Emma Willis opens up about Matt Willis' decades-long battle with addiction
TV presenter Emma Willis has opened up about her husband's decades-long battle with addiction, speaking out about how this has impacted their marriage.
"Along with addiction comes a lot of bad times," Emma, who has been married to Busted star Matt Willis since 2008, says in an upcoming BBC documentary exploring his addiction. "As hard and as bad as that can be and has been, it also is part of who he is and who he is is who I love. We’ve been together for 18 years."
Although Emma married Matt knowing about his struggles with alcohol abuse – he'd left rehab just three days before their wedding – she recalls not knowing how tough the road to recovery would be. Matt has been through rehab four times in the last two decades, and most recently relapsed in 2016 when Busted went on tour.
"It's very easy to look in on a situation that you're not directly involved in and go, 'fuck that, get out of that'," Emma explains.
"But it's not easy," she goes on. "When you're in it, you have that history together, and if you love someone you're not going anywhere."
"Sometimes I feel like I’ve got four kids instead of three," Emma adds, admitting that she's worried about Busted's upcoming reunion tour and what that might lead to for her husband. "Matt’s always had issues," she continues. "But they seem to really kick in when he's on tour. I know he doesn't want to be that person but is his brain going to trick him and go, 'Just one more time?' That's the worry."
Matt shares similar fears. "I'm terrified of relapsing again," he says in the documentary. "The thought of it is constantly in my head. I don't know if I have it in me to get out of it again."
But, he says the support of his family – and his bandmates – will get him through. "She's an absolutely unbelievable woman," Matt says of his wife. "We move forward together as a couple."
"He's come a long way and I don't doubt he'll go even further," Emma says to that. "I'm very proud."
For help and support with drug addiction, visit Addiction at addiction.org.uk or the NHS' drug addiction support page.
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