Proud Paddy McGuinness paid tribute to his ex wife Christine as her documentary about autism aired last night.
The BBC show put the spotlight on Christine's journey to finding out more about herself and her life up until this point after her recent autism diagnosis.
In the documentary, the former model was opening up about her split from the comedy star after they were married for 11 years, and the impact the discovery she was autistic has had on all their lives.
Christine, 34, also spoke about how she was raped before she met Paddy and used to "pray every night that I wouldn't wake up in the morning" after suffering sexual abuse from the age of nine.
Christine received her diagnosis while making a documentary with Paddy about living with their three children, Penelope and Leo, nine, and Felicity, six who also have autism.
And as last night's show Christine McGuinness: Unmasking my Autism hit screens, Paddy, 49, said: "Very proud of Christine for making this new documentary highlighting Autism, particularly in women.
"It’ll be a massive help to our daughters in years to come along with our little lad. #unmaskingmyautism #awareness #acceptence."
Christine also spoke about her split from the Top Gear host, saying she stayed with her husband because she doesn't like change and didn't want her family to "fall apart".
Reflecting on what she discovered in her documentary about autism, she said: "I felt like I said in the film I didn’t want my family to ever fall apart. And that’s why I stayed married.
"As an autistic woman, I like to stay where I am comfortable. I like things to stay the same. And so that’s something I suppose I chose to do... But sometimes change has to happen."
Paddy and Christine announced they had split in July but still co-parent together at their Cheshire home, with her admitting last night on the show that she's not able to to think about moving into separate homes yet or moving on.
Speaking to Women's Own about the unusual living situation, Christine said: "The children don’t know any different and they’re growing up in a happy and loving home – I just want it to continue like that.
"We don’t know what the future holds but right now it works."
She also admitted: "The thought of eventually co-parenting in separate houses is something I’m going to really struggle with."
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