Strength, for me, comes from taking a little time to put yourself first

Presenter Emma Willis on growing up with strong women, and how husband Matt taught her to value self-care

- ABI JACKSON

There can be few stronger female role models in the media today than Emma Willis. She has run the gamut of TV presenting opportunities, from Big Brother and The Voice UK to Cooking with the Stars, but made the biggest impact when she trained for months to learn what it was like to be a midwife for her series Delivering Babies.

So it comes as something of a surprise when she seems to doubt herself. ‘There are days when I don’t feel strong, and I think you get to a certain age and anxiety kicks in quite a bit – you over-think, you over-worry,’ says Willis. ‘But if I can stick to a routine, stay on track, and stay positive mentally, that gives me the strength I need to call on when times are tough,’ she adds.

‘I think the mind comes into play a lot, for me personally. Strength, to me, definitely comes more from a mental point of view.’

Willis is a huge advocate of taking care of yourself, and believes that this feeling of strength can really only come when we have invested enough in self-care.

‘I think it’s also getting older and really thinking about what your day-to-day life entails,’ she explains. ‘For a long time, I was just running on empty, really – because I have three kids, I worked all the time, and life can just get really hectic and heavy. And I was always at the bottom of the priority list, because I wanted to make sure everyone else was okay, and everything was getting done,’ says Willis, 47, mum to Isabelle, 13, Ace, 11, and Trixie, six.