Christine McGuinness has admitted she was “absolutely petrified” of living alone when her ex-husband Paddy McGuinness eventually moved out.
The mother-of-three, 36, who still lives with Paddy, 50, in their family home despite their separation in 2022, is currently finalizing her divorce after 14 years together.
Speaking with Kate Thornton about it White wine question time podcast, Christine said she was “worrying about how she was going to cope” while she and Paddy were living in separate homes.
Christine and ex-Paddy share twins Leo and Penelope, 10, and Felicity, seven, all of whom have autism.
The model, who is also autistic, said: “I’m still struggling with change and just learning to do things the best way I can, what works for me and the kids, not what’s expected.
Christine McGuinness, 36, admitted she was ‘absolutely petrified’ of living alone when ex-husband Paddy McGuinness, 50, eventually moved out
The mother-of-three, who still lives with Paddy despite splitting in 2022, is currently finalizing her divorce after 14 years together (2021 photo)
“Of course when you see a couple break up or divorce you expect them to move out immediately or separate and start their own lives and for us that would never have worked. It has to be slow.
“I’m absolutely petrified at the thought of one day living alone with the kids.
“I want to get to the point where I’m excited and I’m not there yet. For now it works because we don’t need to change the children’s routine.
“So Patrick (Paddy) goes to work and then I got to work. And then I go to work and Patrick stays home.
“It worries me when we go to separate homes, how are we going to cope with it.
“How will they (the children) stay with their dads (house) then with their mothers (house). That’s why we don’t know what is the best way to proceed. But as long as everything is good, we will stay here and we will eventually find a solution.
Following Christine’s concern, she revealed she “barely left the house for eight years” and had become “extremely lonely”.
She added: “I chose to stay at home and I went to the extreme of becoming very, very reclusive. I barely left the house for about eight years and only went to the supermarket around 1am, 2am when it was quiet.
Speaking to Kate Thornton (pictured) on her White Wine Question Time podcast, Christine said she was “worried about how she’s going to cope” with her and Paddy living in separate homes.
Christine and her ex-Paddy share twins Leo and Penelope, 10, and Felicity, seven, all of whom have autism.
The model, who is also autistic, said: “I’m absolutely petrified that I’ll live alone one day with the kids… It worries me when we go to separate homes, how are we going to cope with that situation ? that’
Following Christine’s concern, she revealed she “barely left the house for eight years” and had become “extremely lonely”.
“I would say no to anything because I was comfortable in my bubble at home. I wasn’t unhappy, but I guess I was just existing. I don’t think I was living fully. That’s what I learned from (BBC Two’s The Pilgrimage), that I want to live the life that I have.’
It comes after Paddy is set to face a potentially acrimonious and costly divorce battle with Christine.
In January, proceedings began to end their marriage, with Christine hiring pragmatic family lawyer Catherine Bedford from London’s largest firm, Harbottle and Lewis.
Nicknamed the “pitbull”, she portrayed Ant McPartlin’s wife Lisa in her bitter battle with the I’m A Celeb star, while she also plays for Games of Thrones star Sophie Turner, who split from American singer Joe Jonas last year.
A friend of Christine’s told the MailOnline: ‘The gloves are off, she was good to Paddy, she stayed at home and brought up his children while he earned money.
“It’s going to be a costly divorce for Paddy. Christine has had enough.
In July 2022, it was reported in The Sun on Sunday that the end had come when Christine learned Paddy had kissed a star after they appeared on a TV show together.
The woman has never been named although Christine knows her identity and is said to have been “devastated” after hearing about it during the Games.
It comes after Paddy is set to face a potentially acrimonious and costly divorce battle with Christine.
Just a week later, it was reported that Paddy had also sent direct messages on social media to a BBC presenter, which Christine discovered in March 2022.
It is understood this contributed to the end of the relationship, but Paddy has never responded to any of the allegations.
Behind the scenes, Paddy reportedly tried to persuade Christine that they shouldn’t divorce as they can do so much more together as a couple, but she refused to budge.
“She was only 19 when she met him and she is enjoying this new life,” said a friend of the star.
Kate Thornton’s White Wine Question Time is available to listen to on all podcast platforms