Matt Willis says his substance abuse started when he was seven years old.
The Busted musician – who went to the Priory for treatment in 2005 – dismissed the idea that fame or the initial breakdown of the ‘Year 3000’ band was to blame for his issues with drugs and alcohol, and revealed he was trying to "get high" from his inhaler as a child.
Speaking on mental health podcast ‘The Naked Professors’, he said: "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."
Although Matt, now 35, went to rehab after the group’s rise to fame and split, he had rejected the idea that it was the cause of his issues with addiction.
He candidly explained: "I was in trouble before the band ended, I was a massive alcoholic. 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…
"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."
Matt had been to rehab for alcohol and drug addictions twice before he tied the knot with presenter Emma Willis in 2008, but he didn’t get sober until his third stint of treatment later that year and he admitted he used to cringe looking back at the pictures from their big day.
He previously said: "I was a massive, bloated, wreck-head. A sweaty, chubby, d**khead…
"I looked terrible. I’ve burnt the other ones. I looked like a competition winner stood next to Emma Willis."
In July last year, the couple – who have children Isabelle, nine, Ace, six, and two-year-old Trixie together – marked their tenth wedding anniversary with a vow renewal ceremony, at which the ‘Voice’ presenter and their female guests wore their original wedding gowns, and the ‘What I Go To School For’ hitmaker admitted he agreed to the celebration so he finally had some nice photos of himself next to the 42-year-old beauty in her bridal wear.
Matt Willis’ substance abuse started at just 7 years old
