Busted star Matt Willis has revealed that his wife, Strictly Come Dancing presenter Emma Willis, issued him an ultimatum before their 2008 wedding, warning she would not marry him unless he addressed his drug and alcohol addiction.
Speaking on the Joe Marler Will See You Now podcast, Matt, 43, admitted he feared Emma would leave him before they walked down the aisle, and her ultimatum prompted him to go to rehab.
Motivation to change
Matt said his motivation for pursuing sobriety has “changed over time.” He explained: “I try to do it for her. The time before the last time I went to rehab, I went to rehab for her. Because I thought she was going to leave me.”
He added: “And so I tried to do it for her. And even the very last time I went to rehab, she told me she wouldn't marry me if I kept on like this.”
A long road to sobriety
The couple, together since 2004, married in 2008 and have three children – Isabelle, 17, Ace, 14, and Trixie, 10. Matt's widely publicised addiction battles have put pressure on their relationship, and he has checked into rehab multiple times.
While Emma initially helped motivate him to seek treatment, Matt said he ultimately realised he needed to change for himself. He explained: “So there was a little bit of her in my decision-making to go, but I think ultimately, I wanted to, I didn't want to be that guy anymore.”
“And that's really what changed. Every time I tried to do it for someone else, every time I tried to save something, it never worked because I was still in the equation. And I was ignoring that part.”
Sober since 2016
Matt last checked into rehab 17 years ago and has been sober since 2016. He previously relapsed after being offered cocaine at a party following Busted's reunion. Emma stood by him throughout, and Matt believes sobriety has made him a better husband, father and colleague, insisting he never wants to “go back to being that guy.”
Emma is back on Strictly Come Dancing on Saturday, October 17 from 6.15pm to 8.35pm on BBC One.
