Emma Willis has urged people not to follow the advice her husband Matt Willis received about dating, as the couple reminisced about the early days of their relationship. During a recent podcast appearance, the pair were quizzed on whether it was true that Emma had initiated their romance.
Three-day rule debunked
After confirming the fact, Matt, 43, disclosed that he had waited three days to get in touch with his now-wife and set up a date. Explaining his delay in calling her, the Busted star said: "It was three [days], the advice, the consensus in the dressing room was, 'You have to wait a couple of days, you can't be too eager'."
Quick to share her views, the new Strictly Come Dancing host encouraged anyone contemplating waiting to approach a potential partner to just go for it. Sharing her advice on the Tea At Four podcast, the 50-year-old declared: "Can we just say right, let's just debunk that, for any man watching that gets told by another man, 'Don't call her for a few days, it'll make you look better', it doesn't, it does not."
'Stop playing games'
"Stop playing games," she continued passionately. "All that is [bleeped out swear word] stop it! If you like someone, tell them, pick up the phone, go for it."
Attempting to justify his actions, Matt remembered hearing a song by The Streets called Don't Mug Yourself, which is about getting involved with a woman but not wanting to seem too keen. "So I was following advice, terrible advice, don't listen to it," he admitted, before adding: "It worked out alright!"
How they met
Recalling how they got together, the former Big Brother presenter revealed that they had briefly met when he was in Busted and she was interviewing the band. After about a month had passed, Emma then spotted the group on Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway and realised she fancied Matt.
She recalled: "Blue were on Saturday Night Takeaway at the same time. I didn't know either band but I did know someone who knew Simon Webb [a member of the band] really well. So I called my friend and said, 'Can you call Simon, give him my number to pass on to Matt?' and that's literally what happened."
Remembering his response, Matt added: "I was like [yes!], I literally couldn't believe my luck." After getting to know each other, the singer proposed to Emma during a romantic trip to Venice in 2007 and they tied the knot the following year. The couple have three children together, Isabelle, Ace and Trixie, who they keep out of the public eye.
As well as being married, they have also joined forces professionally in recent years, most notably on the series Love Is Blind UK. Emma was also announced as the new host of Strictly Come Dancing back in May. She will be taking over from Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman alongside Josh Widdicombe and one of the competition's professional dancers, Johannes Radebe.
