all the sacrifices she made to help make his dreams come true. “I told her, ‘Hey, things are going really well. I want to make sure you’re taken care of, that you don’t have bills to pay for the rest of your life. I want to get you a house,’ Matt recalled 2 bears, 1 cave podcast in 2023.

Speaking honestly, Matt noted that his mom didn’t realize the magnitude of his success. “My mom, she still doesn’t really understand at all,” he said.

He’s dizzy

Matt Rife and his mom April Rife.

Matt Rife’s Instagram

During the appearance of 2023 on 2 bears, 1 cave podcast, Matt touched briefly on his mother’s experience with vertigo.

“She’s always hurt, always,” he said on the show. “He’s so dizzy that he can barely stand up straight most of the time.”

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Source: HIS Education