Paddy McGuinness says "we'll support each other through anything" on living with ex Christine

Paddy McGuinness has said he and ex Christine will 'support each other through anything' following their split. The couple are continuing to live together two years after their separation.

Despite their lawyers working on a divorce settlement, the couple have revealed this does not affect their family time together at home and that their three autistic children always come first.

Paddy said: "If Christine met someone else, I'd be supportive. If someone didn't know our situation and came to our house and they spent the day with us, they would not have a clue (we were not together)" in an interview with the Mirror.

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"We get on well, we live together and co-parent. We get the lawyers back and forth but that's separate - that's a different thing.

Discussing dating again, he added: "I tried a couple of dates last year After twelve months of adjusting to life on my own I felt I should give it a try rather than really wanting to. For now I'm happy being single." For now, we're happy with how things are, living together and helping each other balance work and kids."

The pair were married for eleven years before announcing the split in July 2022 and share 10-year-old twins Leo and Penelope and seven-year-old Felicity who are all autistic. The condition affects more than 1.2 million people in the UK.

Paddy and Christine who live in Cheshire, spoke movingly for the first time about their heartbreaking struggles to The Mirror in 2017, just after the twins' diagnosis at the age of four. Now almost six years on, it's amazing how far Leo and Penelope have come as their proud dad reveals the progress they have made.

"Leo and Penelope went from being nonverbal up until the age of about four or five to now at school getting the best marks in the class," said Paddy. "My son is the head boy. They come home and do their homework and then have fun playing like any other child. They are thriving.

"They'll always have things that they need a little bit of help and assistance with. And that's what we're there for as parents. But these days the kids come in, and they don't stop talking! I'm so proud of all my children."

The youngest Felicity, who was diagnosed at the age of three, is very creative. "She loves making cards. She's aware of birthdays and special days and occasions - On Valentine's Day this year, Felicity made me and Christine a beautiful card." There are a lot of hard yards, but those lovely things make everything better."

The couple shared their journey to understanding autism in their 2021 critically-acclaimed BBC1 documentary, Autism and Our Family. Paddy said: "It's not one size fits all. Every child with autism is different. (But) I wanted to do it for all the parents who may be struggling, especially single parents."

"I want to show we're all in it together, we all have these struggles, whether you're a fancy celebrity or you're working in a factory."

The making of the documentary led to an unexpected outcome - Christine received her own autism diagnosis at the age of 33.

She didn't let it hold her back, throwing herself into raising awareness and becoming a well-known TV face in her own right. She recently starred in the BBC's spiritual hiking show Pilgrimage, while Paddy held the fort at home.

"We're all about covering for each other with the kids." he said. "We never ask each other about our work. We don't sit together and have deep conversations about what we're doing. (But) we help each other balance work stuff. So I'll always support Christine professionally, and she'd be the same for me."

He added: "I think any parent will understand work becomes your break. When you're with the kids, when you go work, you'll have a little bit of breather from it. That's how we manage it, and it keeps everything fresh at home."

This year the Lancashire funnyman has several exciting projects - despite Paddy's other BBC show Top Gear being paused. His new Sunday morning BBC Radio 2 show was announced earlier this month.

"It's perfect." he said. "I'm doing it from Manchester so I get up with the kids, nip to town, do a two-hour show from 11am to 1pm. And I'm still at home in time for when roasties are coming out of the oven."