Christine McGuinness opens up on unique Christmas plans with Paddy – despite divorce

Paddy and Christine McGuinness split in 2022, but Christine shared that they wouldn't let their divorce get in the way of Christmas for their three kids

ITV star Christine McGuinness, 36, has opened up about how she’ll be spending Christmas this year after her divorce.

Christine and comedian Paddy McGuinness, 51, announced they had made the "difficult decision" to part ways in July 2022 after 11 years together. The former couple shares three children - twins Leo and Penelope, 11, and Felicity, eight - and Christine shared that they’d be sticking together and putting their kids first on the big day.

“The last thing we want to do is upset our children over Christmas, so we’ll make sure we’re all together,” she told Woman’s Own. "It will be a quiet one. We always try to keep it quiet, because the children can get quite overwhelmed with the changes. So we try to keep it like a normal day but with presents."

Spending Christmas as a family won’t be unusual for Christine and Paddy, after he revealed that they still live together in their mega mansion. "If someone didn't know our situation and came to our house and they spent the day with us, they would not have a clue [we were not together]," Paddy told the Mirror in April. "We get on well, we live together and co-parent. We get the lawyers back and forth but that's separate - that's a different thing."

The couple is also back to dating others, and revealed that while they’re supportive they try not to get too involved in each other’s love lives. Christine shared: We don't discuss it an awful lot, as we're trying to be respectful to each other,” while Paddy added: "If Christine met someone else, I'd be supportive. For now, we're happy with how things are, living together and helping each other balance work and kids."

Paddy also revealed that he was in no rush to move on too quickly, despite being back in the dating game. "I tried a couple of dates last year. After 12 months of adjusting to life on my own, I felt I should give it a try rather than really wanting to. For now, I'm happy being single,” he said in April.

For Christine, dating and family life has looked different since she was diagnosed with autism in 2021, with her three kids all also on the autism spectrum. “I only started dating this year and I think I delayed and delayed it, because of the worries,” she shared. “Not just because of how I am, and my sensory issues, but I wasn’t in any rush at all. And then it just kind of happened – I met somebody on my birthday, and we started dating.”

Christine revealed last month that she and the mystery man she met on her birthday back in March were still dating, but taking things casually and not introducing Paddy or the kids into the relationship. "Until it gets to a point where it would involve the children - which would be years off - then there's no point in discussing anything,” she said.

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