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Funnyman and TV host Paddy has been poking fun at himself being single and looking for love again on stand up tour
TV star Paddy McGuinness has admitted that he is struggling with the world of dating now he is single.
The comedian and presenter, 51, split from his wife Christine in 2022 after 11 years of marriage. And the father-of-three says the thought of being on the dating scene now terrifies him. He confesses that if he went out with someone his age, they would probably have issues and if he picked someone younger they would have nothing in common. The former Top Gear host explained: “This is the first time I have been single in about 16 years and it’s a bit of a mad time for me because the whole dating world has changed. I think it’s tricky because if I date someone the same age as me, we probably have more baggage than Heathrow between us.
“And if I date someone younger, we’ve got nothing in common. By younger I mean 30 years old which really gets me down because when I was a kid, a 30-year-old was decrepit. Now that’s bloody cradle snatching for me. If I went on a date with a 30 year old all my references are from the 1990s and we’d be sat there and I’d be imparting wise words to a younger generation and all of a sudden I’m not on a date any more I’m in an advert for Werther’s Originals stood there with my cardi on going ‘And that was the story of Blur versus Oasis’.
“And younger women, they scare me – especially when it comes to sex. They know what they want and they don’t mind telling you!”
Paddy opened up and joked about his dating fears to fans while on tour with his latest stand-up show called Nearly There. He also admitted he was nervous about using on-line dating apps because he did not trust them.
The star added: “It’s all online dating now. Now when I was younger dating used to be like going to Greggs in the afternoon. You got what was left.
“You could always take it home and warm it up and it still tastes nice. But now there are dating apps like Tinder and Bumble and it’s people telling lies on their profile like ‘Name: Kevin. Passions: The countryside’ which translated means ‘Name: Kev. Passions: Dogging’.
Paddy famously hosted the ITV dating show Take Me Out from 2010 until 2019 which was Saturday night family viewing. In the programme, 30 single girls would light up their podium if they fancied the single fella looking for a date.
His wife Christine has also spoken about dating again since their split. Last month she had been a mum and a wife show stayed at home but was now “having fun” after her divorce.
In an interview with Closer magazine she said: “If I meet someone I am going to go for it. I’m hoping I won’t be single forever!”
However, Christine still currently shares a Cheshire mansion with Paddy for the sake of their children, although reports have suggested she hopes to get a place of her own soon.
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