Paddy McGuinness lavished affection on his ex-wife Christine following the broadcast of her moving BBC autism documentary.
The 34-year-old mother of three spoke out about her background in the incisive feature-length Christine McGuinness: Unmasking My Autism, in which she explores the connection between her illness, her childhood eating disorder, adolescent sexual assault, and her marriage to the 49-year-old Top Gear host.
The couple, who had three autistic children together, divorced last summer after 15 years of marriage.
Christine expresses her fear as a ‘very vulnerable’ single mom at one point in the documentary, eventually opening up about her traumatic experiences with sexual assault.
The former Take Me Out host, 49, posted an Instagram photo of his grinning ex-wife and complimented her fortitude.
‘Very proud of Christine for making this new documentary highlighting Autism, particularly in women,’ he penned.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cp0sHR0rQFF
‘It’ll be a massive help to our daughters in years to come along with our little lad.’
Christine’s The Games co-star and good friend Chelcee Grimes also shared a picture of her via Instagram stories and captioned it: ‘Congratulations Chris.’
Christine, a model, has been with her ex-husband since she was 19 years old and has three children with him: twins Penelope and Leo, nine, and Felicity, six, all of whom have autism.
Christine said that her concerns about seeing someone new stemmed from the fact that she ‘doesn’t like change,’ and that seeing someone else would be frightening for her.
The reality star told The Times: ‘I’ve had this man in my life for 15 years.
‘I can’t imagine being with anybody else. I don’t know what it’s like to date; I can’t remember what it’s like to be single.
‘I am going into a new chapter on my own, which is petrifying for someone who doesn’t like change.
‘I’m proud that I have made a decision and stuck to it – for once. That’s not easy for me to do.
‘But I always want to lead by example, to show my children that Mummy is independent and works’.
Christine McGuinness: Unmasking My Autism is available to watch on BBCiPlayer.