Emma Willis gets emotional about being a mum
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Emma Willis, 46, sparked a huge fan reaction two years ago when she shared a photograph of her son Ace, 10, wearing a pink crop top and long blonde hair. While many fans took to the comments to praise Ace’s style as “cool” and “like a surfer”, some others took the opportunity to criticise Emma and husband Matt Willis, 39, for allowing their son to break gender stereotypes.
In a new interview, Emma opened up about how people have reacted to Ace and detailed one particular incident that left her feeling like she had “let him down”.
Appearing on Michelle Visage’s Rule Breakers podcast, the former Strictly Come Dancing star asked Emma whether Ace has experienced any negativity at school.
Emma replied: “He has been really lucky actually. He has been in the same school since he was in nursery so he has had the same group of friends around him.
“He has experienced negativity, not in a bad way at school, I suppose just in a stereotypical way at school; questions get asked about the way he looks and what he wears.
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A post shared by Emma Willis (@emmawillisofficial)
“I have experienced quite a big reaction to him out in a shop once.”
Recalling what was going through her mind at the time, The Voice host continued: “I mean, one, I didn’t know how to compose myself, two, I didn’t know how to react, and then I walked away from the situation and felt like I had let him down.”
Afterwards, Emma says she and Ace “talked about it and it was ok”.
Michelle praised the mother-of-three for how she is raising her children, to which Emma said Ace has taught her about “raising a kid to be who they are and find themself”.
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Emma also explained that when Ace was born, she bought him “clothes and toys that were meant to be for boys” but he “naturally gravitated” towards the belongings of his sister Isabelle, 12.
Emma then fought back tears as she opened up: “As he grew, we just learned more and more from him and he really opened our eyes. He’s just a phenomenal little boy. He’s amazing.”
The presenter has been vocal about her support for her son and previously said it is a “shame” that negative attitudes are still present.
She told The Sun earlier this year: “Unfortunately, [the hate] is still there – both from parents and other children.
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“I think it’s probably easier [than it would have been 20 years ago], but it’s still there.
“It’s such a shame. It’s going, but the stereotypes that are ingrained in us from years back are so hard to shift.
“And it’s not, ‘Come on, you should just accept it’. It’s like, ‘What does it matter to you?’ It’s just a colour. It’s just hair. That kid is just expressing themselves how they want.”
Ace’s dad Matt also explained that the “shocking” reaction encouraged him to keep his children off social media.
Speaking on the Sweat, Snot and Tears podcast, he said: “I just love my son and I let him be whoever he wants to be.
“I don’t see why how you want to dress or how you want to have your hair should be such a big talking point, but it is to some people and that really shocked me.
“I think what happened after that really made me kind of go, ‘Yep, stay away from that [social media]’, it kind of really cemented that for me. I’m like, ‘I don’t want you having to worry about this s**t right now’.”
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