Christine and Paddy McGuinness have confirmed they have separated.
The couple had been married since 2011 and they share three children. There had been speculation they had split after the couple have split after they took their first separate holidays in years and failed to post anything for their anniversary.
Christine appeared on Lorraine last week and addressed the rumours in an interview with Carol Vorderman. She said: "Marriages go through ups and downs anyway.
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"Especially long ones like ours. It's not always going to be plain sailing but we're trying to deal with things as privately as possible. We both just want to be there to support the children and give them an amazing summer."
The two announced today they have made the "difficult decision" to separate. A statement added: "This was not an easy decision to make but we're moving forward as the best parents we can be for our three beautiful children. We'll always be a loving family, we still have a great relationship and still live happily in our family home together."
As Christine and Paddy announced their separation, we have taken a look at a history of their relationship.
How Paddy and Christine met
Paddy and Christine met in 2007 when she was just 19. The pair crossed paths as she was modelling for Cricket at the Liverpool International Tennis Tournament.
Speaking to the ECHO about their meeting Christine said: “He was supposed to be watching the tennis, but I think he was really more interested in the fashion show. We had a mutual friend there who introduced us but I can’t say I was starstruck – I’d never seen him on anything.
“I knew who Peter Kay was, obviously, and I’d heard of Max & Paddy, but I didn’t realise it was him. He made me laugh, though, he is quite a charmer and we just clicked.
“Neither of us was looking for anything serious at the time, so we just met up every now and again. It all started off quite casually but then he asked me to stay over at his house one night, and it went from one night to a weekend, then to a week and I just ended up not moving out.”
Engagement and wedding
Two years after they started dating, Paddy popped the question on Christmas Day in 2009. She described his proposal as very romantic, and said: “We always open our pressies at midnight because Patrick can’t wait. He says it’s because we’re so busy on Christmas morning, but it’s really because he’s just a big kid.
“So we were sitting in our pyjamas by the fire and I’d noticed during the day that he didn’t seem quite himself. I remember saying to him a couple of times ‘what’s wrong?’ but obviously I know now." The couple then married on June 4, 2011, in a lavish ceremony at Thornton Manor in the Wirral.
Children and autism diagnosis
After two years of happy marriage, the couple announced they were expecting twins and in 2013 the couple welcomed Leo and Penelope into the world. Then in September 2016, the couple had their third child, a daughter called Felicity Rose.
In July 2017 Christine and Paddy revealed that Leo and Penelope have autism and in 2020 the couple announced that Felicity also has the condition. Paddy and Christine are very vocal about how the condition has shaped their family and want to raise awareness.
Christine revealed she was also diagnosed with the condition in an exclusive extract from her book, Christine McGuinness: A Beautiful Nightmare. She said: "I have been confirmed as autistic. It’s strange, but I’ve noticed there are little hints throughout my life that I’m autistic and more like my children than I ever could have imagined.
"My issues with food, my social struggles, how hard I find it to make friends and stay focused, and my indecisiveness. The way I float through life reminds me of how my eldest daughter Penelope is.
"It all makes sense now. And as much as I’m not totally surprised, it’s still been emotional for me to accept, but it’s a relief as well."
Heartbreak after Paddy spotted with another woman
In 2018 Christine and Paddy's relationship was rocked when he was spotted on a cosy night out in London with another woman in February. Christine opened up about the incident in an extract of her book.
She said: "I clicked on to Instagram, where I’d been tagged in some posts. Then I saw them… pictures and videos of my husband and another woman out in London. And they were everywhere.
"My husband, arm-in-arm with another woman. I felt physically sick. I ran to the toilet to vomit. Still to this day I can remember that absolutely awful pit-of-your-stomach feeling.
"I rang him that morning before I’d read too much about it. He didn’t answer, which is really unusual for him and in hindsight I think he regrets not picking up the phone. It quickly dawned on me the reason he’d decided to stay down in London."
Paddy rushed home that night to smooth things over - and the two resolved things over for the sake of their family. She said: "But for me, I wanted my children to have a dad at home. It didn’t matter to me if I’d forgiven him, if I was OK with it or if I trusted him. I just wanted my children to have their father there… something I never had.
"For that to happen, I had to brush it under the carpet. I haven’t mentioned it since. We’ve never spoken about it really, and I’ve certainly never talked about it publicly before. We just got on with married life. I’m glad we did, because his bond with the children is so much better than it ever was then."
Recent split rumours
The couple have been battling rumours they have split over recent weeks after they took their first separate holidays in years and failed to post anything for their anniversary.
Paddy has also appeared to have removed the heart tattoo he got as a tribute for Christine. The Top Gear presenter was seen in a video posted to chef Chris Baber's Instagram. He held onto a canned drink, but his finger tattoo was missing. Paddy originally got the inking to make up for losing his wedding ring twice since he married Christine back in 2011.
Separation announcement
Paddy and Christine issued a joint statement today to confirm they have separated. It said: "We hadn't planned on sharing this publicly until we were ready but after the lack of privacy surrounding our personal life, we feel left with no other option but to clarify.
"A while ago we took the difficult decision to separate but our main focus as always is to continue loving and supporting our children. This was not an easy decision to make but we're moving forward as the best parents we can be for our three beautiful children. We'll always be a loving family, we still have a great relationship and still live happily in our family home together.
"We hope this now draws a line under anymore unwanted and unnecessary intrusion into our private life. Although we work in the public eye we ask kindly is you could respect our wishes for privacy on this matter. We'll be making no further comment."
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