Christine McGuinness has claimed that she only left her house "a handful of times" in eight years after marrying husband Paddy.
The model, 34, revealed that after she first moved to Bolton she didn't know anyone and because Paddy worked away from home so much, she felt incredibly lonely.
She explained that it was easier for her to stay at home as that was where she felt most comfortable and she became "scared" to go out".
Christine said that Paddy had believed that she was a "home bird", but that she had actually just been making excuses about why she couldn't go out.
Speaking to Psychologies Magazine, she said: "I moved to Bolton with Patrick and I didn't know anybody there. He was working away so much, and the most comfortable place for me was to stay at home and wait for him to come back.
"I was making things worse for myself because I ended up too scared to go out. This lasted for around eight years. There was the odd occasion we'd go out together, but you could count them on one hand.
"Patrick just thought I was a home bird, but I was making excuses all the time; whether it was weddings or birthdays, I avoided anything that would have meant socialising and having conversations with people."
Christine and Paddy, who share twins Leo and Penelope, nine, and younger daughter Felicity, six, called time on their marriage last year in July in a joint statement.
Opening about co-parenting with Paddy, she said: "I want the children to be able to see Mummy and Daddy getting along, so we will still have family days out and live in the same home. We're kind of in and out, with our own busy schedules, but we get on.
"We have a bond for life with the children, and I'll always look at Patrick as family.
"We don't want any dramatic changes overnight, so it's going to be a slow process moving forward, and we don't really know what the future holds.
"Our priority is for the children to remain comfortable and happy in a loving family."
It comes after Christine and pal Chelcee, 30 - who met on ITV's The Games last year - were seen embraced in a kiss at Winter Wonderland in London.
It was reported their friendship grew following Christine's split from Paddy.
