Denise Welch admits she was ‘heartbroken’ by son Matty Healy’s fame for five-word reason

Loose Women star Denise Welch has opened up about her eldest son Matty Healy’s rise to fame as the frontman of The 1975, admitting that it was ‘heartbreaking’ for her in some ways

Denise Welch admits son Matty Healy’s fame left her ‘heartbroken’ for five-word reason (Image: GETTY)

Denise Welch has opened up about her feelings regarding her son Matty Healy’s international stardom with The 1975. Chatting to Darren Kennedy on his The Number podcast, the question was raised about whether Denise finds it “odd” seeing her son in the limelight.

She responded on the May episode of the podcast, stating: “It’s not odd because it’s not an overnight thing, because Matty was 35 this week, and I’ve celebrated in Los Angeles, which has been fabulous.”

Denise, a ‘Loose Women’ panelist and actress, continued: “But he started the band when he was 14 in our garage, so The 1975, who were Drive Like I Do [the band’s former name], who were all these different things, this is no overnight success – it’s 20 years in the making.”

Moreover, she recalled a memory from 2013 that highlighted her son’s commitment to his burgeoning career, even at important family moments: “And so, there were times like when Matty said, in 2013, when I was getting married to Lincoln and I was doing a play with Keith Allen, I remember vividly we were in the hotel room and Matty rang and said, ‘Mum, how would you feel if I couldn’t come to your wedding? ‘”

“And I said, ‘Well I’d f***ing kill you, there is no excuse’, and he said, ‘not even if we’re supporting The Rolling Stones at Hyde Park? ‘” Denise then reminisced, sharing how she used to encourage Matty and his mates to embrace their wild side with the promise that such behaviour could be overlooked once they shared the stage with the legendary Stones, reports the Express.

Matty Healy performs as part of The 1975 (Image: (Image: Getty))
She continued: “I used to say when they were under my feet, and I’m feeding them all, and they’re there with their guitars and bottles of whisky at 5am, and I would go, ‘when you’re on stage with The Rolling Stones – then you can do this – and then you can do that!’ So what could I say?”

Denise, a mother of two who shares Matty and younger son Louis with ex-husband Tim Healy, proudly stated: “I always had faith in Matty.”

However, the television personality confessed that it hasn’t always been easy adjusting to her son’s rock star lifestyle, particularly due to his frequent absences from home.

Denise Welch and ex-husband Tim Healy pictured at home with a young Matty (Image: (Image: Getty))
She confessed: “It’s been wonderful, and it’s been heartbreaking because they were all under our feet, because everything happened at our house in Cheshire. We had the space for them to rehearse, and all the girlfriends came to us and everything, and they were driving me mad.”

Despite the pandemonium, Denise later found herself missing the times when the band was all together at her house, especially after their first single Chocolate became a hit shortly after being played on BBC Radio 1.