‘My whole life has been a beautiful nightmare'

Christine McGuinness opens up to new about her tell-all autobiography and her own recent autism diagnosis

- GEMMA MCCARTNEY

Christine McGuinness burst onto our TV screens in The Real Housewives Of Cheshire back in 2018, when she was mainly known for being married to one of the country’s top TV presenters, Paddy McGuinness.

But we all know that behind every great man is a great woman, and this one is keen to tell her life story – the glamorous mum-of-three has penned her own autobiography, A Beautiful Nightmare. The memoir is a fascinating and sometimes heartbreaking read, as the 33-year-old tells of her traumatic childhood, battle with anorexia and subsequent problems to conceive children.

One of the most surprising moments in the book is when Christine – who shares eight-year-old twins Penelope and Leo, and Felicity, five, with her husband Paddy, 48 – confirms she too has been diagnosed with autism, like all three of her kids.

“I feel like a swan on the outside, with this quite calm exterior, just swanning about, but then their feet are always flapping under the water, which is kind of how I feel on the inside,” she tells us.

Here, Christine, who has just revealed she will be appearing on the next series of Strictly The Real Full Monty, explains how her autism affects her, why she’s so appreciative of the family she has and feeling positive about her children’s future…

Hi Christine! What inspired you to write your autobiography?

Years ago I was at an awards event with my husband – it was one of our very rare nights out – and I was sat next to a producer and she asked me about my life.