Matt Willis looks surprised, his wife Emma Willis appears serene
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‘Terrified’ Matt Willis admits he ‘lied again’ to wife Emma as he opens up about relapsing

"The hardest thing I've ever done," Matt reveals

Busted star Matt Willis has opened up about his fears about telling lies to his loved ones as he confessed the truth to wife Emma Willis about his last relapse.

Matt, 42, and Emma Willis, 49, married in 2008 and share three children together – Isabelle, Ace and Trixie. The I’m A Celebrity winner has previously admitted he doesn’t believe he’ll ever be fully recovered. “I’ll never not be a drug addict,” he has shared.

Now, however, Matt has told how the challenges he has encountered due to his condition led him to “the hardest thing I’ve ever done” when he had to face up to letting down his wife and family.

Emma Willis dabs her eyes with a hanky
Emma Willis dabs her eyes in a scene from Matt Willis’ documentary Fighting Addiction (Credit: BBC iPlayer)

Matt Willis opens up about addiction and wife Emma

In a clip shared on his Instagram page, Matt reflects on when he had to address his last relapse to Emma.

He said: “When I think back to that moment, it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Saying those words.

“And she was so shocked because we’d been down that road, years before. I’d been clean and sober for eight years. And admitting that I done that again and I’d been lying… that was the biggest thing for me.”

Matt went on: “I’d abused that trust because I’d lied again. And that’s addiction, right? It can come at you from different ways, and whisper in your ear and become a really loud voice. And I had unfortunately taken my foot off the gas and gone back down that road.”

‘I told her everything I’d been doing’

Matt was fearful he had ruined their relationship forever.

He shared: “When I finally admitted to her, I was terrified because I didn’t know if we’d ever be able to come back from another one. After years and years of abusing that trust, and then building it back up through patience and tolerance, then to destroy that again… I was terrified how she’d respond.”

I was terrified because I didn’t know if we’d ever be able to come back from another relapse.

Thankfully for Matt, Emma showed Matt “compassion”, helping him feel reassured he was “loved”.

Matt Willis appears on This Morning with wife Emma Willis
Matt feels he spent years ‘abusing trust’ (Credit: YouTube)

‘I was told that we would get through this together’

“When I did tell her and ask for help, and I told her everything I’d been doing, [there was a] massive reaction,” Matt said.

“But then I was greeted with compassion. I was loved. I was told that we would get through this together. It is unbelievable that happened.”

Furthermore, Matt also noted how he was asked what he was going to do about his problems. To which he acknowledged he would have to “put the work in” and “build their connection” once again.

Read more: Matt Willis jokes new ‘obsession’ is ‘ruining his life’ as wife Emma makes addiction ‘dig’

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Robert Leigh
Freelance writer