Exclusive:
Christine McGuinness has opened up in an exclusive interview about living with her ex Paddy McGuinness, and why they haven’t told their three kids that they’ve split up
Christine McGuinness, the former beauty queen, has proven how resilient she is over the last few years. The 36 year old has been commendably open about her personal struggles, including receiving an autism diagnosis in her thirties, enduring childhood abuse and the heartbreaking end of her marriage to TV presenter Paddy McGuinness, 51.
She’s also been grappling with the emotional impact of her mother’s battle with breast cancer, but now that she’s emerging from the challenging period, Christine was thrilled to announce that her mum is in a “good place”. However, during an exclusive interview with OK!, she confessed there was one concern looming large – telling their children, Leo and Penelope, 11, and Felicity, eight, that their parents are separated.
On co-parenting with her comedian ex, Christine said: “It’s hard, but it’s not that I can’t because we live in the same house. But it’s more just thinking ahead to when the time comes that we do actually have to share our children in separate houses. I think I’m going to really struggle with that. I’m kind of preparing myself and them, so that when Daddy is home, I make sure they just have time together because, like I say, it’s not as often as when I’m there.
“It’s taken me a while to get used to it, but I’ve got to because there is no point be staying at home with my ex-husband and children all day and then one day we live in separate houses and it’s a massive shock to all of us. So to soften the blow for myself, I choose to have a couple of days in the sun, rather than seeing my ex-husband or staying in a hotel somewhere. I’d rather fully enjoy the break. That’s the only way I can mentally be OK with co-parenting.”
Despite their grown-up attitude towards their split, Christine admitted they haven’t yet broken the news to their three children. Christine told OK! they both felt they were too young to fully understand relationships, so they are holding back from breaking the news to them until they’re older.
“The children are just so young and they don’t fully understand relationships yet,” she said. “I think if they did, we would have absolutely said, ‘Mummy and Daddy are really good friends and we’re still family forever and we absolutely love you and that will never change’.
“But they don’t know any different and there are times when they see us when we’re in the house together and we’re chatting away and having a laugh and a cup of tea. It’s been like that for a while now. They wouldn’t understand it yet. All they know is that Mummy and Daddy are family and that’s it.”
With October marking Breast Cancer Awareness month, the mum of three has also been reflecting on her own experiences of the disease following her mum’s diagnosis during Covid. At the time, Christine said it made her realise “how close it was to home, how serious it is and how no-one is safe”, adding that four of her aunties have also been treated for the devastating disease.
Thankfully, things for her mum are looking positive. “She’s finished all of her chemotherapy and radiotherapy, but unfortunately her cancer is one of those that could come back anywhere in the body, so we’re never fully relaxed. But she is doing very well and I feel like I’ve got my mum back. She has the best relationship with my children and they’re so close. They absolutely love crazy Nannie – she’s the fun and she’s my whole world. I love her to bits.”
