Christine McGuinness is probably best known for being the wife of Paddy, but before meeting the comedian 33-year-old Christine was a success in her own right.
Christine Martin, from Halewood, won several beauty pageants during her teenage years, after being noticed for her modelling prowess.
She featured in the Chester Model Girl competition in 2005 and was crowned Miss Commonwealth in 2007.
READ MORE: Christine and Paddy McGuinness never show their children's faces
But it was after winning the Miss Liverpool title in 2007 aged 18, that Christine's modelling career really took off.
Christine became a regular on the Liverpool modelling circuit, often appearing with people such as Abbey Clancy and it was during a fashion show for Cricket at the Liverpool Tennis Tournament that her life changed forever when she met her future husband.
Speaking to the ECHO about their meeting Christine said: “He was supposed to be watching the tennis, but I think he was really more interested in the fashion show,” she laughs. “We had a mutual friend there who introduced us but I can’t say I was starstruck – I’d never seen him on anything.
“I knew who Peter Kay was, obviously, and I’d heard of Max & Paddy, but I didn’t realise it was him. He made me laugh, though, he is quite a charmer and we just clicked.
“Neither of us was looking for anything serious at the time, so we just met up every now and again. It all started off quite casually but then he asked me to stay over at his house one night, and it went from one night to a weekend, then to a week and I just ended up not moving out.”
Paddy and Christine's romance blossomed and in 2009 he popped the question on Christmas Day.
She described his proposal as very romantic and said: “We always open our pressies at midnight because Patrick can’t wait. He says it’s because we’re so busy on Christmas morning, but it’s really because he’s just a big kid.
“So we were sitting in our pyjamas by the fire and I’d noticed during the day that he didn’t seem quite himself. I remember saying to him a couple of times ‘what’s wrong?’ but obviously I know now."
The pair wed in a lavish ceremony at Thornton Manor in Wirral in June 2011 after more than three years together.
Christine and Paddy McGuinness' children
After two years of happy marriage, the couple announced they were expecting twins and in 2013 the couple welcomed Leo and Penelope into the world.
And when the twins were 18 months old Christine decided to undergo a boob job and increase her bust size from a 32D to a 32E.
Following the twins' birth, Christine worked hard to regain her pre-pregnancy figure but said that having children had made her realise she was "too skinny" and through her Instagram account she posted the results of her workout regime.
Christine regularly posted snaps of her incredible frame onto the social media site and gained thousands of fans for her envy-inducing snaps.
Then in May 2016, Christine announced that she again expecting a baby and through her Instagram account charted her changing frame.
And in September Paddy and Christine welcomed their daughter Felicity Rose.
Following the birth, Christine was vocal about not rushing to lose her baby weight.
She said: "I have lost a lot of muscle tone, I have cellulite, loose skin and my body is nothing like it used to be. But I have 3 amazing children!. They're my absolute world, my happiness. The reason I love, live and laugh every day.
"I can't exercise for at least 6 weeks after my c-section but I'm not in any rush. Recovery is key. And I'm far too busy being madly in love with my babies"
Christine's autism diagnosis
Following the arrival of her three children, Christine has been a prominent campaigner for autism awareness, as Felicity, Leo and Penelope have all been diagnosed with the condition.
But in November 2021, Christine revealed she also has autism.
In an extract from her book, Christine McGuinness: A Beautiful Nightmare, she said: "I have been confirmed as autistic. It’s strange, but I’ve noticed there are little hints throughout my life that I’m autistic and more like my children than I ever could have imagined.
"My issues with food, my social struggles, how hard I find it to make friends and stay focused, and my indecisiveness. The way I float through life reminds me of how my eldest daughter Penelope is."
In her book, Christine also opened up about her struggles with food aversion and being branded a "picky eater".
In an exclusive interview with the ECHO, Christine said her mum took her to see the doctor not long after she started modelling.
Christine said: "I was really thin and underweight.
"I struggled in social situations, and there were a lot of foods I just couldn't eat.
"I didn't feel I was able to sit in the school canteen with everyone, and the food was typical school dinner food, which I just don't like."
Christine said she believes the doctor gave her a diagnosis too quickly.
She continued: "He told me I was anorexic, and I believed that.
"But actually since I have been given my autism diagnosis, I know now it wasn't anorexia at all."
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