TV host Emma Willis has revealed that she has spent 48 years of her life “blissfully unaware” of an undiagnosed heart condition.
It wasn’t until recent medical investigations and a diagnosis that the Love Is Blind UK presenter learned that she had been living with a hole in her heart.
“Isn’t it bonkers what’s happening in our bodies that we have no idea about,” she said in an Instagram post.
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“Turns out, I’ve been pottering around for 48 years blissfully unaware that I had a hole in my heart.”
She continued: “What blows my mind even more is the wonders of modern medicine, and the spectacular people that save, fix and help us every single day.
“Can you imagine what it must feel like to have a pair of hands that can do that job?! They are the real superstar.”
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According to the Mayo Clinic, a hole in the heart is a common heart problem present at birth (congenital heart defect).
The hole occurs in the wall that separates the heart’s lower chambers (ventricles) and it changes how blood flows through the heart and lungs.
Willis, 49, recently underwent surgery for the condition which she documented in her Instagram post.
“A few weeks ago I had keyhole heart surgery, which feels very strange to write, and even stranger when I say it out loud,” she wrote.
“From investigations last year, to diagnosis and then surgery, [my medical team] were absolutely incredible.”
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Willis shared a “big humungous THANK YOU to the team at the Royal Brompton Hospital for their care and support”.
She went on to shout out some of her medical team including Dr Alexander Lyon, her “echocardiogram extraordinaire” Professor Wei Li and her surgeon Dr Ee Ling Heng.
Of her surgeon, Willis said she “was recommended as ‘a spectacular pair of hands’, but my god, she’s that and so much more”.
Willis added: “She has an ease and warmth that made me feel instantly comfortable all whilst being incredible professional and informative.”
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Alongside her medical staff, Willis also shared a shout out to her husband and co-host Matt Willis who “never left [her] side”.
The TV star shared a series of photos from her hospital stay, including images of herself posing in a hospital gown in the ward, resting on her husband’s shoulder and smiling with some of her medical team.
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Willis became a co-host on the reality dating show Love Is Blind UK in 2023. She hosts the show alongside husband Matt.
The pair have been together for more than 20 years. At the time they met, Matt was a member of the band Busted and Emma was an MTV presenter.
They got engaged three years later in 2007 while on a trip to Venice, Italy. Then they were married a year later in 2008.
The couple have since welcomed two daughters – Isabelle and Trixie – and their son Ace.
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