‘Paddy and I are having a very, very difficult time and I’m all over the place’ admits Christine McGuinness

CHRISTINE McGuinness has spoken for the first time about her marriage to TV host Paddy and admitted: “We are having a very, very difficult time”.

The ex-model wife of the Top Gear star said: “I’m feeling really quite raw and all over the place”

It follows speculation about the state of their 11-year marriage after they were spotted having a row.

 Paddy, 48, failed to back Christine, 34, on ITV’s The Games and they went on separate holidays last month.

The mum of three bravely admitted: “What I might have put up with in the past, I probably wouldn’t put up with now, and the same for him.” 

Christine, 34, said: “I can’t deny we are having a very, very difficult time.

“It’s just — we’ve been together 15 years, 11 years married: we are gonna have ups and downs — but this situation at the minute — I don’t want to go into it too much but I will just say that I didn’t cause this situation.” 

Her comments in an interview with Fabulous magazine — coming in next weekend’s Sun on Sunday — follow speculation about their relationship.

Paddy, 48, failed to support Christine, when she appeared on ITV’s The Games in May and they went away on separate holidays last month.

The couple were pictured in last week’s Sun on Sunday looking glum as they had a row in his Mercedes G Class Wagon, in Macclesfield, Cheshire.

The pair — who met when Christine was modelling in a fashion show at the Liverpool Tennis Tournament — married in Thornton Manor in the Wirral in 2011.

They have three children together, twins Leo and Penelope, nine, and Felicity, six.

Still wearing her diamond engagement ring, Christine told Fabulous: “I think you’ve got to expect it. When you’ve been together for so long, you’re gonna have ups and downs.

“Everyone grows and changes and we’ve grown as a family, which is amazing. 

“You know, that family bond will always be there no matter what but yeah, I was a teenager when I met him and I’m a 34-year-old woman now, so I suppose what I might have put up with in the past, I probably wouldn’t put up with now and same for him.” 

Last week Christine addressed rumours of a marriage rift with a cryptic social media post on Instagram reading “talk about trust before you talk about love.” She also wrote: “This year I met the most broken version of me, but also the strongest”. And she added: “There is only one thing I want to make clear right now. I didn’t put us in this situation.”

Last month we pictured Christine enjoying a five-day girls’ holiday in Croatia including her new BFF (best friend forever) Chelcee Grimes, 30.

Christine and Chelcee — who met when they appeared on The Games — were with three other female pals. It was Christine’s first solo trip abroad in years. 

She went away after Paddy had previously taken a ten-day break in Portugal with his mates.

Speaking about her close friendship with former footballer and songwriter Chelcee for the first time, Christine told Fabulous: “Chelcee is my soul sister.

“Just straight away from the day I met her; I just loved her.”

Christine is due to fly off later this month on holiday to Spain — but this time with Paddy and their children. 

Fans had observed that the Top Gear and Question of Sport presenter failed to publicly back his wife during her stint on The Games — in which celebrities competed in sporting events. 

‘Paddy stayed silent on how she was doing’

A source said: “It was noted Paddy stayed silent about how well she was doing. Some thought it a bit odd. 

“But against all the odds she gained a lot of confidence from the show. Everyone noticed the change in her from start to finish.”

In her autobiography, A Beautiful Nightmare, released in November 2019, Christine revealed how difficult her own upbringing had been.

Her mum Joanne struggled to make ends meet for the family after splitting from her dad Johnny, who was a heroin addict.

In 2018 the couple’s relationship came under scrutiny when former Take Me Out host Paddy was pictured out in London’s Soho arm-in-arm with All Saints singer Nicole Appleton, 47.

Addressing the incident in her book, Christine wrote: “I ran to the toilet to vomit. Still to this day I can remember that absolutely awful pit-of-your-stomach feeling . . . it was a bit of a heartbroken moment.”

She added: “My phone started blowing up. I had loads of messages from people saying, ‘I hope you sort it out’. ‘Leave him,’ others told me.

“Suddenly everyone had an opinion on my marriage, and I didn’t know what was going on myself.”

Christine later said they no longer discussed the photographs.

She explained: “We just got on with married life. I’m glad we did, his bond with the children is so much better than it ever was then.

“Instead of staying over in London when filming, he’ll drive through the night back.”

The couple have been open about how they have dealt with their kids being diagnosed with autism. 

Christine told last December’s BBC documentary Our Family And Autism that, after the twins were diagnosed at age three, Paddy struggled to accept the situation.

She said: “My husband buried his head in work. There are times he just can’t cope with it.

“There are times when I want to shake him and say, ‘Just get on with it — it’s not that big a deal’.”

Daughter Felicity was also diagnosed with the condition and Paddy admitted he spiralled into depression as his fear for his kids “chipped away at me”.

But he paid tribute to his wife, saying the children had won “the lottery with Christine because they couldn’t wish for a better mum”.

While making the programme Christine was herself diagnosed with autism and tearfully admitted she was “exhausted” by the challenges in her life.

She said identifying her condition was a “relief” and helped explain her troubled teens when she battled with anorexia and failed to make friends.

She explained: “I struggle with change, I struggle with food, sensory issues, clothes, labels, being in busy places, it’s everything — I ticked a lot of boxes. “I’m surprised it wasn’t picked up a lot earlier.”

A spokesman for Paddy declined to comment.