Christine and Paddy McGuinness have confirmed they are separated after over a decade of marriage.
The couple – who have twins Penelope and Leo, nine, and Felicity, six, together – are still living together in their family home and putting their children first, but they have called time on their relationship 11 years after tying the knot.
In a joint statement, they 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. We hope this now draws a line under anymore unwanted and unnecessary intrusion into our private life.
‘Although we work in the public eye we ask kindly if you could respect our wishes for privacy on this matter. We’ll be making no further comment. Loads of love. Paddy & Christine.’
The Top Gear host met Christine when she was modelling in a fashion show at the Liverpool Tennis Tournament, before they married in Thornton Manor in the Wirral in 2011.
This week, the couple shared photos from a family holiday shortly after Christine revealed they had been dealing with marriage issues.
She noted they are ‘trying to deal with things as privately as possible’ and are prioritising giving their children an ‘amazing summer’.
‘What I might have put up with in the past, I probably wouldn’t put up with now, and the same for him,’ the former model told The Sun. ‘I can’t deny we are having a very, very difficult time.’
She also alluded that there may have been some wrongdoing on her husband’s end, but didn’t disclose any further details.
‘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,’ she added.
Her comments came after the pair seemed to have kept their distance on public outings, with Paddy not in attendance to support his wife during her appearance on ITV’s The Games in May, and they both jetted off on separate holidays.
Just before Christine went to Croatia for a five-day girls trips – with Chelcee Grimes tagging along after they became friends while shooting The Games – Paddy flew to Portugal for 10 days with his pals.
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