Paddy McGuinness has broken his silence following the announcement of his separation from wife Christine McGuinness. Rumours about the split have been swirling in the days since, but Paddy appeared chipper on Instagram.
The pair released a joint statement confirming their breakup last Friday, revealing they separated "some time ago" and said they'd make no further comment. True to his word, Paddy, 48, continued to keep mum about the split.
He told fans on the social media platform about filming another episode of Top Gear. Showing the boot of a car filled with sweets and chocolate, he said: "Back on Top Gear and we take our snacking very seriously."
Explaining which of the treats belonged to his co-hosts Chris Harris and Freddie Flintoff, the father-of-three zoomed in on the sweets, saying: "This is Harris', he likes his peppermint Aeros. Ooh white Snickers - them's Fred's and a big box of biscuits - they're mine."
Although Paddy remained tight-lipped during speculation that his marriage with Christine, 34, was on the rocks, The Games star was more vocal. The mum-of-three admitted they were going through a "very difficult time" adding that it "wasn't her who put them in this position".
The beauty also told Carol Vorderman on the Lorraine Show that: "Marriages go through ups and downs anyway. Especially long ones like ours. It's not always going to be plain sailing but we're trying to deal with things as privately as possible."
However, behind the scenes the couple had made the decision to split "a while ago".
Taking to Instagram to confirm the news, they said: "We hadn't planned on sharing this publicly until we were ready but the lack of privacy surrounding our personal life, we feel left with no other option but to clarify.
"A while ago we took the difficult decision to separate but our main focus was as always is to continue loving and supporting our children. This was not an easy decision to make but we're moving forward as the best parents we can be for our three beautiful children. We'll always be a loving family, we still have a great relationship and still live happily in our family home together."
The pair married in June 2011 following a four-year courtship, with Paddy's pal Peter Kay taking on best man duties.
Paddy and Christine are parents to three children together - twins Leo and Penelope, eight, and daughter Felicity, five - all of whom have been diagnosed with autism.
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