Christine McGuinness, 37, opens up about her sexuality and divorce from ex Paddy as she reveals she has dated women since she was a teenager
Christine McGuinness has opened up about her sexuality and her divorce from Paddy McGuinness, as she revealed she has dated women since she was a teenager.
The TV personality, 37, explained to Elizabeth Day on her How To Fail podcast, that her ex-husband and family have known about her sexuality since she was little and it was 'never a secret'.
She and Paddy separated in 2022 after 11 years of marriage, but continued to live together in their shared home for the sake of their three children - twins Leo and Penelope, and Felicity.
And now she has opened up about how she was dating women, including one two-year 'situationship', before she met Paddy, and admits she wants a connection for herself and not a step-parent for her children.
She told the broadcaster: 'It shouldn't matter somebody's gender. It never mattered to me, which was why once me and my ex-husband were separated and I met people, I didn't properly date.
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'It was more like blurred the lines of friendships for me, that was normal. It felt comfortable because I'd done that as a teenager and I, as a teenager, I dated both men and women. My ex-husband knew. My family knew. It was never a secret for me.'
When asked if she has a label for her sexuality, Christine said she has thought about it but would consider herself more of a 'free spirit'.
When asked about labels, Christine explained: 'No and again, I've thought about it. A lot of people always ask me, are you a lesbian? Are you bisexual? Are you what? Is this a phase?
'I've always been quite a free spirit. I think that's the only word I would put on it. When I was a teenager, I'd dated boys and girls. 14/15 was probably when I had my first kisses with, with both, and I never felt it was anything different or a big deal.
'Then I think where I grew up, everyone was kind of just there for a good time.'
Christine explained that before Paddy she did date women and her longest relationship latest around two years.
'My longest was two years before I met my ex-husband and then I've had really, really lovely long situation shifts where we purposely haven't put a label on anything', she added.
'But my experiences with women have been lovely and It's not like women are better or worse.
'It's simply that the connection for me is different. I need a connection now. I need something different.
'I really, really, honestly, I love my family and Patrick is part of my family and he always, always will be. But now for my next relationship, I know what I want and I want someone for me.
'I want someone that I like spending time with, we can do stuff together that we both enjoy. I want that emotional connection where I can be open and I can talk and I can be vulnerable and I can ask for help, but I can also have a laugh and just have a good time.
'It's not like I'm trying to find a new family unit or someone to come in and be a stepparent. I want my next relationship to be for me.'
Christine also opened up about her divorce as she explained that they both know they are both allowed to day and they do not 'overshare' any information about their lvoe interests.
She said: We actually had a good 16 years we were together. I still lived with him. I met him when I was 19 and we still live together and we've been separated for three years and it was one of those things, I remember when we put out the statements about us separating we were both nervous about what the reaction was going to be publicly.
'We both know that we're we can date and we're allowed to', she added.
'We're adults and we're single, so we can, but we also know that we don't need to overshare any information about anything because we are still exes and we are still living in the same house.'
She then explained that they are in 'different wings' of the property and everything is completely separate.
Her confession comes after she was spotted landing back in the UK after quitting Celebs Go Dating.
Pals close to the mother-of-three believe she may have left the programme over 'fears' of upsetting ex-husband Paddy, 51, by discussing their recent divorce on TV.
According to insiders, the model, who split from the former Top Gear host in 2022, had been 'enjoying' filming and going on dates after flying to the White Isle this week.
On Wednesday, she got stuck in at the show's Ibiza pool party, which was attended by Celebs Go Dating alumni and surprise guests Wayne Lineker and Dean Gaffney.
The reality star, who was set to date both men and women on the show, had been revealing more about her 'type', explaining that she likes 'feminine women with an edge' at the show's 'mixer', where celebrities met the contestants for the first time.
However, Christine then suddenly quit the series, with insiders saying she had become anxious over her private life, including feelings surrounding her divorce, being made public.
A source said: 'Christine was really up for this show and discovering more about herself with the help of the relationship experts.
'She settled in really well in Ibiza and treated it like a bit of a holiday.
'Hours before she pulled out of the series, she was having so much fun at one of the show's pool parties, chatting away to former contestants Wayne and Dean.
'She had even struck up a flirtatious relationship with one of the contestants, who she flew to Ibiza as part of the dating series, and was finally opening up about her feelings towards women.
'But all of a sudden her mood changed and she began to have real doubts over her appearance, especially with how she may be upsetting Paddy by discussing their divorce on a TV show.
'It's a real shame but she just wasn't in the right frame of mind to take part and it was best for all concerned for her to leave the process.'
In her statement, she confirmed: 'I joined Celebs Go Dating with great intentions but have realised that dating on a public platform and the attention is brings is just too soon for me.'
Christine also said that she may appear in the future, adding: 'They've said the door is always open for me which I'm so grateful but for now I'm returning home to my family.'
Christine and Paddy, who share three children, twins Leo and Penelope, and daughter Felicity, who have all been diagnosed with autism, split in 2022 after 11 years of marriage.
The exes finalised their divorce out of court last summer.
Last month, MailOnline revealed Paddy had put their £6.5million Cheshire house up for sale.
The pair had carried on living at their marital home post divorce, but Christine had reportedly grown increasingly tired of cohabiting with Paddy, who was happy for the arrangement to continue.
Speaking about their split, Christine 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?'
Discussing her appearance on the show before deciding to quit, the TV personality admitted that she hasn't 'dated much before' so this will be a new experience for her.
She said: 'I'm really excited to be joining the agency, I'm going to have a summer of fun. Who knows what might happen? I've not really dated much before, so I feel like I'm doing a crash course.
'I'm looking forward to getting to know the other celebs and I'm especially looking forward to the coaching side of things with the agents. I think that's going to be good for me.'
Christine was set to date both men and women, having become attracted to the opposite sex following her close relationship with singer Chelcee Grimes, whom she was spotted kissing in the wake of her split from Paddy.
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