Real Men ending explained: What happened to Massimo, Mattia, Luigi, and Ricardo by the end of the Netflix series?

All eight episodes of Netflix's Italian dramedy series, Real Men, dropped on May 21, 2025. The show follows the lives of four middle-aged men, Massimo, Riccardo, Mattia, and Luigi, who have been longtime friends since university days. Directed by Letizia Lamartire and Matteo Oleotto, the series takes us on the journey of four men each described as frat boy cockiness, prejudice against women, pathetic attempts at gender washing and male pride. Throughout the series, they navigate love, work, and identity as they face the challenges of modern masculinity.

The star-studded cast of Real Men includes Maurizio Lastrico as Massimo, Francesco Montanari as Riccardo, Pietro Sermonti as Luigi, and Matteo Martari as Mattia. The debut episode of Real Men, 'Made in Italy,' saw the four friends struggling in their lives in different ways- some professionally, while others personally. Massimo lost his job, Luigi's wife wasn't happy with him, Mattia's daughter Emma opened up a Tinder profile and set him up with a woman called Flavia, while Riccardo's partner proposed an open relationship. Quite chaotic, isn't it? Read on to know what happened to them.

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Netflix Italian series' Real Men ending explained: Everything falls apart- but comes together

The Italian dramedy series, Real Men Episode 8, titled Men Never Change, wrapped up the major plotlines. The episode opened with Massimo delivering a quite 'sexist' speech about how men should buck up in the modern world.

Meanwhile, Massimo's partner Daniela's social media goes for a toss- not only does her manager Lodovico ditch her, but she also loses brand deals and followers due to Massimo's provocative speech.

On the other hand, we see Massimo, after nagging for a bit, finally let Luigi plan his son Francesco's birthday party at his villa. Luigi reveals his plans to his children while his wife plans to take them to a recreation centre and a magic show for the birthday treat. The children vote for a birthday party at a villa with a magic show.

Meanwhile, Riccardo's business partner Carlo caught his wife cheating with Riccardo in the restaurant's kitchen. Out of rage and disappointment, Carlo asks Riccardo to leave and sell him the restaurant shares. As he said to Carlo,

"Everyone told me not to trust you, and it looks like they were right."

Massimo's partner asks him to cancel his course after getting a call for an interview with Selvaggia Lucarelli. Elsewhere, Riccardo pitches to his wife that he wants to be an entrepreneur. However, his plan backfires when his wife agrees to come with him to meet Carlo. Mattia spends a quiet emotional moment with his daughter Emma when she opens up about Gustav and Francesca, and how Gustav tagged them as 'f*** buddies'. Mattia comforts her and says,

"This marks an important day for you, sweetheart, because today is the first day that life chose to show you that not all men are sensitive and splendid as your father is."'

Riccardo meets with Carlo and asks him not to disclose anything to his wife. However, Riccardo's partner eavesdrops and learns about the affair. Meanwhile, in the court, Mattia and his wife share a moment as they talk about their daughter.

On the other hand, we see Selvaggia Lucarelli grilling Massimo throughout the interview. The interviewer takes Massimo's partner, Daniela, on the call, and she lashes out and breaks up with him. Meanwhile, at Luigi's son's birthday party in Massimo's villa, Luigi finally breaks his cold barrier and gets intimate with his wife in Massimo's bedroom.

Riccardo's wife, Illenia, breaks up with him and informs him that his restaurant's shares were worth just one euro. She furiously advises him to read contracts before signing them. As she shouts,

"Leave, Riccardo."

Daniela leaves Massimo as she confronts him and says,

"I don't wanna be known only as someone's partner."

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Real Men ending explained: Mattia, Luigi, Massimo, and Riccardo's trip down memory lane

The episode ends with an important message. We see Luigi and Triziana giving their relationship a second chance, just like Mattia and his wife. On the other hand, Massimo and Riccardo are on the verge of losing everything- their love life and financial standing. As the backdrop voice says:

"Our generation has taken everything for granted. We followed in our father's footsteps, and they followed in theirs. By stark contrast, today's young men know how to change. And we must do the same. Renounce our ambition, our aggression, recognize and embrace our vulnerability, forgive, dedicate ourselves to caring for ourselves, our families, and our homes."

It continued,

"Obsessed with strength and with achieving success at all costs, we men have cut ourselves off from our feminine side. It's important to accept behaviours that are traditionally considered feminine. Because these behaviours are a part of us. Only then will we be able to eradicate misogyny and homophobia."

At the end of the scene, we see that it was a counsellor's voice who were guiding the four middle-aged men. The speech ended with,

"Men are evolving, we are halfway between the tough, insensitive man of the past and a new man. Firm but tender, virile but sensitive, and that man is who we should strive to be."

The plot of Real Men takes a two-month leap, where we see the four friends crossing a road and chatting about their current lives. We see Riccardo planning to open a dog wellness centre, while Massino is thinking of selling his villa. Meanwhile, Mattia and Federica have yet to tell their daughter about their plans, and Luigi, even though he is living separately, is in a relationship with Triziana.

The episode ends with the four reminiscing about their university days as they joined some students for a game. Catch all episodes of Real Men streaming only on Netflix.

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