Speculation over the state of her marriage spiralled last month when Christine McGuinness was spotted enjoying a holiday with footballer pal Chelcee Grimes, while her presenter husband Paddy McGuinness stayed home to look after their three children.
A day after Christine, 34, posted a series of sun-soaked snaps from her “girls’ trip”, eagle- eyed fans noted how Paddy, 48, had seemingly erased a heart tattoo from his ring finger.
And while the Take Me Out host – who shares Leo and Penelope, nine, and six-year-old Felicity with model Christine – appeared to deny the rumours when he posted a family snap on Instagram to celebrate their twins’ birthday last week, Christine took to Instagram just days later to confirm their 11-year marriage was troubled.
She wrote, “This year I met the most broken version of me, but also the strongest.
“Regarding the press... There is only one thing I want to make clear right now... I didn’t put us in this situation.”
She also reposted a quote, “Talk about trust before you talk about love.”
The cryptic post came after she spent a long weekend in Croatia with fellow Liverpudlian Chelcee, who she met during her stint on ITV’s The Games in May. Posting pictures, Christine wrote, “I followed my heart and it lead me to Croatia. I’ve laughed sooo much, relaxed and switched off like never before!”
Three years ago, Paddy was spotted walking arm-in-arm with singer Nicole Appleton after a night out. Christine admitted it left her feeling “physically sick” and “devastated”, saying, “We didn’t really speak much about it... I just didn’t want to look at him. We just got on with married life.”
However there could be hope for the couple, who’ve been together for 14 years, as when Christine later posted a reel of pics of herself, Paddy responded with a heart-eyed emoji.
A source told Closer last week how Christine’s solo holiday had been an eye-opener for the stay-at-home mum, and made her realise that “a better balance” in her life would leave her feeling “happier and fulfilled”.
Beauty queen Christine has previously been open about the personal battles she’s faced this year after being diagnosed with autism as an adult, and has always spoken candidly about their struggles raising their autistic children.
Opening up in the couple’s recent documentary, Paddy added, “I don’t want people to go, ‘It’s all right for him, he’s got money, he’s got a big house.’ It’s not like that for us... our life is totally not like that.”