15 March 2023 , 22:23
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Paddy McGuinness says he's "very proud" of his ex wife Christine as her documentary on her autism aired this evening.
Christine, 34, speaks frankly about deciding to split with Paddy, 49, after 11 years of marriage, amid her autism diagnosis in her documentary Christine McGuinness: Unmasking my Autism.
She also tells how she was raped as a teenager before she met Paddy and used to "pray every night that I wouldn't wake up in the morning", due to the abuse.
The model received her diagnosis while making a documentary with Paddy about living with their three children, Penelope and Leo, nine, and Felicity, six who have autism.
Taking to Instagram, Paddy, who has been silent on the split, shared a photo from the documentary, and wrote: "Very proud of Christine for making this new documentary highlighting Autism, particularly in women.
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Christine and Paddy announced their split in July (mrsmcguinness/Instagram)"It’ll be a massive help to our daughters in years to come along with our little lad. #unmaskingmyautism #awareness #acceptence."
The Top Gear presenter has turned the comments off on the post.
It comes after Christine opened up on why she stayed with Paddy despite being unhappy, saying she didn't want her family to "fall apart".
Reflecting on what she discovered in her documentary about autism, the model said: "I felt like I said in the film I didn’t want my family to ever fall apart. And that’s why I stayed married.
Christine McGuinness speaks about her autism diagnosis in a deeply personal documentary (BBC / Optomen / Duncan Stingemore)"As an autistic woman, I like to stay where I am comfortable. I like things to stay the same. And so that’s something I suppose I chose to do... But sometimes change has to happen."
The couple still live together in Cheshire, with the focus on providing stability for their children.
Speaking to Women's Own about the couple's living situation, the model said: "The children don’t know any different and they’re growing up in a happy and loving home – I just want it to continue like that.
"We don’t know what the future holds but right now it works."
She also admitted: "The thought of eventually co-parenting in separate houses is something I’m going to really struggle with."
Previously speaking about their arrangement, Christine told OK!: "I'm quite happy for him to be there with the children and it's nice for them to see Mummy and Daddy just being alright. We can sit and have a cup of tea together and that's fine."
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In July, the couple confirmed their split after speculation.
They said in a joint statement: "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.
Christine and Paddy have three children together, who all have autism (instagram)"A while ago we took the difficult decision to separate but our main focus was 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."
The joint statement continued: "We hope this now draws a line under anymore unwanted and unnecessary intrusion into our private life."