MATT Willis has revealed that he became “addicted” to exercise after overcoming his drinking and drug problems.
the busted star – who is married to TV presenter Emma Willis – said the obsession became extreme and he would feel triggered if he missed a gym session.
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“Exercise was a big deal to me… when I discovered it, I was totally and utterly addicted to it,” Matt, 39, said on the show. Happy Place Podcast.
“It was great because everything was positive.”
He added: “And then it became an issue where if I didn’t do it or if something got in the way, I would be triggered or angry or annoyed.”
Matt went to London’s Priory Hospital to treat his alcohol addiction and re-registered a year later for drug abuse.
Matt, who was the bassist for the band Busted from 2000 to 2005, previously said he would “get high” on his asthma inhaler as a child and became “a massive alcoholic” who used cocaine as an adult.
The musician said: “It would have been the same if I had worked at Tesco or at a bank, I’m an addict through and through…
“I was mildly asthmatic as a child and used to hide under my duvet and take as many puffs as I could from my inhaler when I was about seven because it made my head throb and my lips tingle.
“I would be getting high in my bed at seven years old, so I’ve always had this in me to find ways to get away from who I am and how I feel. Quitting drinking was one of the hardest tasks of my life.”
He added: “I took cocaine a few times from time to time when I was drinking to stay sober. We’d call it a sharpener, so I’d be a little pissed off, I took a couple of lines.” and say, ‘Oh, I’ll be fine.
It was not a fun time for the star, who “hated” his addiction and admitted that he used because he couldn’t deal with his feelings.
He said: “I hated it, I hated everything about cocaine, I hated the way it made me feel, I hated everything about it, but I couldn’t stop doing it, which is crazy.
“It’s my disease. You have this hole and you try to shovel everything to fill it, but the hole never ends.”
Matt, who has been sober for 13 years, said having his first child changed everything.
“It was like a light bulb for me, because I realized that life was not what I thought it was.
“I remember looking at her and saying, ‘Oh no… I’ve been screwing up everything.’
“Suddenly everything turned into this little thing that needed us so badly and it filled me with fear and dread and anxietyand I actually felt very inadequate.
“I will never forget it, because it completely changed me in every possible way and had more impact on me than anything else. And he continues to do so.”
mate and tv presenter wife emma They are parents to Isabelle, 13, Ace, 10, and Trixie, six, and it’s clear that parenthood has been their creation.
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