by Christine McGuinness has opened up about the “best and worst year” of her life, after she and ex-husband Paddy McGuinness announced their split in July.
The model and TV personality revealed that the couple’s three children still don’t know they are no longer together because “they are so young”.
Christine, 34, explained that she and Paddy, 48, will spend Christmas together with their children despite the split to “keep things as normal as possible”.
In the summer, the couple announced their split after 11 years of marriage, calling it a “difficult decision”.
A joint statement posted on both of their Instagram accounts read: “We hadn’t planned to share this publicly until we were ready, but after the lack of privacy surrounding our personal lives, we feel we have no choice but to clarify.
“We made the difficult decision to separate some time ago, but our main goal as always is to continue to love and support our children.
“It wasn’t an easy decision to make, but we are moving forward as the best parents we can be to our three beautiful children.”
Talking with OK! Magazine in a new interview published today (Monday, Dec. 19), Christine said the split was “heartbreaking” and she never expected her marriage to come to an end.
She added that it would be “nice” for her and Paddy’s kids to see them “feel good” together, particularly this holiday season.
“I’m quite happy that he’s there with the kids and it’s nice for them to see mum and dad doing well. We can sit down and have a cup of tea together and that’s fine,” the former beauty queen said.
She said the children weren’t aware of the split “at all,” adding, “They’re so young. I’m just trying to stick to their normal routine.
The couple share nine-year-old daughter Felicity and six-year-old twins, Leo and Penelope. All three children have autism and Christine was diagnosed with autism last year at the age of 33.
She and Paddy met in 2007 at the Liverpool Tennis Tournament and married four years later at Thornton Manor in Cheshire.
In October, Christine admitted she was “not well” after splitting from Paddy and thanked her fans on Instagram for checking up on her.
“I’ll be honest. I’m not going to lie. I’m not going to come and say, ‘I’m fine. I’m just having some quiet time.’ I’m really not okay,” she said.
“I’m not feeling completely 100% myself right now, so I’ll probably continue to have some quiet moments, but I’m fine.”
