Christine McGuinness has opened up about the emotional reality of her divorce from Paddy McGuinness, admitting that the end of their 11-year marriage was a “difficult and challenging” period despite the couple eventually finding a way to remain close.

Christine and Paddy announced their separation in 2022, but unlike many divorced couples, they chose not to immediately go their separate ways.

Instead, the former couple have continued living together in their family home while raising their three children, twins Penelope and Leo, 11, and eight-year-old Felicity.

Christine has now revealed that the unconventional arrangement has become a source of comfort for the family, allowing the children to maintain the familiar home and routines that are particularly important to them.

Speaking exclusively to the Daily Mail, Christine admitted that divorce initially frightened her because she had never experienced anything like it before.

“Divorce is scary and it was scary for me,” she said.

“It’s an awful time.”

However, she explained that some of the fear surrounding the end of her marriage came from assumptions about what divorce was supposed to look like.

Christine said she had spent years hearing stories about broken families, heartbreak and bitter separations, without necessarily hearing about families who managed to remain under the same roof and continue supporting one another.

“As much as it was challenging and difficult, a lot of the thoughts and feelings were really from listening to other people’s stories,” she explained.

“Obviously, you hear about divorce, you instantly think negativity, heartbreak and a broken family or whatever, you don’t hear about other families that share their home.”

For Christine and Paddy, maintaining the family home has been closely connected to their children’s needs.

All three of their children are autistic, and the former couple have prioritised keeping their lives as stable and predictable as possible.

Christine explained that many families with children who have special educational needs make similar choices, even if those arrangements are not always publicly discussed.

“A lot of families that have got children with special educational needs choose to do it this way,” she said.

“Maybe they don’t talk about it so much, but they’re the ones who really get it and understand it.”

Rather than viewing their living arrangement as a temporary inconvenience, Christine has come to see it as a blessing.

She said the pair made an early decision that, regardless of what happened between them romantically, their children’s wellbeing would remain the most important consideration.

“I actually do think it is a blessing, the way we work co-parenting,” she said.

“It was always a decision from the beginning that no matter what, between me and Patrick, our priority is always the children.”

That commitment has helped the former couple maintain a relationship that remains remarkably friendly despite the breakdown of their marriage.

Christine said they are fortunate that they genuinely get along, making it possible to continue sharing a home without turning family life into a constant source of tension.

She also revealed that neither of them is in a hurry to sell the house.

The reason is simple: they do not want their children constantly moving between separate homes and having their routines disrupted.

“We don’t want to be putting the kids in mummy’s house and then in daddy’s house,” Christine explained.

“Our work’s not in a routine and our children thrive on routine.”

For Christine, the house has therefore become more than simply a property shared by two separated adults.

She sees it as her children’s home, the place where they can grow up with as much continuity as possible.

“They love the home, and in my head it’s the children’s home for them to grow up in,” she said.

“I’m not in a rush for that to change, to be honest. I’d love my own little flat somewhere, but this is my home.”

Her approach also extends to her dating life.

Since separating from Paddy, Christine has been open about relationships with women and has been linked to several high-profile figures, including footballer Chelcee Grimes, DJ Roxxxan and boxer Nicola Adams.

Yet despite enjoying dates and exploring life after marriage, she insisted that she has no intention of rushing into another serious relationship.

More importantly, she has drawn a firm boundary around the family home.

Christine said she would never bring a romantic partner back to the house she continues to share with Paddy.

“I would never do that,” she insisted.

“This is the family home, and then Paddy and I have our lives outside.”

She explained that even while they were married, the couple did not tend to have many visitors at home and were careful about introducing people into their children’s lives.

When it comes to dating, Christine therefore believes any potential partner would have to remain separate from family life for a considerable amount of time.

“Anything like that is going to take a very, very long time, like years, years and years,” she said.

Rather than viewing being single as something to fear, Christine now believes independence can be one of the most valuable things a person gains after a relationship ends.

She has learned to become comfortable with her own company, whether that means sitting in silence, cooking for herself or going to bed alone.

For Christine, that independence has brought a sense of reassurance that she did not necessarily have before her divorce.

“One of the best things that came post-divorce, and it took a while, was just knowing that I’m going to be all right,” she said.

“That I’ll be okay. I will laugh again, I will have fun again, I will love again.”

She believes surviving the end of a marriage while remaining able to laugh, co-parent and even enjoy holidays together has given her confidence about whatever happens next.

Christine acknowledged that walking away from the father of her children was one of the hardest experiences she has ever faced.

But it has also changed the way she views future relationships.

She now knows that even if another relationship were to end, she would be capable of rebuilding her life.

“I always know that no matter what, nothing’s ever going to be as difficult as those conversations about my family and my marriage and my children,” she said.

That outlook comes as Christine fronts a new campaign for Being Wear, a sensory-friendly lingerie brand created with neurodivergent people in mind.

The collaboration is particularly personal because Christine has spoken openly about being autistic herself while raising three autistic children.

She explained that seemingly minor details in clothing can have a major impact on comfort for neurodivergent people.

“A seam, a tag, a waistband that sits wrong, these things matter more than people realise,” she said.

Christine praised the brand for creating clothing designed around both physical comfort and sensory needs, describing the project as something she was proud to help bring to the UK.

For Christine, the campaign reflects a wider part of her life after divorce: using her own experiences to understand herself better while helping other families feel less alone.

Her marriage to Paddy may have ended, but the family they created together has not disappeared.

Instead, the pair have built an unconventional new version of family life, one based less on traditional expectations and more on what works for their children.

And after a period she once feared would leave everything broken, Christine now appears to have reached a quieter conclusion: sometimes the end of a marriage does not mean the end of a family.