Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Zara Woodcock

Inside Paddy McGuinness' unusual divorce from Christine after 11 years of marriage

Paddy McGuinness and his ex Christine shocked fans when they announced their split last year.

The Top Gear host, 49, and model Christine, 35, were married for 11 years before they called time on their relationship in 2022.

Paddy and Christine's joint statement at the time of their split read: "We'll always be a loving family, we still have a great relationship."

Continuing the announcement, which was shared on Instagram, the pair said they will continue to "live happily in our family home together".

The former couple shares children Penelope, Felicity and Leo - who have all been diagnosed with autism.

Many might find their living arrangements unconventional as they are no longer together but they previously revealed they were doing it for the sake of their children.

Unusual living arrangement

The two have continued to live in the same house (mrsmcguinness/Instagram)

When they split, they announced that they will continue to live together in the same house.

With their children's autism diagnoses, the parents feel it's best to provide them with a stable routine in the same house.

"We want to keep things the same as much as possible for the children, I don't want anything to affect them," Christine said to Lorraine Kelly last month.

"We are family and we'll always be family no matter what and we're living in a nice, happy home."

Paddy and Christine have avoided telling the youngsters that they split up as they continued to live together.

Furthermore, living in the same home makes it easier for the former couple to co-parent their children.

Christine was previously asked whether living in the same house as her ex-husband was strange to her.

They are focused on their children's happiness (mrscmcguinness/Instagram)
They want their kids to keep to the same routine (instagram/mrscmcguinness)

Thankfully, the model admitted it was "absolutely fine" as she doesn't "know any different than to live with him."

"I've been with him since I was 19 years old and we just want to do what's best for our children. It's certainly not a long-term plan," she continued.

The couple want to focus on their children's happiness and said "slow changes are better".

Both even agreed to spend Christmas together so they could celebrate the holidays as a family of five.

"We don't know what the future holds or how it's going to be moving forward, but we'll try to keep things as normal as possible," she previously told OK magazine!

"I'm quite happy for him to be there with the children and it's nice for them to see Mummy and Daddy just being alright. We can sit and have a cup of tea together and that's fine."

Paddy's depression

Christine was the one to notice Paddy's depression symptoms (Instagram/@mrscmcguinness)

Paddy recently said his ex-wife was the first person to notice that he was suffering from depression.

The comedian had no idea that he was experiencing the symptoms which included losing his temper.

In recent years, Christine who appeared on the Real Housewives of Cheshire opened up about her struggles as well as being diagnosed with autism.

The 49-year-old said he "wasn't aware" of his struggles, before adding: "You can be as low as low can be and it's the people around you that tell you."

Speaking on the Monday Mile podcast, he told Aimee Fuller: "So Christine and a few of my family members would say stuff and ask if I was okay and I would think, 'Why are they always asking me that?'

"But obviously you can't see it yourself, it's in your head, it's not like you've got a limp where people can spot it and you can spot."

Despite his initial hurdles, Paddy admitted he was "relieved" when he was eventually diagnosed with clinical depression by his doctor.

The star added that after each therapy session, he would often leave the room feeling as though he'd been in a ring with Tyson Fury.

Mutual support

In March, Paddy wrote that he was "very proud" of his ex-wife (Channel 5)

In March, Paddy wrote that he was "very proud" of his ex-wife when her documentary on autism aired.

In the show, Christine McGuinness : Unmasking my Autism, she speaks about her decision to split up with Paddy as well as her autism diagnosis.

She also tells how she was raped as a teenager before she met Paddy and used to "pray every night that I wouldn't wake up in the morning", due to the abuse.

The model received her diagnosis while making a documentary with Paddy about living with their three children.

Taking to Instagram , Paddy, who has been silent on the split, shared a photo from the documentary, and wrote: "Very proud of Christine for making this new documentary highlighting Autism, particularly in women.

"It’ll be a massive help to our daughters in years to come along with our little lad. #unmaskingmyautism #awareness #acceptence."

* Follow Mirror Celebs on Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.