Christine McGuinness has candidly revealed the incredible amount of money she has spent on her divorce from ex-husband Paddy following their split.
The pair split in 2022 after 11 years of marriage but remain living together in their £6million 12-bedroom mansion for the sake of their three children who have autism.
Despite their amicable living situation, Christine revealed that their divorce was tough and they both hired ‘expensive lawyers’ which cost them a fortune.
The mother of three, 37, revealed that their separation personally cost her £300,000, which she says she had to pay ‘out of her own money’.
Hitting back at any speculation that her ‘high earning’ ex paid for her lawyers, she revealed that she had to find the cash to fund her divorce.
Speaking on The Shizzio Show podcast, Christine revealed: ‘I paid for my own divorce, I think people assume that the man pays for your lawyers or whoever earns more will pay for your legal fees.
Christine McGuinness has candidly revealed the incredible amount of money she has spent on her divorce from ex-husband Paddy following their split
The pair split in 2022 after 11 years of marriage but remain living together in their £6million 12-bedroom mansion for the sake of their three children who have autism (pictured Paddy 2025)
The mother of three, 37, revealed that their separation personally cost her £300,000, which she says she had to pay ‘out of her own money'(pictured together in 2021)
Shizzio quipped back: ‘He’s not going to pay for your legal fees to attack him is he?’
Christine explained: ‘I think people assume when you’re going through a divorce with someone who earns a hell of a lot of money, your legal fees will be covered. The costs will be covered. But it doesn’t work like that.’
The podcaster then said he wanted to play devil’s advocate and asked what she thought about people’s opinion that she ‘wouldn’t be entitled to half, because he made the money’.
Christine clarified: ‘I didn’t get half, I didn’t ask for half’.
She went on to explain that if they could do it over again, things would be different, explaining: ‘I think if now we could sit down and do it again we’d do it completely differently. Because we’ve spent a hell of a lot of money on divorce lawyers.’
When asked how much, she said: ‘Me personally, £300,000. Out of my own money. That I didn’t even have.’
‘We got expensive lawyers. I probably wouldn’t have gone down that route. I probably would have got someone to represent me that was equal to who was representing him.
‘I didn’t have £300,000 spare to spend on divorce. I’m still paying for it.’
Despite their amicable living situation, Christine revealed that their divorce was tough and they both hired ‘expensive lawyers’ which cost them a fortune
Christine went on to detail their currently living situation, which involves sharing their sprawling mansion with their three children, who all have autism.
She explained: ‘We both own the property, nobody won it. There was no win. Nobody wins in divorce anyway. Neither of us fought for it.
‘Percentage would be 50 per cent if we were to sell it. But we’ve both chosen to live in it. It’s what we think is best for the kids, for now. Not forever, because they struggle with change. They’ve never even had a sleepover in anyone else’s house.
‘So for them to go from mummy’s house to daddy’s house with no set routine because we both work all over the place, it wouldn’t be fair on them.
‘So they know where their home is and where their bedrooms are and all their things, so it doesn’t matter what day of the week it is. They come home from school and they know where they are going.’
Elsewhere in the interview, Christine opened up about the ‘unforgivable’ reason she split from her former husband.
She revealed that it was a ‘difficult time’ for her to decide to divorce TV presenter Paddy, 51, but there was ‘no repairing’ the relationship.
She said: ‘I’ve never spoken about the reasons for our divorce, and I don’t know if I ever will.
Christine McGuinness has opened up on Monday about the ‘unforgivable’ reason she split from ex-husband Paddy McGuinness
The pair split in 2022 after 11 years of marriage but remained living together in their £6million 12-bedroom mansion for the sake of their three children who have autism
‘It was a difficult time. It wasn’t something that, you know, I just decided to do overnight, or that we chose to do.
‘We tried, and, yeah, there just, unfortunately, there was no repairing it, you know?
‘I’ll always, always love him as the father of the children, and I still live at home with him, which says a lot.
‘We separated three years ago, and we are completely divorced, and we live in separate parts of the house, but we share a family home.’
Christine went onto reveal that Paddy has started dating again and they have one strict rule at the £6m mansion they share.
She continued: ‘I feel like it’s ok for me to date, I want to have a relationship again one day.’
Asked about Paddy, Christine replied: ‘He’s dated, he’s dating, and he’s always been open and honest.’
But she revealed they do have a rule, he’s not allowed to bring women back to their family home.
She said: ‘I’ve never spoken about the reasons for our divorce, and I don’t know if I ever will. It was a difficult time. It wasn’t something I just decided to do overnight, or that we chose to do. We tried, and unfortunately, there was no repairing it’
Christine went onto reveal that Paddy has started dating again and they have one strict rule at the £6m mansion that he’s not allowed to bring women back to their family home
It comes as Christine reportedly signed up to appear on Celebs Go Dating amid her split from husband Paddy
It comes as Christine reportedly signed up to appear on Celebs Go Dating amid her split from husband Paddy.
However, amid reports that Christine is desperate for a fresh start following their divorce, it appears that she’s keen to prove that she’s well and truly moved on from the presenter with an appearance on the huge dating show.
And the model’s rumoured quest for love will see her head abroad as the E4 show heads to the Spanish island of Ibiza for the time.
A source told The Sun: ‘Show bosses are delighted to have snapped up Christine, they think she’ll be great on-screen and appeal to lots of other women in their thirties dating after getting a divorce.
‘Fans will see a new side to Christine too as she opens up about her personal life and films coaching sessions with the show’s dating experts.
‘Christine has been open on social media about how she found spirituality and healing in Ibiza, so she’s thrilled to be working over there.’
MailOnline have contacted representatives of Christine and Celebs Go Dating for comment.
Filming for the popular show is set to begin in May, with the series hitting screens later this year.
