Matt and Emma Willis' enduring romance, rehab, Scientology and vow renewal
Matt and Emma Willis shared the small screen together this evening, as the Busted singer made an appearance on an ITV series hosted by his wife.
Cooking with the Stars saw the Year 3000 hitmaker cook up a storm in the kitchen and take on fellow singer Peter Andre in a bid to impress professional chefs with his culinary skills.
Host Emma admitted it was odd referring to her spouse as 'Matt Willis' when introducing him to viewers, with the happy couple's loving relationship clear to see throughout the show.
Earlier this year, Matt opened about his struggle with addiction in a new documentary on the BBC, called Matt Willis: Fighting Addiction.
The incredibly raw programme saw the 40-year-old singer discuss the pressure his problems put on his family, including his wife, Emma.
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The couple have been married for 15 years, having first met back in 2004.
The pair tied the knot in 2008 (Sunday Mirror)At the time, Matt was performing with his bandmates Charlie Simpson and James Bourne, and Emma, whose maiden name was Griffith, was a presenter for MTV.
The pair hit it off and started dating in 2005, but Matt had already developed an issue with cocaine, having started taking it at the height of the group's fame around 2002.
After the band's split in 2005, Matt's addiction worsened and he checked into rehab.
It was still early days in his relationship with Emma, but she was determined to stand by him.
In a previous chat with The Telegraph, she said: "I wasn't going to leave him because he had a problem.
"I wanted to help him, but he had to help himself and I believed he would."
Matt spent the next few years in and out of rehab, but his relationship with Emma went from strength to strength, with the pop star popping the question to her during a trip to Venice.
However, Emma admits she almost ruined the romantic moment as she didn't want to draw a crowd in public.
During an appearance on The One Show Emma, 47, said: "We were in Venice and it was my birthday and he kept wanting to go on walks down little canals which is really not kind of Matt really.
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"He went really quiet and I actually thought he was going to finish with me.
The singer was in and out of rehab for years, but Emma stood by him (Getty Images)
Their relationship has gone from strength to strength (Dave Benett/Getty Images for Jaguar Land Rover)"Then we got to the Rialto Bridge and we got to the top and he looked at me and he pulled this box out of his pocket and he went to kind of drop on one knee and I just went, 'Don't you dare' and grabbed him."
She went on to say she asked him not to do it right there, but he did it anyway and the rest, as they say, is history.
Matt voluntarily checked himself into rehab just before his wedding to Emma in 2008 and was then sober for eight years.
During this time, the pair welcomed three children, Isabelle, Ace, and Trixie.
Emma believes becoming a dad really helped Matt to turn his life around.
"What really changed him was our daughter, Isabelle.
"He was already doing it [recovery] himself, then she arrived and that made him even more determined."
As well as giving up drugs, Matt also quit drinking after his daughter's birth.
He previously told Fabulous magazine: "I quit alcohol a few months into Isabelle's life and I just hope she wasn't impacted by [me drinking] at all.
"They've never known me to drink, but they've noticed I don't do it and I've been very open about why I don't, so it's not really a big deal to them."
He added: "They understand the words, although I try not to use them because they're quite scary – words like 'alcoholic' and 'addict'. So I say: 'It doesn't work for me, I can't do that', and that's enough."
Busted reunited back in the mid-2010s, which was great for Matt's career but once again kicked off his partying and addiction.
The star relapsed in 2016 when he was offered cocaine at a party. He quickly spiralled from being given a single line to taking six grams a day in his recording studio while hiding the relapse from Emma, telling her he was writing a new album.
Emma has admitted how she believed he had everything under control and was slow to spot the signs of his relapse. Matt knows it was especially difficult for her to deal with as she thought "it was behind [them]" after all those years.
His youngest child, Trixie, was just 10 months old at the time.
"You kind of kick yourself a bit on reflection, because you're like how the f**k didn't I see that," Emma told OK! Magazine.
Despite the problems, Emma still refused to leave her husband and became determined to help him avoid relapsing ever again.
"It's very easy to look in on a situation that you're not directly involved in and go, 'f*** that, get out of that,'" she told the publication.
"But when you're in it, you have that history together… and if you love someone you're not going anywhere. But it's not easy.
"Sometimes I feel like I've got four kids instead of three. There's been a lot of joy, but equally, it's been incredibly heavy at times."
Matt himself has since shared his surprise that she continued to stay with him, admitting he was a "mastermind at gaslighting" when trying to hide his problems.
He claimed there were several moments when he thought they'd call it quits, but it never happened.
Ahead of his documentary Matt says: "I was always surprised [Emma] didn't leave me, she's an unbelievable woman.
"I caused her so much agony, but she saw something in me I didn't see in myself, and I'm forever grateful to her and indebted to her."
Emma belives becoming a dad helped Matt turn his life around (Instagram)
Matt is honest with his kids about why he doesn't drink (Instagram)The pair also hit a rough patch when Matt left rehab and turned to Scientology for a time and became 'fully invested' in the church.
He has previously shared how he was approached by a member of the church on Tottenham Court Road while "fresh out of rehab" and answered a few questions.
The next week he was still thinking about what he'd been told and purchased a bunch of Scientology books before heading down to the Scientology building.
However, while learning about the church, he claims he started to feel as if they were trying to separate him from his wife, telling him how a 'negative force' close to him in his life was 'draining him'.
So he decided to leave the church and began ignoring their calls and texts - which continued for months after he quit.
Since then the couple's relationship has only continued to flourish, with the pair renewing their vows in 2018 while celebrating their 10-year anniversary.
The couple attempted to recreate their original wedding for the celebration, using the same venue and inviting their numerous celebrity guests to wear their own wedding attire to the party.
McFly performed at the couple's reception and the likes of Rochelle Humes and Giovanna Fletcher were in attendance.
Emma and Matt have also gone on to be praised for their gender-neutral approach to parenting and challenging stereotypes, after Emma posted a snap of their son Ace online in 2020.
The picture showed Ace in the kitchen with his dad, wearing a pink crop top and his hair long and blonde.
It was captioned: "My little style icon (Ace, not Matt).
Emma was "overwhelmed" by the response to the picture and while speaking about it on Good Morning Britain, she said: "It's just my son in a pink top and for me that is normality.
"He loves colour, he's always had long hair.
"He's a very free and open-minded boy who is like, 'Why do I have to dress in green and blue and grey if I like pink and red and purple? Why is that not okay?"
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