Denise Welch admits she is a 'helicopter parent' and constantly 'hovers around' sons Matty Healy and Louis Healy, even attempting to 'insert herself into any aspect' of their life
Denise Welch admits she “needs her children to want her” as she made a confession about her family life.
Denise, 66, has recently opened up about being a “helicopter parent” admitting she often “hovers” around sons Matty and Louis Healy - who she shares with ex-husband Tim Healy. Denise admits she likes to “insert myself into any aspect of their lives I can squeeze into”.
She says this even extends to son Matty’s concerts with rock band The 1975. Loose Women star Denise believes she became a “helicopter mum” because she knew she was the “most important person in their lives” when her children were younger.
Speaking on Loose Women: The Podcast, Denise said: “I think with me it's because when your kids are little, you know that you are the absolute centre of their life and although I know that my kids love me, of course they do. I've got great relationships with both my kids, but it's kind of like I need them to want me all the time.”
She went on to explain that stretches to social scenarios, whether it’s when Matty returns to the UK from Los Angeles, or she is in the guest area at his concerts. She admits the pair don’t want her as a “real-life momager” - a mum and a manager.
She continued: “I insert myself where I'm not welcome and Matty said to me, ‘Mum, you know that that room will survive without you’. So he said, for example, if it's at one of his gigs and I'm sort of looking after the people at the guest list, he said, ‘Mum, in that room, you don't need to bring Steve over to talk to Maureen. Steve and Maureen are grown ups and they're quite capable of finding each other in the room’.
“He also said that made me laugh: ‘And when I come home, you don't have to turn every homecoming into an episode of This Is Your Life.’ He said, ‘But you seem to feel like I won't go and visit certain people if you don't bring them to the house’.”
Writing in The I , Denise said Matty describes her as a “Poundland Kris Jenner” - Kris manages the careers of the Kardashian-Jenner family - and says she isn’t a “personal stylist” for her children. Denise added: “They tell me I’m not their personal stylist even though I think when the brothers are out together they would look nice in coordinated turtlenecks.”
And while Denise admits she struggles with keeping her distance from Matty and Louis, she says she “must have done something right” as The 1975 will be headlining Glastonbury this year while Louis is playing the lead role of Henry Creel in Stranger Things: The First Shadow in the West End.
She concluded: “I’m a very proud mum, and although they hope every day that my helicopter licence will be revoked, I know I am always just one hover away from saving the day.”
