Christine McGuinness has revealed she barely knew anyone at her wedding because she doesn’t have friends.
The TV personality, 37, tied the knot with comedian Paddy, 51, in June 2011 in a large ceremony which saw more than 200 guests attend.
However, Christine only invited around 15 family members to the festivities and didn’t know anyone else who was in attendance.
Speaking on The Shizzio Show podcast, Christine explained how her autism makes socialising difficult and said she prefers to have a small group of people close to her.
Autism refers to a broad range of conditions characterised by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication.
‘The wedding was massive, I didn’t really know anybody there, but it was huge,’ she said of her nuptials to her now-ex-husband Paddy.
Christine McGuinness has revealed she barely knew anyone at her wedding because she doesn’t have any friends
The TV personality, 37, tied the knot with comedian Paddy (pictured in 2021), 51, in June 2011 in a large ceremony which saw more than 200 guests attend, but Christine only knew 15 people
‘I had no more than 15 people from my family that I knew and I think there was over 200 guests in total. But it was an incredible day, it was amazing!’
Discussing her struggles with socialising, Christine said her only friend is Blue singer Duncan James, who she is often seen out with, but insisted her close-knit circle is by choice.
‘Now, I have no friends other than Duncan. None at all, people set up an OnlyFans, I’ll set up an OnlyFriends,’ she joked.
‘But it’s by choice, I’ve got lots of industry friends and that works for me, it works really well because I haven’t got the time. I can’t keep in touch, I try to but I can’t so then I feel like a s**t friend.
‘So industry friends, you work together and you’re in your bubble – like The Games and Hunted – you all know each other, there’s a WhatsApp group for the first couple of weeks and then it fizzles out, and there’s no pressure to keep in touch.
‘But then you see each other at events now and again, and for me, that’s much more suitable for me to keep up with.’
‘I’m not a social butterfly for the sake of it,’ she added.
Christine said she is very close to her children – twins Leo and Penelope, 11, and Felicity, eight – her mother Joanne and her other family members.
Speaking on The Shizzio Show, Christine said her autism makes socialising difficult and said her only friend is Blue singer Duncan James (both pictured), who she is often seen out with
She confessed she also has problems with trusting new people because she has been ‘burnt’ in the past, realising that not everyone has good intentions.
‘I’ve been burnt a couple of times – in business, in friendships, in relationships – so I’m very protective of myself and I’m much happier with just making that decision that I don’t want or need anyone,’ she added.
Christine also discussed her divorce from Take Me Out host Paddy after they went their separate ways in 2022.
The pair split after 11 years of marriage but remain living together in their £6million 12-bedroom mansion for the sake of their three children, who have autism.
Despite their amicable living situation, Christine revealed that their divorce was tough and they both hired ‘expensive lawyers’, which cost them a fortune.
She revealed that their separation personally cost her £300,000, which she said she had to pay ‘out of her own money’.
Hitting back at any speculation that her ‘high-earning’ ex Paddy paid for her lawyers, she revealed that she had to find the cash to fund her divorce.
‘I paid for my own divorce, I think people assume that the man pays for your lawyers or whoever earns more will pay for your legal fees,’ she shared.
Christine also discussed her divorce from Take Me Out host Paddy (both pictured in January 2019) after they went their separate ways in 2022 after 11 years of marriage
‘I think people assume when you’re going through a divorce with someone who earns a hell of a lot of money, your legal fees will be covered. The costs will be covered. But it doesn’t work like that.’
Christine admitted she thinks they would do it differently if they could as she discussed spending £300,000 herself on the divorce.
‘I think if now we could sit down and do it again we’d do it completely differently. Because we’ve spent a hell of a lot of money on divorce lawyers,’ she said.
When asked how much she spent, she added: ‘Me personally, £300,000. Out of my own money. That I didn’t even have […] I’m still paying for it.’
Christine went on to detail their current living situation, which involves sharing their sprawling mansion with their three children, who all have autism.
She explained: ‘We both own the property, nobody won it. There was no win. Nobody wins in divorce anyway. Neither of us fought for it.
‘Percentage would be 50 per cent if we were to sell it. But we’ve both chosen to live in it.
‘It’s what we think is best for the kids, for now. Not forever, because they struggle with change. They’ve never even had a sleepover in anyone else’s house.
Christine revealed that their divorce was tough and they both hired ‘expensive lawyers’ which cost them a fortune, admitting they would do it differently if they had another chance
‘So for them to go from mummy’s house to daddy’s house with no set routine because we both work all over the place, it wouldn’t be fair on them.
‘So they know where their home is and where their bedrooms are and all their things, so it doesn’t matter what day of the week it is. They come home from school and they know where they are going.’
Christine opened up about the ‘difficult time’ that led to her and Paddy’s split and admitted there was ‘no repairing’ their relationship.
She said: ‘I’ve never spoken about the reasons for our divorce, and I don’t know if I ever will.
‘It was a difficult time. It wasn’t something that, you know, I just decided to do overnight, or that we chose to do.
‘We tried, and, yeah, there just, unfortunately, there was no repairing it, you know?
‘I’ll always, always love him as the father of the children, and I still live at home with him, which says a lot.’
Christine said she hopes to have another relationship one day and told how Paddy has started dating again amid rumours she has signed up for Celebs Go Dating.
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