Paddy McGuinness admits he feels like the 'odd one out' in family home

Daily Mirror

07-05-2025

Paddy McGuinness has revealed he sometimes feels like the 'odd one out' at the home he shares with ex-wife, Christine McGuinness, their three children and their cat
Paddy McGuinness has confessed to feeling like the odd one out at his family home. The comedian, 51, revealed his feelings to being the only one in the home to not have autism - his ex-wife Christine McGuinness and their three kids have all been diagnosed with the condition.
Paddy and Christine share twins, Leo and Penelope, 12, along with nine-year-old, daughter, Felicity. The couple divorced last years after 11 years after announcing their shock split in 2022. However, the family of five still all live under the same roof.
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And Paddy has admitted their diagnosis leaves him feeling him like the odd one out - joking he thinks the family cat is also on the spectrum.
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Speaking on The Tommy Tiernan Show, the former Take Me Out host was asking if he thought it was strange to have three children who have autism. He responded: "No, not now. Every child with autism is different. I think for me – strange isn't the right word."
He added: "As a bloke when you're younger, you think about the future and you think about one day getting married and having kids, and you go right, I'll go to football with my son, I'll take my daughter horse riding – all the stereotypical things – when that doesn't happen, that's where it's like, hang on, this isn't what I thought parenthood was, so for me, it was that."
He also opened up on moments that have been a struggle before candidly confessing: "'You learn as you go along – what will trigger someone and what won't trigger someone."
Paddy admitted it took him "a good couple of years of figuring all that out". He said how as a parent you want life to be as "easy as possible" for your kids, but said it isn't always like that.
He went on: "For instance, my little son now, he can go in a bathroom now, and if someone puts a hand dryer on, it's not a problem. I don't think it's his favourite thing of all, but he wouldn't bat an eyelid, so it's about working through those things.
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"So for me it's just dealing with what I thought being a dad would be, to what my version of being a dad is."
He added he is always worrying about not being around for his kids, saying people with autism have a "vulnerability there". He also said there's "a lot of wrong'uns in the world," which makes him worry more.
"If you just think about anyone doing anything to your child, it's enough to make your blood boil anyhow," he said. "But when someone does something because they are so lovely and pure and innocent, so those are the worries, but you just can't live your life like that."
Paddy also recently confessed his love for former Top Gear co-star Freddie Flintoff as the ex sports star recovers from his injuries.
The former Top Gear star said he might find it 'triggering' to see him in person but said he still messages his former co-host and was looking forward to watching Freddie's documentary 'Flintoff', which included detail of the former cricketer's near-fatal crash in December 2022.