Christine McGuinness admits she was unhappy for 'too long' before Paddy split
8 March 2023, 12:32 | Updated: 8 March 2023, 12:46
Christine McGuinness talks how positive her autism diagnosis has made her
Loose Women star Christine McGuinness has opened up about her split from former husband Paddy McGuinness.
Christine McGuinness has opened up about her split from Paddy, saying she was ‘unhappy’ for a long time before she left.
Speaking about her new documentary - which tells the story of her autism diagnosis - Christine said she was terrified about splitting from the Top Gear host.
“I felt like I said in the film I didn’t want my family to ever fall apart. And that’s why I stayed married,” she said.
“As an autistic woman, I like to stay where I am comfortable. I like things to stay the same. And so that’s something I suppose I chose to do... But sometimes change has to happen.”
During the programme, called Christine McGuinness: unmasking my autism, Christine can be seen throwing clothes away after splitting from Paddy, saying she wore outfits as part of a ‘masking’ technique.
Christine said: “I was only 19 when I met [Paddy]. And for the last 15 years my role has been wife and mum.
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“I think when I got diagnosed, I kind of set out on a mission to figure out who I was, because I’ve played that many different roles and not really knowing which part of it was actually me or which one was mostly me.”
She added: “So I’m clearing out, because I had a wardrobe full of clothes to wear how I thought I was supposed to look. I have also separated with my husband in the process, and I’m just I suppose shedding my old identity, trying to figure out what my new one is.
"I’ve only had this one man in my life for 15 years. I can’t imagine living with anybody else. I don’t know what it’s like to date. I can’t remember being single. I am just going into a new chapter... on my own, which is petrifying for someone who doesn’t like change.”
She was later asked if she felt she could leave her husband after her autism diagnosis, to which she replied: “Yeah, because I know that I’ve stayed in a place where I was probably unhappy because it was safe and I don’t like change. And ultimately, I wanted to keep my family together.”
Paddy and Christine announced they had split after 11 years of marriage and three children together.
In July last year, the pair shared identical statements to their respective Instagram pages, saying it was a "difficult decision".
They wrote: "We hadn't planned on sharing this publicly until we were ready.
"But after the lack of privacy surrounding our life 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 supporting our children.
"This was not an easy decision to make but we are 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.
They added: "We hope this now draws a line under anymore unwanted intrusion into our our private life.
"Although we work in the public eye we ask kindly if you could respect our wishes for privacy on this matter.
"We'll be making no further comments."
