Matt Willis reveals he became ‘addicted’ to working out to cope with drug and alcohol struggles

Matt Willis has revealed he became addicted to working out to help cope with his drug and alcohol struggles. 

The Busted bassist, 39, who rose to fame as a member of the group during their rise to prominence in the early 2000s, but by 2005 he had checked into rehab – where he received treatment for alcoholism. 

He admitted that he now obsesses over exercise to the point that he is ‘triggered’ if he isn’t able to go to the gym. 

Opening up: Matt Willis has revealed he became addicted to working out to help cope with his drug and alcohol struggles

Speaking on the Happy Place podcast, Matt said: ‘Exercise was a big thing for me… when I found it I was completely and utterly addicted to it.’

The musician told podcast host Fearne Cotton: ‘It was great because everything about it was positive.’ 

‘And then it became a problem where if I didn’t or something got in the way of it I was triggered or I became angry or upset.’ 

Matt recently showed off his muscular physique in Ibiza, after working hard in the gym recently.

Tough times: The Busted bassist, 39, who rose to fame as a member of the group during their rise to prominence in the early 2000s, but by 2005 he had checked into rehab – where he received treatment for alcoholism (Busted pictured in 2004)

Matt is set to candidly share his battle with drug and alcohol addiction in a heartbreaking new documentary. 

The Busted bassist will touch on his time with the pop band, as well as speaking about receiving treatment for alcoholism in 2005 – when the group split up. 

In the BBC Three project – which is expected to air in 2023 – Matt details how his addiction developed from parts of his childhood and speaks on how starting a new life with his wife Emma saved him. 

Matt shares Ace, Isabelle and Trixie with his TV presenter wife Emma, who he wed in 2008. 

A source told The Sun: ‘This will be equally personal for Matt, as he has never delved so deep into his past before, at least not in public.

‘It will reveal how some of his problems stemmed from a childhood where his parents made him feel he should conform to male stereotypes.

‘That included telling him that boys don’t cry, which meant he never shed a tear until he was 29 years old.’

Struggle: He admitted that he now obsesses over exercise to the point that he is ‘triggered’ if he isn’t able to go to the gym

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He became an idol to teenage girls across the world as a member of the group during their rise to prominence in the early 2000s, but by 2005 he had checked into London’s exclusive Priory – where he received treatment for alcoholism. 

Previously speaking with presenter Matt Johnson and life coach Ben Bidwell in new mental health podcast The Naked Professors, the musician revealed he began experimenting with mind altering substances from the age of seven. 

‘I was in trouble before the band ended, I was a massive alcoholic,’ he explained. ‘I don’t think being in a band made me the way I am. I would have been the same if I worked in Tesco or a bank, I am an addict all the way through.’ 

He added: ‘Everything that takes me away from feeling the way I feel is a problem for me because I cannot deal with how I feel, so I will do anything possible to take that away and change the way I feel.

Speaking to pal Fearne Cotton on the Happy Place podcast, Matt said: ‘Exercise was a big thing for me… when I found it I was completely and utterly addicted to it.’

‘I was mildly asthmatic as a kid and I used to hide under my duvet and take as many hits of my inhaler as I possibly could when I was about seven because it would make my head throb, make my lips tingle.

‘I’d be getting high in my bed at seven years old so I have always had this in me to find ways to get away from dealing with who I am and how I feel. Quitting drinking was one of the hardest tasks in my life.’ 

Reflecting in his early days in the band, Matt admitted he would occasionally use Class A stimulants, but only to sober him up during late nights out.

‘I did cocaine a few times every now and then when I was drinking to keep me sober,’ he recalled. ‘We’d call it a sharpener, so I’d be a bit p****d, do a couple of lines and go, “Oh I’ll be alright”. 

Life: In the BBC Three project, the 39-year-old details how his addiction developed from parts of his childhood and speaks on how starting a new life with his wife Emma saved him

‘I hated it, hated everything about cocaine, hated the way it made me feel, hated everything about it but I couldn’t stop doing it which is madness.

‘It is my illness. You have this hole and you try and shovel everything in it to fill it but the hole is never ending.’ 

After spending time at the Priory Matt re-entered residential rehabilitation in July 2006 for an alleged addiction to cannabis. 

Two years later the star spent five weeks at the Providence Project rehabilitation centre in Bournemouth following a reported marriage ultimatum from wife Emma Willis, with whom he raises three children. He has since remained alcohol and drug free.

Speaking in 2017 Matt publicly thanked Big Brother presenter Emma for helping him steer him through his lowest ebb during his years of active alcoholism. 

‘She met me when I was a bit of a f*****g tearaway,’ he told The Sun. ‘We went snowboarding in 2005 and I think that was the first time she was like: “F*****g hell, this guy is out of control!”

‘Then by March I was in rehab. She’s f*****g amazing and stuck with me the whole time. I don’t know why. Of course, it was testing. There were times when we thought we couldn’t carry on any more.’ 

He added: ‘Unfortunately it was always down to me as it was always my s**t f*****g it up. I’m so thankful to her because she really helped me through that, and now life is great.’ 

Family: Matt shares Ace, Isabelle and Trixie with his TV presenter wife Emma, who he wed in 2008