Living together for sake of kids
We have split but are still a loving family, reveal Paddy and Christine
PADDY and Christine McGuinness have revealed they are living in the family home together after deciding to end their 11-year marriage.
The Top Gear presenter and former model, who were married in 2011, announced that they had decided to part ways “a while ago” but that they are still sharing a house with their three young children.
They said: “This was not an easy decision to make but we’re moving forward as the best parents we can be for our three beautiful children.
“We’ll always be a loving family, we still have a great relationship and still live happily in our family home together.”
Speculation began that their 15-year relationship was on the rocks when they holidayed separately.
Last month Christine enjoyed a girls’ holiday in Croatia with her pal from STV show The Games, Chelcee Grimes, 30, and three other friends, while Paddy previously took a break in Portugal with some mates. This week they posted images of a family break with twins Leo and Penelope, nine, and six-year-old Felicity at Center Parcs in Nottingham.
But having returned home, the couple issued a joint statement on Instagram. It read: “We hadn’t planned on sharing this publicly until we were ready but after the lack of privacy surrounding our personal life, we feel left with no other option but to clarify.
“A while ago we took the difficult decision to separate but our main focus as always is to continue loving and supporting our children.
“We hope this now draws a line under any more unwanted and unnecessary intrusion into our private life.”
They signed off: “Loads of love. Paddy & Christine.” Earlier this month, former Real Housewives of Cheshire guest star Christine, 34, spoke of facing problems in their marriage. She said in an interview that she and Paddy were having a “very difficult time”.
Saying “I didn’t cause this situation”, she added: “What I might have put up with in the past, I probably wouldn’t put up with now, and the same for him.”
It has been claimed that Paddy, 48, has had a fling with an unnamed TV star.
He is said to have kissed the fellow celebrity, with Christine reportedly finding out when she took part in The Games in May.
Christine posted cryptically on social media: “Talk about trust before you talk about love.”
She also wrote: “This year I met the most broken version of me but also the strongest”.
She went on: “There is only one thing I want to make clear right now. I didn’t put us in this situation.”
Their relationship previously came under scrutiny in 2018, when the former Take Me Out host was pictured in Soho, in Central London, arm-in-arm with All Saints singer Nicole Appleton, 47.
Christine wrote in her autobiography of the moment she found out: “I ran to the toilet to vomit.”
In December, the couple shone a light on life with autism in their moving BBC documentary, Our Family And Autism. All three of their children and Christine have autism. Christine said her own diagnosis had helped her to understand “why I am the way I am”.
She told how Paddy, who also fronts Question of Sport for the BBC, sometimes “can’t cope” with it.
We still have a great relationship, still live happily in our family home together PADDY & CHRISTINE MCGUINNESS ON THEIR MARRIAGE SPLIT