Christine McGuinness has explained why she and her ex-husband Paddy continue to live together despite splitting up.
Paddy, 50, and 35-year-old Christine called time on their relationship in 2022 after 11 years of marriage and three children together.
In a joint statement shared on social media, the couple said: "We hadn't planned on sharing this publicly until we were ready but after the lack of privacy surrounding our personal life, we feel left with no other option but to clarify.
"A while ago we took the difficult decision to separate but our main focus as always is to continue loving and supporting our children.
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"This was not an easy decision to make but we're moving forward as the best parents we can be for our three beautiful children.
"We'll always be a loving family, we still have a great relationship and still live happily in our family home together.
"We hope this now draws a line under any more unwanted and unnecessary intrusion into our private life.
"Although we work in the public eye we ask kindly if you could respect our wishes for privacy on this matter. We'll be making no further comment."
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However, following their split the couple decided to take the unconventional step of continuing to live together in their family home in Cheshire with their children Penelope, Leo and Felicity.
And despite the unusual set-up, in March last year, Christine revealed it ‘really works’ for them all, saying: “We are very close, we’re family no matter what.”
And in a recent interview with The Sun, Christine has stressed that the decision to continue living together was primarily for the sake of their children.
She said: “It’s the one thing that we completely agree on – the children’s needs come first.
“We don’t want them to be affected by anything.
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“Patrick’s diary is busy, as it always is, so he very much dips in and out of the home, because he’s working away a lot.
“The same as when I was his wife, I’m there to support the children when he goes out to work – that’s how it is.
“When he comes back, that’s when I’ll try to put some of my work in.
“It doesn’t affect the children, because they’re not moving anywhere.
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“They’re in one home, in their beds every night, and Mummy and Daddy come and go depending on our work schedules.”
And it seems as though the duo have no plans to change things anytime soon, as she added: “All I’ve known since I was 19 is to be with Patrick.
“And because we still live together, I don’t really feel ‘single’.
“If – or when – we do go in separate houses, perhaps that’ll change.
"But I don’t know when that’s going to be, so at the moment everything still feels the same.
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“We co-parent, we share a home and we will share our children forever.”
Topics: Paddy McGuinness, Celebrity, Sex and Relationships
Claire Reid