MATT WILLIS CREDITS WIFE EMMA WITH HELPING HIS RECOVERY

Busted musician Matt Willis has said his wife, the television presenter Emma Willis, helped him overcome his addiction to alcohol and cocaine. He told the Telegraph he has been sober from alcohol for more than 16 years and has not used cocaine for nine years, having once taken four grams of the drug a day. Willis said knowing Emma loved him gave him the belief that he was "worth" getting better for. The couple share three children, Isabelle, Ace and Trixie, and currently co-present the dating programme Love Is Blind together.

The couple met in 2004 when Emma Willis interviewed Busted, known for singles including "What I Go To School For" and "Year 3000", for MTV. Willis went to rehabilitation three times before the pair married in 2008, a day he said he struggled to enjoy while trying to remain sober. He relapsed before the birth of their first child, Isabelle, in 2009, and said he missed her crawling for the first time as a result, describing the guilt of that period as "unliveable". He said becoming a father, and Isabelle in particular, changed him, and that his children are aware he is in recovery.

Willis said he relapsed again on cocaine in 2017 while touring festivals with Busted, but chose to tell Emma rather than conceal it, saying the ability to be honest at that moment gave him "a way out". He said he has remained clean since that relapse. The couple began co-hosting Love Is Blind in 2024, with Willis describing Emma Willis as "brilliant" at guiding him through the role. He said having her support remains central to his continued recovery.