Christine and Paddy McGuinness announce split after 11 years of marriage

Christine and Paddy McGuinness have confirmed they are separated after eleven years of marriage. 

The couple, who are parents to twins Penelope and Leo, eight, and Felicity, six, say they are still living together in their family home for the welfare of their children.

In a joint statement, they 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 male 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 if you could respect our wishes for privacy on this matter. We’ll be making no further comment.”

Their shock breakup comes just months after the release of their BBC documentary Our Family and Autism, where they spoke in detail for the first time about raising their three children with the condition.

The Bolton-born Top Gear host opened up about spiralling into depression following his children’s autism diagnosis, wherein he admitted ‘throwing myself into my work’ as he struggled to cope and come to terms with the news.   

In the documentary, he said: “I got that down that I had to see a therapist and he diagnosed me with clinical depression. I used to think I was the last person in the world who would have depression because I earn a few quid.”

Christine was diagnosed as autistic herself during the documentary, where she confessed that she struggled in school, had few friends growing up, and preferred spending time on her own as opposed to going out and socialising. 

The couple first met at the Liverpool Tennis Tournament, where Christine was modelling in a fashion show. Four years later, they tied the knot in Thornton Manor in the Wirral.