Busted star Matt Willis has admitted keeping a ‘terrible’ secret from his children as he apologised for being ‘massively addicted’ to vaping despite telling them it’s ‘stupid’.
Emma and Matt first met in 2004(Image: BAFTA via Getty Images)
Matt Willis has confessed to harbouring a “terrible” secret from his kids. The 42 year old Busted star, who shares youngsters Isabelle, Ace and Trixie with BBC Radio 2’s Emma Willis, has admitted to a hidden habit.
The musician, who’s previously opened up about battling alcohol and drug addiction, revealed he’s been telling his children that vaping is “stupid”. Yet despite discouraging them from the practice, he’s confessed to “secretly” indulging himself.
Though keen to break free from the vice, Matt acknowledges he’s “massively addicted” to nicotine, a dependency that began during his teenage years. This prompted him to seek help from neuroscientist TJ Power, who tried to support him in quitting during an episode of Matt’s podcast, On the Mend.
The bassist said he was determined to give up, discarding his vapes and snus – pouches containing powdered tobacco – while bracing himself for what he expected would be “hell” over the coming days. But his resolve quickly crumbled when he spotted vapes backstage at a Busted gig.
During a Q&A session on his podcast, Matt explained: “I do want to quit vaping. It sounds like excuses, but the reason is that I like it, I really like nicotine, I’m massively addicted to it, like hugely addicted to it, I have smoked since I was 13, 14, and I’ve always had nicotine in my life.”, reports the Manchester Evening News.
Emma and Matt shre three children together(Image: PA)
“We did this big thing, I chucked the vapes away, I chucked the snus away, I was like, ‘Right, I’m done, it’s going to be hell for a couple of days’.” Matt then disclosed that while driving to a Busted concert, another motorist “cut me up in traffic”, causing him to “lose it”. Furious from the incident, he turned up at the venue and recalled that Busted kept vapes on their rider.
He found himself grabbing the vape and slipping back into old habits. Yet this led to a pivotal realisation that his vaping could jeopardise his professional life.
He explained: “And so, that lasted for a couple of weeks and then about four days ago, I was in a vocal call for Cabaret and I realized I’m not going to be able to sustain this with this vaping going on. I’m just not going to be able to do it.”
Matt says he thinks vaping is ‘stupid'(Image: Getty Images for BAFTA)
He revealed he’s now switched to snus and has vowed not to return to vaping. He stated: “So, I don’t plan on vaping again. I don’t want to do it anymore. I don’t want to have that in my life. It’s embarrassing. It’s terrible for you.
“Everything about it is wrong. I don’t want my kids doing it. I’ve been very adamant to them that vaping is stupid and I’m secretly doing it. Like, it’s so hypocritical.”
This prompted Matt to offer an apology to TJ, saying: “I’m really sorry, TJ. Just, I let you down and I didn’t follow through.” During their discussion, Matt admitted to TJ that he would “always carry three” vapes with him just in case. The scientist advised that it’s always preferable to discard “fresh” products.
He stated: “There’s something very empowering about binning fresh product because it’s really taking control. Binning it if it was full of crappy used ones is easy.”
Love is Blind UK presenters Matt and Emma are set to grace our screens once again with Celebrity Sabotage, airing at 8pm today (March 28) on ITV One. The episode will feature Joel Dommett, Judi Love, Sam Thompson and GK Barry pulling the wool over unsuspecting individuals’ eyes in a faux love-themed programme.