Paddy and Christine McGuinness were married for approximately 11 years before releasing a joint statement on their Instagram accounts on Friday, July 22. In it, they said they broke up “some time ago.” They still live in their family home with their three children, twins Penelope and Leo, 9, and Felicity, 6. All three of their children have autism, so the couple, who used to date, decided to stay together even after the breakup for their high.
Since they stopped posting pictures of themselves together on social media and didn’t celebrate their anniversary this year, people began to wonder about their relationship. Paddy posted a picture of him and his ex-girlfriend on a family day out just hours before he and she split on July 22. The post told all about that trip, including how they originally planned to go to Spain.
Christine had previously hinted that their relationship wasn’t going well and that she wanted Paddy to spend more time with her. “There were times I would wave him into work, then go back inside and cry because I wish he’d just stay home,” she said. In part of his autobiography about their marriage, Paddy also said that they were “completely different people with no common ground.”
Paddy McGuinness married Christine Martin on June 4, 2011. He is best known for hosting Top Gear and Question of Sport. They met at the Liverpool Tennis Tournament where Christine was at a fashion show. Christine, who also has autism, shared her struggles as a child and how she had few close friends. “When I was in my 20s, I stayed indoors for about eight years and didn’t speak to anyone but my husband,” she said.
In their podcast Table Talk, which appeared about four months ago, the couple also spoke about the problems they had in raising their children. They were also on the BBC special Our Family and Autism, where Paddy said he didn’t think his children would ever understand how much he and his wife love them. Christine said, “Patrick has worried for years that the kids don’t feel loved or don’t understand what love is.”
Though they went in different directions, they felt it was important to let their fans know about their relationship. The entire statement they put out read: “We decided to separate a while ago, which was hard, but our main goal has always been to continue to love and support our children. It wasn’t an easy decision, but we carry on as the best parents we can be to our three beautiful children. We will always be a loving family. We still get along great and live happily together in our family home.”
“We hope this is the end of everyone else snooping into our personal lives for no good reason. Although we work in the public domain, we would appreciate it if you could keep this between us and you. We won’t say more about that. Love in abundance. Paddy and Christine, “The end of the explanation.
The couple asked their fans to stop interfering in their personal lives and they signed together.