Christine McGuinness reveals she's been diagnosed with autism at 33 – just like her three children

November 14, 2021

Christine McGuinness reveals she's been diagnosed with autism – just like her three children

The 33-year-old broke down in tears as she was told in August she's high on the spectrum.

In the Mirror's extract from her new 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.

"It all makes sense now. And as much as I’m not totally surprised, it’s still been emotional for me to accept, but it’s a relief as well.

"It was a lot to take in and once my appointment was over, I broke down in floods of tears. I think it’s because the news conjured up a mixture of emotions and while I’m not totally shocked and it’s a relief, I’m just really sad for my younger self."

The model and wife of TV presenter Paddy McGuinness has revealed herhorrifying childhood rape, abuse and anorexia trauma in her new tell-all book.

Christine, 33, opens up in her new book, A Beautiful Nightmare, about how she was raped by a school boy and sexually abuse by a family friend.

She also tells about developing an eating disorder and relying on alcohol to cope with the trauma.

The mum-of-three – who stars in reality show The Real Housewives of Cheshire – has given fans an insight into her life "before she took her husband's name".

Yet she also reveals how Top Gear presenter Paddy, 48 – who she knows as Patrick – helped her get to a stage in life where she could not be "knocked back down".

The book tells of how Christine was raised on a council estate by mum Joanne and dad Johnny in Merseyside, where she also lived with sister Billie-Jo, 34.

She explains that "times were so hard" for the family that they struggled to "have the heating on and put food on the table" as party of a "difficult childhood".

"My childhood was a difficult one – no two ways about it," Christine sets the scene early in the novel, detailing how she had once attempted to steal.

"I had anorexia for years and if I'm honest, it can still be a problem now, but I'm getting better," the star adds of her issues with food that too went unnoticed.

Christine reveals she would tell her busy mum that she had eaten at school to avoid having any meals at home, while skipping food on both occasions.

She admits that she was "majorly anxious" about sitting in the dining hall, as "the fear of rejection was a massive thing" as she worried she didn't fit in.

Her social anxiety had been worsened after she was sexually abused between the ages nine and 13 by someone close to her family.

"He would take me to his house to watch disturbing videos," Christine says, recalling how she would be forced to watch "extreme violence".

"He'd take me to places like the beach and after playing in the sea he'd tell me he didn't have dry clothes. I would then have to travel home naked. Now I know that's because he was a paedophile".

Christine still has nightmares and was waking up "every hour or couple of hours" throughout her teens as she struggled to comprehend the abuse.