Christine McGuinness says she's not ready for dating after split with Paddy

05 March 2023 , 22:06

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Christine McGuinness has insisted she is not ready for dating after her marriage split from TV host Paddy.

The reality TV star and model, 34, has made a new BBC documentary discussing her autism and how that has affected her decisions in life and eventually split from Paddy, 49.

Asked how she is navigating the world of dating, she said: "I'm not navigating it, there is no navigation!

"Dating was never on my mind when I was filming the documentary. Really not. But I think watching it, hopefully, you know, people will understand why.

"I think most people will was expect somebody who's just come out of a long relationship to maybe be really excited about dating. But it's just not something I thinking about.

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Christine McGuinness says she's not ready for dating after split with Paddy

Christine and Paddy announced their split in June last year (Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

They met when Christine, now 34, was 19 (Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

"I can't even imagine what it must be like. I been in one place for a long time and I don't like change. So I'm certainly not going to be speed dating anytime soon. No! Absolutely."

"I just really want to focus on the children, focus on your work. I'm really excited about this documentary coming out. And I hope people understand more about how I feel about relationships after watching the documentary."

Christine and Paddy married in 2011 and are parents to Felicity and twins Leo and Penelope who also have autism.

Christine fronts a new documentary about her autism (BBC / Optomen / Duncan Stingemore)

The couple revealed they had separated last June, just six months after their moving BBC documentary Our Family And Autism. During the making of that programme, she was also diagnosed with autism.

When they announced their split in June last year Christine and Paddy released a joint statement. It 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 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."

Christine and Paddy have three children together (instagram)

The reality TV star is seen in the programme throwing clothes away shortly after splitting from Paddy.

She discusses having worn some of the outfits as part of a “masking” technique used by some autistic people to fit in.

Christine says: “I was only 19 when I met [Paddy]. And for the last 15 years my role has been wife and mum.

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“I think when I got diagnosed, I kind of set out on a mission to figure out who I was, because I’ve played that many different roles and not really knowing which part of it was actually me or which one was mostly me.”