Christine McGuinness on heartbreaking reason she's living with ex Paddy but dating other people
If the last few years have taught Christine McGuinness anything, it’s that she’s made of strong stuff. The former beauty queen, 36, has been admirably vocal about some of her personal battles, including an autism diagnosis in her thirties, suffering childhood abuse and the painful breakdown of her marriage to presenter Paddy McGuinness, 51.
She’s also been dealing with the emotional toll of her mother’s breast cancer, but now that she’s coming out the other end, Christine says she’s very grateful her mum is in a “good place”. Christine does admit, in this exclusive chat with OK!, that there is one thing weighing on her mind. She knows the day is coming when she’ll have to tell her children Leo and Penelope, 11, and Felicity, eight, that their parents are no longer together, something she says they are currently too young to understand.
Hi, Christine. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month – how are things with your own family?
My mum had breast cancer and so did four of my aunties. My mum got her diagnosis during lockdown but, thank God, she’s doing really good right now. It has affected the whole family, so it’s not nice.
Does it ever make you wary?
Of course. When my mum was diagnosed, it did feel really real – how close it was to home, how serious it is and how no-one is safe. She’s finished all of her chemotherapy and radiotherapy, but unfortunately her cancer is one of those that could come back anywhere in the body, so we’re never fully relaxed. But she is doing very well and I feel like I’ve got my mum back. She has the best relationship with my children and they’re so close. They absolutely love crazy Nannie – she’s the fun and she’s my whole world. I love her to bits.
How is your dad Johnny since he got clean from heroin?
He’s doing really good. He’s still on track and it’s amazing to see. Both my parents make me believe that anything is possible.
Have you introduced your children to your dad yet?
No, I haven’t, although it’s not something I’m ruling out. It is just purely circumstances in life and living far away from each other and figuring out when the time is right. He’s doing really well and my focus is just checking in on him and making sure he’s good. My children struggle a bit with travelling, so it’s not easy to say, “Let’s get in the car and go and visit somebody.” It is something that would have to be planned well in advance.
You’ve been posting a lot of bikini pictures of yourself on holiday…
I think the secret is the sunshine – good lighting and just feeling happy. I think when you’re feeling happy on the inside it kind of shines through. It’s funny you say that because it looks like I’ve been on a permanent holiday, but I haven’t. Most of the time I’ve just been away for a couple of nights on mini-breaks. I spread it out and if I am away from the children, it’s not for a long time and it’s new and exciting for me. I don’t like to leave the children for too long but, when I do, I like to go abroad and enjoy the sun.
How many holidays have you had this year?!
Three mini-breaks – it isn’t that bad! And because I don’t show my home life or my children [on social media, looking at my Instagram] I would probably think, “She’s either at an event or on holiday.”
How does Paddy feel about having the children when you go on holiday?
I only go on holiday when he’s at home and because he’s not at home an awful lot, I take the opportunity to go away. During
the summer he was at home on average for about five days a month, so those couple of days it just made sense. It was his time to have the children and it’s not easy because when you have children, you think you’re going to have them every day forever until they grow up. Co-parenting means that when he’s back, he’s entitled to his time and it’s good for the children – they love spending time together. So it makes sense for me to disappear for a couple of days and enjoy it.
How do you find co-parenting?
It’s hard, but it’s not that I can’t because we live in the same house. But it’s more just thinking ahead to when the time comes that we do actually have to share our children in separate houses. I think I’m going to really struggle with that. I’m kind of preparing myself and them, so that when Daddy is home, I make sure they just have time together because, like I say, it’s not as often as when I’m there.
It’s taken me a while to get used to it, but I’ve got to because there is no point be staying at home with my ex-husband and children all day and then one day we live in separate houses and it’s a massive shock to all of us. So to soften the blow for myself, I choose to have a couple of days in the sun, rather than seeing my ex-husband or staying in a hotel somewhere. I’d rather fully enjoy the break. That’s the only way I can mentally be OK with co-parenting.
Have you explained to the children that you’re no longer together?
No, we haven’t. The children are just so young and they don’t fully understand relationships yet. I think if they did, we would have absolutely said, “Mummy and Daddy are really good friends and we’re still family forever and we absolutely love you and that will never change.” But they don’t know any different and there are times when they see us when we’re in the house together and we’re chatting away and having a laugh and a cup of tea. It’s been like that for a while now. They wouldn’t understand it yet. All they know is that Mummy and Daddy are family and that’s it.
How do you think you’ll feel when Paddy starts dating again?
It’s not my business what he does in his own time. He’s told me when he’s been on dates. We’ve been separated over two years now, so inevitably it’s going to happen at some point. We’re both very respectful of each other’s private lives and it’s not each other’s business. As long as it doesn’t affect the children in any way, then I don’t need to know who he’s with and where he’s going. That’s his personal life.