Me and Paddy still live together ...we still laugh a lot. I’ve not had to deal with what most people deal with in a divorce
long time away from my own kiddies. I think part of helping them become independent is to see your mummy and daddy go out to work. For us as well, I’m completely comfortable having the children on my own.
“If Patrick needs to go away for a couple of weeks, he knows he can, and it’s the same way around.
“And it’s just taken a long time for us to get comfortable with that. But I think it shows a lot of maturity and growth in all of us as a family, because there was a time we couldn’t do that.
“It’s something I’m learning about myself more and more, it’s really helpful, the more of these TV shows that I do, they’ll push me in a different way, and they’ll always challenge me in a different way, but every single one of them gives me more experience to learn about myself.”
This week she turned 36 and posted photos of herself on social media describing the “spiritual journey” she has been on in the past 12 months.
Despite the split and reports of trouble behind the scenes over their yet to be finalised divorce, Christine remains complimentary of Paddy throughout the interview as her career continues to grow, in what she describes as “Chapter 36”.
“Paddy was really supportive, the same as I am with his work, he just said, ‘the children will be fine, you’ve got your phone, you’re just down the road, if there are any emergencies, I will let you know’. He just kept reassuring me that they will be fine. We’re really good, we’re genuinely really good. He works well, he’s got a lot of work this year, which I can’t confirm too much about. But a lot of it is taking him out of the country for weeks at a time.
“Sometimes I have to stay at home and look after the children, so if I get work in, I can’t accept it, so we were really lucky he was here for The Pilgrimage, but most of the time we just sit with our calendars and try to shuffle things around.
“I think if you’ve been in a relationship with somebody in the public eye, you’re always going to be linked to them.
“But, for me, as long as I’m following my dreams, and I’m continuing to work and do things that I love, then I’m happy and grateful for the opportunity.”
Pilgrimage: The Road Through North Wales starts on BBC Two and BBC iplayer on Friday March 29.
Paddy was really supportive, as I am with his work. ‘The children will be fine,’ he said