Christine McGuinness has revealed that she stayed in her “unhappy” marriage to ex Paddy because it felt “safe” at the time and she “doesn’t like change.”
The mother-of-three, 34, spoke of how abusive previous partners – and even an alleged rape – as well as her autism made her crave the security she found with Paddy.
In her new documentary on the BBC – Unmasking My Autism, due out next week – she said she felt safe meeting the presenter, now 49, when she was 19.
But after her autism diagnosis two years ago, she realized she had been masking her feelings.
The model was married to Paddy for 11 years and they split last July. They have twins Penelope, and Leo, nine, and Felicity, six – all of whom also have autism.
Candid: Christine McGuinness has revealed that she stayed in her ‘unhappy’ marriage to ex Paddy because it felt ‘safe’ at the time and she ‘don’t like change’
Husband: The mother of three, 34, shared how abusive previous partners made her crave security she found with Paddy
She explained, “My relationships before I met Patrick weren’t very good. I would say it was pretty bad experiences.
“Before Patrick, I was sexually assaulted, raped. I prayed every night that I wouldn’t wake up in the morning because it was so awful.
“When I met my husband it was a time when I was very safe and I wonder if that’s why I stayed.”
“I know I stayed in a place where I was probably unhappy because it was safe and I don’t like change.”
Earlier this week, Christine revealed that her BBC documentary about her autism diagnosis will air on March 15.
Christine shared a promotional photo on Instagram, writing, “Finally I can get you a date!
My New Documentary… Christine McGuinness: Unmasking My Autism, March 15 on @bbc @bbciplayer.
Thinking: During her new documentary on the BBC – Unmasking My Autism, due out next week – she said she felt safe meeting Paddy, now 49, when she was 19
Family: The model was married to Paddy for 11 years and they separated last July, confirming their divorce in a statement. They share twins Penelope, and Leo, nine, and Felicity, six – all of whom also have autism
Done: Christine and Paddy confirmed their divorce last July, just hours after sharing photos from a last-minute family holiday to Center Parcs
“I am excited, nervous and proud to present this incredible short film that I truly hope and believe will help thousands of autistic people feel understood, recognized and valued.”
In January, it was first reported that Christine would appear in another documentary for the BBC, this time focusing on her own autism journey.
She previously appeared on a program alongside estranged husband Paddy, focusing on their three children who have been diagnosed with autism.
Christine and Paddy were nominated for a National Television Award for their first film, Our Family And Autism.
“Christine was shocked by how autism is seen as something that mainly affects men and what felt like a gender bias in diagnosis,” a source told me. The sun.
The second film follows her on a journey in search of answers for the thousands of other women like herself in the UK who spend years undiagnosed or mask their symptoms at the expense of their mental health.
“It has gained extra weight as her first solo project. Outside of Paddy, she’s been part of ensemble casts such as The Real Housewives Of Cheshire and ITV’s The Games, but this is Christine, standing alone and owning her space.’
Paddy and Christine took to Instagram last year to confirm their split and revealed they would continue to live together for the sake of their three autistic children.
Christine and Paddy insisted their education remains a top priority.
In a joint statement, they wrote: “We had no intention of sharing this publicly until we were ready, but after the lack of privacy surrounding our personal lives, we have no choice but to provide clarification.
“A while ago we made the difficult decision to separate, but our main focus as always is to continue to love and support our children.
“This was not an easy decision, but we are moving forward as the best parents we can be to our three beautiful children. We will always be a loving family, we still have a great relationship and still live happily together in our family home.
‘We hope that this will now draw a line under all unwanted and unnecessary invasions of our private lives.
“While we operate in the public eye, we kindly ask that you respect our wishes for privacy in this matter. We will not comment further.’
A source told MailOnline at the time: ‘Paddy and Christine have given everything for their marriage over the years.
“Unfortunately, they have made the difficult decision to separate for the sake of their young family, whom they will continue to co-parent together.
“It’s no secret within their inner circle that it’s been a rough couple of years for them as a couple, but they are still very supportive of each other and will continue to do so through their divorce.”
Paddy shared a photo of herself with Christine just hours before the couple of 15 years announced their separation.
The pair smiled together from Center Parcs Nottingham where they were holidaying with their children.
TopGear presenter Paddy captioned the photo: ‘Yeah! We’re finally off for our family holiday.’
He explained: ‘After discovering that our youngest daughter’s passport had expired three days before we were due to fly, our holiday to Spain had to be cancelled.
Child: Christine and Paddy were nominated for a National Television Award for their first film, Our Family And Autism
Important: She previously appeared on a program alongside her estranged husband Paddy, focusing on their three children, who have been diagnosed with autism
“We had told the kids all about it, especially the airport part, so it wasn’t easy to suddenly change plans. Mums and dads will autistic kids will know exactly what I mean.’
Christine previously appeared on the ITV show Lorraine which was hosted by Carol Vorderman where she spoke about her marriage to Paddy.
She said at the time: “Marriages have ups and downs anyway, all marriages especially long ones like ours – 15 years together, it won’t always be plane sailing but we try to handle things as privately as possible and we both want to be there to support the kids and give them a great summer.
“We’re going on a family holiday next week and we’re really excited about it and they’ll always be our focus and they’re the most important things to us.”
