TV

Holly Willoughby on ‘frightening’ rows with husband Dan Baldwin: ‘You don’t have to be afraid to rip the Band Aid off’

Opened up about going through 'a hot flash of anger'

Holly Willoughby has been married to husband Dan Baldwin, a TV producer, for more than 17 years.

The Dancing On Ice co-host, 44, shares three children with him – Harry, 15, daughter Belle, 13, and 10-year-old son Chester.

Back in January 2023, Holly told her Instagram fans how an “intense friendship” has strengthened the couple’s relationship.

Holly Willoughby co-hosting DOI with Stephen Mulhern
Holly Willoughby co-hosts Dancing On Ice with Stephen Mulhern (Credit: ITV)

Holly Willoughby on her friendship with husband Dan

She said at the time: “I think that’s a really good basis for romance because we have that friendship still now and we have three beautiful children, and we’re very happy and I’m very blessed every day for having him in my life.

“But underpinning all of that is that real friendship and laughter and just having good times together. I think it’s the real secret to keeping things how they are, which is lovely.”

However, a few months ago, Holly opened up about how she finds it a helpful release to “get angry” during rows.

Holly Willoughby poses for pics
Holly Willoughby ‘stuck with being angry’ (Credit: Cover Images)

‘I found I was getting angry all the time’

The former This Morning host revealed during An Evening With Holly Willoughby in November 2024 how she prefers to deal with matters very directly.

She explained she’d changed her approach as part of a process of self-discovery.

“What I’ve found is that, a lot of the time, we like to stay in the safe middle ground, where everything is nice and smiley and nothing is ugly,” Holly said.

“But when I started to reconnect [with my emotions], I found I was getting angry all the time. And Dan’s like: ‘I wish you could not be so angry.’ So I would be getting really angry, and he would be like: ‘I’m not sure this is good.'”

Holly then added: “It was scary and frightening [at first], but I thought, let’s just stick with it and see where it goes. And now I love it! Because talking through your problems can take you months or weeks. But in a hot flash of anger, you’ll shout something, and rip the Band Aid off. You don’t have to be afraid of it or be scared by it.”

Read more: Dancing On Ice fans gush over Holly Willoughby’s ‘gorgeous’ and ‘elegant’ dress

Dancing On Ice is on ITV1, Sunday March 2, at at 6.30pm.

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Robert Leigh
Freelance writer