The 1975 frontman recently admitted to struggling with drug addiction but says his mother is not to blame in any way.
In a recent interview, Matty Healy opened up about his drug addiction, saying it made him a worse writer, person, friend, partner and son. He also said:
“I just want to apologise to my mum. You can’t be a parent and have that kind of thing out there and not think it’s your fault when it’s completely not.”
Denise was on Loose Women recently to chat about motherhood and how she feels about her son’s drug battle. She told the panel that the band formed when Matty was about 14 and that she would “listen out for songs about his scarred childhood – Did this bother him? Did that bother him?”
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Denise said that last year, twenty-nine-year-old Matty “realised that he was in trouble.” The mum of two said that because The 1975 became so popular and were touring so often, she felt she “lost her son to this other world” and didn’t see the negative effects narcotics were having on his health.
Matty confessed his drug problem to Denise and said he was going to check himself into rehab for opioid addiction. Although this was an incredibly difficult thing for her to hear, Denise said she was “touched” her son told her and “extremely proud of him” for being honest.
Denise has one other son, sixteen-year-old Louis, who has “grown up in a sober household”. Denise had a drug problem herself in the past and said that if she could re-do parts of Matty’s childhood, she would.
She says:
“As a mum, you always look to yourself to see if there’s anything different you could have done.”
Denise said Matty’s statement will hopefully help other mums not to take on all the guilt and shame for their children’s mistakes.
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Matty is known for his prolific lyrics and one song, “She Lays Down”, talks about his mum’s battle with postnatal depression when she struggled to love her son:
“My hair is brown, she’s scared to touch
And she just wants to feel something
And I don’t think that’s asking for too much
And when I go to sleep it’s when she begins to weep”
During the Loose Women interview, Denise said:
“If his upbringing hadn’t been a little bit rock and roll, he wouldn’t be in The 1975.”
Thankfully, Matty is now completely clean, with a new album on the way.
