Matt Willis has opened up about the deep remorse he carries over stepping away from his late friend Amy Winehouse while he worked to overcome his own addiction. The singer died from alcohol poisoning in 2011.
The Busted musician, now 43, and Winehouse grew up in London and formed a close friendship. She was 27 when she died.
Both artists struggled with serious substance abuse issues. When Matt committed to sobriety before marrying Emma, the pair distanced themselves from one another so he could protect his recovery and avoid situations that might put it at risk.
Reflecting on Winehouse’s death in a new interview, Matt said the loss was devastating and left him wrestling with intense guilt. “It hit me like a ton of bricks,” he said. “I had a lot of guilt. I loved her so much; we were really close.”
He explained that he was sober by the time she died, but had not seen her for some time because he had cut himself off from people and environments he considered dangerous.
“I felt some guilt because I thought, ‘I had something to pass on to you,’” Matt said. “But I never got the chance to do that.”
Matt Willis has spoken about the guilt he felt after distancing himself from Amy Winehouse while getting sober, before her death from alcohol poisoning. The pair are pictured together in 2007.
The Busted star and Winehouse, who died aged 27 in 2011, were raised in London and became close friends.
After both faced serious addiction problems, Matt and Amy stepped back from their friendship when he entered recovery ahead of his wedding to Emma.
Speaking to the Sunday People, Matt said it took him many years to discuss Amy’s death openly. He recalled having to leave shops that played her music because hearing it brought him to tears.
Earlier this year, Matt revealed that he married Strictly Come Dancing presenter Emma, 50, just three days after leaving rehab.
The couple wed in 2008 and now share three children. However, Matt has admitted that his addiction treatment overshadowed their wedding, saying he “shouldn’t have been there really” when he looks back on that period.
The musician has long spoken candidly about the challenge of maintaining sobriety after finding fame at just 19, when he joined Busted.
He went to rehab three times before turning 25, including a stay only weeks before his marriage to Emma. At the time, she had given him an ultimatum over his drug and alcohol use.
During an emotional episode of his podcast On The Mend, Matt described how his addiction spiralled while Emma was overseas filming a television programme shortly before their wedding.
“Those two weeks she was away, I was worse than I’d ever been,” he admitted. His drinking had become a round-the-clock habit, leaving him afraid that he was going to die.
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Matt’s drug counsellor and Busted’s tour manager eventually brought him to a rehabilitation centre in Bournemouth. However, he fled as soon as he reached the entrance.
He then went to a nearby shop, bought as much alcohol as possible, became heavily intoxicated and eventually passed out in the street.
Matt previously revealed that he and Emma married only three days after he was discharged from rehab.
A stranger later discovered him and physically carried him back inside the rehabilitation centre.
That proved to be a turning point for Matt, who admitted: ‘I put my head down and I was like, ‘Right, I’m going to do everything I’m told. I’m going to listen to advice. I’m going to take everything on’.
‘And I did that because I had a wedding coming up and I got out of that rehab on the Thursday and I got married on the Saturday morning.’
Matt explained how he turned up to marry Emma ‘clean and sober’, with his drugs counsellor remaining by his side on the day.
‘It was not the greatest of days for me. It was a weird thing getting married when you’re scared,’ he explained, adding that he managed to stay sober for the whole day despite paying for a free bar and sambuca wedding favours for his guests.
‘Everyone knew I’d just been out of rehab. Everyone knew what a mess I was. Like it had been quite apparent to everybody,’ he said of his loved ones.
‘I think they were surprised that I was there and that she was there.
‘We were watching our wedding video not too long ago and I reckon everyone gave us six months. ‘This will end up in disaster!”
‘I shouldn’t have been there really when I think about it. It was terrible, you know, to come out of rehab and get married three days later.
‘But if I hadn’t done that, I would not have been at that day.
‘I would have not turned up or I would have let her [Emma] down in some way and it wouldn’t have happened. So, I’m pleased that the events happened to get me there.
‘I wish I’d been a couple of months further down the line so I could have maybe enjoyed the day a bit more rather than gripping on to my chair for dear life.’
The couple renewed their vows in 2018 to mark their tenth anniversary.