Matt Willis, husband of Strictly Come Dancing presenter Emma Willis, has revealed that a seemingly "small" issue in their marriage created a "big problem" that required couples counselling. The couple, married since 2008 and parents to three children—Isabelle, Ace, and Trixie—have faced challenges, including Matt's past struggles with addiction.
Couples Counselling and Repeated Conversations
Speaking on his podcast On the Mend, Matt discussed the couple's experience with therapy. He told Pop Idol winner Will Young that they kept having the "same conversation" without making progress. "We had this same thing that was kind of coming up in our relationship. I won't go into too many details, but same thing, same conversation over and over again, never getting anywhere," he said.
Matt explained that once they identified the root cause, the problem disappeared. "Once we actually got to the root of what that was, we have never had that problem ever again. And it was so small when I think about it, you know, but it was actually massive. That was everything that was holding us away from truly loving."
Emma's Feedback on Follow-Through
Matt, who has been sober since 2016 after seeking rehab for cocaine and alcohol addiction, has also sought personal growth. He asked Emma for feedback on areas to improve, and she pointed out his tendency not to follow through on plans. "She basically said, 'You have so many ideas, which is hard to keep up with at times, and I don't want to disregard your passion and ideas for stuff, but there's so many, and so few of them are going to take flight,'" Matt recalled.
He admitted the criticism was "hard to hear" but necessary. "She was like, 'I don't want to stop you from being this creative thing that comes up with all this stuff, but you don't follow through on most of them.'"
Emma's New Role on Strictly
Last month, Emma Willis was announced as the new host of Strictly Come Dancing, alongside Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe. They replaced Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly, who left the BBC programme in 2025. Emma expressed excitement: "I can't wait to spend my weekends with Josh and Jojo, the incredible dancers and the judges. Fingers crossed for a 10 from them!"
