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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
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Rose Hill

Inside Christine McGuinness and Chelcee Grimes' friendship - how they met before Xmas kiss

After weeks of rumours, Christine McGuinness and BFF Chelcee Grimes appeared to finally go public with their romance after a sweet kiss at Winter Wonderland.

The pair have been growing particularly close since Christine announced her split from husband Paddy after 15 years in July, but they first met while competing in ITV's The Games back in the spring.

The Olympics-style games show saw 10 celebrities compete in a variety of disciplines such as the 100m hurdles and weightlifting.

Grammy-nominated songwriter Chelcee, 30, came out on top alongside Wes Nelson, while Christine came ninth, and a close friendship appeared to blossom.

Over the summer, the pair enjoyed each other's company and jetted off to a number of sun-drenched locations to enjoy a bit of time out.

In September Chelcee - who once dated Love Island star Megan Barton Hanson - joined Christine on a mini-break in Santorini, with the pair also enjoying a trip to Croatia with pals over the summer.

The singer is also said to regularly visit Christine's house when their schedules allow and has been a great support to her following her marriage split.

In Christine's recent post from Winter Wonderland, Chelcee can be heard laughing in the background as Christine tries - but ultimately fails - at a carnival game to win a Pokemon toy.

The best friends were later seen embracing and smooching during the trip in London.

Wrapping up warm for the chilly temperatures, Chelcee and Christine were pictured playing a host of games on stalls, scooping two large soft toys before heading for a warm drink.

Chelcee previously dated Megan Barton Hanson (Getty Images)
Christine was married to Paddy for 11 years (Getty Images)

As they sat down, the two pals were snapped leaning in for a kiss, seemingly not caring who was watching them as they twinned in matching bobble hats.

Shortly after sharing a smooch with the mum-of-three, Chelcee posted a video of actress Zendaya waxing lyrical about 'good people'.

The Spiderman star can be heard saying: "Some people are just good people and you can just feel it. And I don't know how to explain that, but there's this little spark they have or this little special thing that they have that just you feel safe and happy around them.

Christine and Chelcee competed on The Games together (Nicky Johnston/REX/Shutterstock)

"I don't know what that is, but some people have it, and it's special."

An onlooker told The Sun : "It was a sweet moment between Christine and Chelcee as they sat on a bench outside and enjoyed live music.

“They were wearing similar woolly hats and even had a little dance at one point.

"They didn’t seem to have a care in the world and looked like they were in their own little bubble, it was cute."

The Mirror has contacted Christine and Chelcee's representatives for a comment.

Chelcee often comments on Christine's Instagram posts (Instagram)

Paddy, meanwhile, looked gloomy as he drove around Manchester running errands, before taking to Instagram to speak out for the first time since the pair's kiss.

The Top Gear host shared a series of pictures on social media revealing he'd been hanging out with friends. In the snaps, the group were seen having dinner and several drinks.

Paddy captioned the post: "The annual festive old school cuddly toys night out was a resounding success.

"We drank, we laughed, we killed zombies. #christmas #oldschool #dakota #cuddlytoys."

Christine announced she was splitting up from her husband Paddy after 11 years during the summer.

At the time, a joint statement on their Instagram pages said: “We hadn't planned on sharing this publicly until we were ready but 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."

Paddy and Christine have three children together, Penelope, Felicity and Leo. All three children have been diagnosed with autism, as well as Christine being diagnosed in 2021.

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