Emma Willis once opened up about the loss of a dear friend which sparked a phobia of death for her.
A fan-favourite on our screens for over two decades, viewers love Emma’s warm, bubbly and down-to-earth nature.
But behind her smiley exterior, the mum of three is hiding a devastating phobia that was triggered by two deaths when she was a child.
Emma Willis on ‘worst feeling of her life’
Speaking previously to The Telegraph, Emma was asked what the worst moment of her life has been.
I lost a childhood friend at school when I was 13, and around the same time my great uncle died.
She said: “It’s more of a feeling than a moment: my phobia of death. The older I get, the more I worry about it.”
Emma then explained why she’s so afraid of dying – and it was brought about after she suffered a double loss at a young age.
“I think it started when I was quite young. I lost a childhood friend at school when I was 13, and around the same time my great uncle, who I was really close to, died. Both my parents are still alive, but my brain goes to places that I really wish it wouldn’t sometimes. Maybe that’s why I like to keep busy, so that I don’t have time to contemplate and dwell,” she said.
‘I want to live for them’
Emma is mum to three kids – Isabelle, 14, Ace, 12, and seven-year-old Trixie.
And, she admitted, that her phobia has only got “worse” since having her children.
“It’s worse since I’ve had kids. All I want to do is live for them and be with them, so now I’m always thinking, I’ve got to look after myself, got to be healthier, got to stay strong. Because I want to live for as long as possible,” she said.
Emma appears on a repeat of Celebrity Bake Off on Sunday (June 9).