Emma Willis has shared how discovering a hidden heart condition and undergoing surgery earlier this year left her not just physically shaken, but mentally overwhelmed.
The 49-year-old presenter revealed last month that she had secretly undergone keyhole heart surgery after doctors uncovered an undiagnosed condition she had unknowingly lived with her whole life.
Speaking to The Sun, Emma admitted the diagnosis came as a shock: “It’s a bit of a head scramble when you find out something like that, that you’ve had something there your whole life, and you had no idea about it.
“I’m a brilliant overthinker, and my mind will go in every possible direction and scenario, so going into something like surgery, I really got myself at it, I get really anxious and nervous.”
Fortunately, the surgery didn’t require her chest to be opened, and Emma says the physical healing has been smooth. But the mental adjustment has been far more difficult.
“It’s been much more of a psychological adjustment, because you don’t have a wound that you can see,” she said.
“The healing is all internal and you can’t feel it. It’s getting your head around the fact that your heart has to learn how to work in a different way to how it’s worked for nearly half a century.”
Throughout it all, her husband, Busted singer Matt Willis, 41, has remained a pillar of support. Emma praised him for “coaching her through breath work and wellness” as she recovers.
Emma first revealed her health scare in April, but this is the first time she’s spoken in detail about how much the experience impacted her emotionally as well as physically.
Her comments come as she is set to front a powerful new BBC One series alongside her husband Matt Willis, marking her return to TV after her surgery.
Change Your Mind, Change Your Life, is a four-part series exploring mental health and modern-day challenges, airing from May 13.
Filmed before her surgery, the show follows the couple as they team up with therapists to better understand the emotional struggles many people face today.
