Joe Wicks says he's now 'best friends' with former heroin addict father

Joe Wicks says he has fully reconciled with his recovering heroin addict father, who will now be able to be part of his grandchildren's lives.

The 36-year-old fitness guru told The Sun that he and his dad have bonded over motorbike trips to Scotland and Wales and now have a "brilliant" relationship.

Read more: Joe Wicks prefers family photos to shirtless pics

Wicks said: "We’re like best friends now – my dad obviously was a drug addict, he is a drug addict and will always be a drug addict but he’s in recovery."

The lockdown PE teacher added that his childhood with an absent father and a mother struggling with OCD has inspired the way he parents his own kids.

Watch: Joe Wicks says lockdown has changed attitudes to fitness

Wicks and his glamour model wife Rosie Jones have two children — a son and a daughter — with a third on the way.

"When your father is absent as a young kid, it makes you want to be stable. When you’re a kid all you want is someone to be there and be supportive," said Wicks.

Read more: Joe Wicks' daughter gatecrashes online workout

He added: "It’s made me be very committed to Rosie for one and to work through stuff.

"If we have an argument I don’t want to drag it out. When things get tough, I don’t want to go let’s not chat and let’s not talk and argue.

"I’d try to work through it instead because I want the kids to see that we can argue and you can work through it."

Wicks said in 2020 that his father's addiction caused he and his brother Nikki to "steer clear" of substances and turn towards pursuing fitness.

He told the Under the Skin podcast: "We weren't smoking weed, we were training, exercising and playing sport. Along the line, I decided that wasn't going to be my destiny. That wasn't going to be my path."

Read more: Joe Wicks' son had to wait to meet family members due to lockdown

Wicks became a household name during the COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020, when his P.E. with Joe workouts helped children to keep exercising while stuck indoors.

In recognition of his work, he was awarded with an MBE in the 2020 Queen's Birthday Honours.

Watch: Joe Wicks says MBE is a dream come true