Inside Emma Willis’ relationship with Busted star Matt Willis as she circles Strictly job

With Emma Willis looking set to host BBC’s flagship show Strictly Come Dancing, what does her life off-screen look like with husband Matt Willis?

TV presenter Emma, 49, is best known as the host of Big Brother and The Voice, as well as Channel 4 reality show The Circle, the perfect prep to step up as the new face of Strictly.

An insider told The Sun she has been offered the role with BBC bosses seeing her as a ‘safe pair of hands’ who will ‘do the job justice’.

As for Matt, 42, he rose to fame as part of the 00s pop band Busted and has proven his own hosting skills after helming Netflix’s Love Is Blind UK with his wife for two seasons – with a third on the way.

The celebrity duo have been together for 22 years and Matt celebrated a recent wedding anniversary by getting a tattoo of his wife’s face.

In 2022, the couple, who share three children, got candid about Matt’s past difficulties in a BBC documentary titled Matt Willis: Fighting Addiction and later fronted a docuseries about therapy, Change Your Mind, Change Your Life.

Through the ups and downs, they have stuck together and currently live in their £1.7million home in Hertfordshire.

As Emma reportedly prepares to conquer her biggest TV gig to date, here’s an insight into the power couple’s personal and professional life together.

When did Emma and Matt Willis first meet and get married?

Emma and Matt have been married since 2008, having initially met in 2004 when she was working as a presenter on MTV and Matt appeared on the show with Busted.

‘I’d see him wearing baggy jeans, waddling around like a duck so they didn’t fall down.

‘He used to wear makeup and have weird hairstyles. But I remember thinking underneath all that was a really cute guy…’ Emma told Cosmopolitan of her first impression of her husband.

And speaking to Metro earlier this year, Matt reminisced: ‘I vividly remember when we first started dating, we would stay over at her parents’ house, and when we woke up the next day, all they wanted to do was sit around and hang out.

‘Just sit on the sofa and talk. I’d never really experienced that. It was quite uncomfortable for me.’

It wasn’t enough to deter him, however, and Matt proposed in 2007 in Venice, and they were married a year later in Ruston Hall, Northamptonshire.

Talking to Metro in 2024 about falling in love, Matt said: ‘I think it happened over time but for me it was never one thing. I was kind of like “I’m going to ask her to marry me because I don’t want her to go away.” That was it for me.’

And in a recent chat ahead of starring in Cabaret, he reflected: ‘She’s the person I wanna do life with all the time. The first person I wanted to tell I got the Cabaret job was Emma. She’s the first person I’ll call when something cool happens or something bad happens.

 ‘We’re crazy about each other. Work can get crazy, family life can be really full on at times, but at the at the end of it we are very adamant on being present as a couple.

‘I talk to her 10 times a day. She doesn’t leave me alone, which is good because I wouldn’t wanna be left alone. We’re very much in this life together.’

They returned to the same venue as their wedding to renew their vows on their tenth anniversary.

Matt marked the occasion with a touching Instagram post in which he paid tribute to Emma, saying: ‘I actually managed to hang on to her for 10 years…I’m still not sure how?’

I know I’m punching before you all comment that! I am the luckiest guy in the world. I get to spend the rest of my life with this kind, beautiful, powerful woman. She is the most amazing wife and mother and I could not be more proud to be her husband.

‘Thank you for the best years of my life.’

Partnership through Matt’s battle with addiction

However, he admits in the documentary, Matt Willis: Fighting Addiction, that things have been tough at times, admitting Emma had come close to leaving him ‘many times’ in the wake of his addiction – although Emma, too, has spoken out about her husband’s struggles.

‘I wanted to help him,’ she told the Telegraph in 2020. ‘Your relationship progresses and you realise that there is a real issue, and it’s not just a young kid who has got a lot of money very quickly.’

Earlier this year Matt marked 16 years of marriage with an Instagram caption, reading: ‘I love you more than ever. 16 years and it keeps getting better.’ Meanwhile, Emma added: ’16 year since we said I do. Love you forever bab.’

Emma also shared a sweet message to Matt when he turned 40: ‘I love you babe, you blow me away every single day with your spirit, strength and determination. Here’s to living every day to the max together, always… [sic].’ 

Do Emma and Matt Willis have children?

Matt and Emma are parents to three children – Isabelle, who was born on June 20 2009, Ace, born November 26 2011, and youngest daughter Trixie, who they welcomed in May 2016.

The couple keep their children out of the public eye, choosing not to share photos of them online – although they do sometimes posts snaps on social media with the kids hiding their faces.

Despite this their son Ace has been hailed a ‘style icon’, and was previously praised for breaking gender stereotypes for having long hair and choosing to wear pink.

Emma defended her child’s choice to wear what he wants at the time, telling The Sun’s Fabulous magazine:’ Say what you want about me, I’m big enough to take it on the chin. But when you get comments like that regarding your children, it just makes the Hulk want to come out and scream at the world.’

Elsewhere, Matt has said that he watched his documentary with Isabelle, saying the teenager is ‘old enough’ to know about alcoholism.

‘We watched it together and she had the most incredible questions,’ he explained during an appearance on The One Show.

‘I thought it was important as her friends or parents at school might watch it so I wanted to preempt her with that. I was blown away by her reaction to it.’

And in an interview with The Telegraph last year, Emma added: ‘I’ve given birth three times, so all of those days. With Isabelle, who is now 13, I was like, “Oh my God, I’ve got a human being to look after.

‘I remember the excitement and love bubble that I was in helped to mentally numb the pain that I was in physically. I was overwhelmed by how I felt about another human. 

A version of this article was first published on May 17, 2023.

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