Emotional moment Christine McGuinness reveals ‘hardest part’ of being a parent in candid admission
CHRISTINE McGuinness has admitted she fears about her children’s future without her and is preparing them already for when she “goes to sleep”.
The 38-year-old model is the proud mum to three autistic children – twins Penelope and Leo, 11, and Felicity, 8 – with ex Paddy McGuinness.
But in a new tell-all parenting podcast, Parent Unplugged, Christine admitted that their special educational needs have left her fearing what the future will look like for them once she dies.
In a teaser clip for the upcoming episode with parenting coach and podcast host Charis Halsall, Christine took a deep breath when she was quizzed on what she found the hardest part of parenting.
“Oh, this is quite deep to start with!” she said, before admitting: “It’s realising that I am preparing my three children to live without me when I can’t live without them.”
When Charis asked why, Christine noted: “It’s our job, as a parent or a carer, anyway. Of course we want them to be happy, we want them to be successful, and all of that.
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“But really, we want to know that when we do… go to sleep properly, that they’re going to be able to cope and manage.”
“So I think that that was the biggest realisation: that I kind of can’t live without these three kids, and one day, they have to live without me, so I need to prepare them to be as independent as possible, especially with their additional needs as well.”
While Christine and Paddy announced their split in 2022, the pair have continued to live together in order to maintain a regular pattern for their three children.
After her children’s diagnosis, Christine was also diagnosed with autism and ADHD.
However, last year they decided to take a new step and put their Cheshire mansion on the market for £6.5million – though they’re yet to find a buyer.
A source close to the couple has told The Mail on Sunday that TV presenter Paddy – who bought the house with Christine for £2.1million back in 2020 – is behind the ‘overpriced’ property value and it’s suspected it’s due to him not wanting to move out of it.
However, this has reportedly caused issues with his ex-wife, with the source noting: “Christine is getting really fed up now. She wants to move on but it seems with it being priced so high, Paddy doesn’t want her to.
“Paddy doesn’t want to downsize. He wants a big house to fit with his ego. It feels like a control thing.
“He knows he will never get £6.5million for it. It feels like he’s playing silly games.”
Since her split from Paddy, Christine has tried getting back out into the dating world – and in June 2025 confirmed she was interested in both men and women, having dated both since she was a teenager.
She’s since been seen locking lips with DJ Roxxxan, just days after it was revealed she was ‘growing close’ to Strictly star and Olympic boxer Nicola Adams, and had a fling with a high-profile soap actress.
Joining the London Pride festivities last weekend, Christine shared that she wasn’t interested in labelling her sexuality, noting in her Instagram post: “More love, Less labels. Open hearts, Open doors. Happy Pride everyone!”
