Loose Women star Denise Welch is understandably extremely proud of her rockstar son, Matty Healy, frontman of chart-topping band The 1975.
Despite the fact that Matty is one of the most famous musicians in the world, and Denise has been a constant on UK TV screens for decades, fans are often shocked to find out the pair are family, expressing surprise each time Denise posts photos of her son on social media.
"Is that your son!? I didn't know!" one wrote, while another commented: "Never knew until recently this was your son!!"
A third added: "I had just assumed The 1975 is a band from America and now I have found out that you are the lead singer's mum MY MIND IS BLOWN."
Who is Matty Healy's mum?
Denise Welch, 64, is a British stage and screen actress. She's appeared in many TV and theatre shows, including Coronation Street, Hollyoaks and Loose Women.
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Matty is her eldest son, shared with ex-husband Tim Healy. They're also parents to actor Louis Healy, 22. Denise gave birth to Matty in 1989, going through a horrible birth to welcome him into the world. To celebrate Matty's 33rd birthday in 2022, the actress wrote on Instagram: "You were definitely worth the 42-hour labour."
© REX/ShutterstockDenise also candidly shared that she suffered post-natal depression after the birth of her son. "I loved the first few days even though he cried a lot," she explained about the period after Matty was born.
"A week later out of nowhere, during a walk with my mum, my life changed forever. After my first ever panic attack a feeling of unreality came over me and within an hour I was in a thick, black, terrifying depression."
Matty Healy's songs about Denise Welch
Matty wrote his song, She Lays Down, about his mother's mental health battle, which Denise spoke about on Loose Women.
"I told him when he was older that depression robbed me of the ability of love and I used to lay down on the bedroom floor and pray for the ability to love my children again."
Matty's lyrics from the emotional song read: "She lays down on her bedroom floor/ the chemicals that make her laugh/ don't seem to be working anymore/ And when I go to sleep it's when she begins to weep/ she's appalled by not loving me at all/ she wears a frown and dressing gown/ when she lays down."
© James Curley/REX/ShutterstockSpeaking about the song to NME, Matty explained: "She Lays Down is about my mum. It doesn't get much more personal than that. I'm sure my mum won't mind me saying this, but she told me a story when I was about 17, she was so gripped by post-natal depression that she was coming into my room when I was a couple of months old, lying on the floor and actively trying to love me.
"That is brutal – especially considering how close me and my mum are. We are like, insanely close."
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Matty also lightheartedly referenced his mother on the 1975's 2022 album, Being Funny In A Foreign Language, in the song Wintering, with the jokey lyrics reading: "I'll be giving my chair to my mum 'cause her back hurts,
"Now mum's not a fan of that line about her back, she said it makes her sound frumpy and old/ I said, 'Woman, you are sixty-four years old'."
Denise Welch's rare photos of Matty Healy
As you'd expect from a proud mum, Denise regularly posts about her famous son, writing on Instagram in 2023: "I miss Matty so much when he’s on a world tour even though we talk all the time,"
She shared a video on her son on stage, inviting a young fan to join him, continuing: "But seeing videos like this melts my heart. In Bangkok (after a 38 hour trip from Mexico) making a young boy's dream come true."
Denise also expressed how proud she is of Matty's whole band, who have been together since their early teens, writing on Instagram: "I’ve watched them grow from 4 boys following their schoolboy dreams playing in our garage to the sell-out arena band they are today. Hard work, talent, determination to write and play their own songs and love for one another has made them the success they are today. I'm so proud of my son and the boys for being the lovely young men they are."
Denise is also close to Matty's famous friends, including rumoured girlfriend Taylor Swift, who she posed with backstage at a 1975 gig in 2023.
Read on to see the rare photos of Matty and Denise that she's shared on Instagram
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