Christine McGuinness reflects on how being at home with husband Paddy has helped their children

Christine McGuinness has reflected on how being at home with husband Paddy has helped her three autistic children during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Speaking about her family life in an interview on Access All Areas on FUBAR Radio on Thursday, the model, 33, admitted she and the Top Gear host, 47, have ‘really seen how important it is’ to their kids to have both of them at home at the same time.

Christine and Paddy share twin son and daughter Leo and Penelope, seven, and Felicity, four, and they have all been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

‘We’ve really seen how important it is’: Christine McGuinness reflected on how being at home with husband Paddy has helped their three autistic children during the pandemic on Thursday

Speaking to TOWIE’s Bobby Norris and journalist Stephen Leng, she reflected: ‘It’s been different. We’ve never had this time together before, and it’s been lovely as a whole family. 

‘It’s been lovely for the five of us to be together and we’ve managed okay, we’ve kept busy. We were renovating the house throughout the whole pandemic.’

Christine went on: ‘We’ve tried to make the most of it. And we just want to try and keep some kind of balance moving forward. 

‘Obviously, he does have to go back to work, he has gone back to work and I will do. I’ll do bits as the children settle back into school. But we’re just trying to get the balance right and trying to, you know it’s difficult. 

Candid: Reflecting on how they have spent more time together, she said: 'We've tried to make the most of it. And we just want to try and keep some kind of balance moving forward'

Candid: Reflecting on how they have spent more time together, she said: ‘We’ve tried to make the most of it. And we just want to try and keep some kind of balance moving forward’

Family: Christine and Paddy share twin son and daughter Leo and Penelope, seven, and Felicity, four, and they have all been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)

Family: Christine and Paddy share twin son and daughter Leo and Penelope, seven, and Felicity, four, and they have all been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)

‘It must be hard, you know, whatever way you do it, whether you’re a stay-at-home mum or you’re a full-time working mum, it’s difficult.

‘But I think family time together is something that we’ve really seen how important that is and we want to continue that as much as we can.’

The TV personality went on to say she and her husband have ‘really enjoyed and embraced’ spending so much more time with their children.

‘I think we’ve learned quite a lot from that,’ Christine said. ‘You know, that family time is so important. We should make more of an effort to make sure that we’re both home together at the same time. 

Doting: Christine said she and her husband (pictured in 2018) have 'really enjoyed' spending so much more time at home, and said they plan to have a better work/life balance in the future

Doting: Christine said she and her husband (pictured in 2018) have ‘really enjoyed’ spending so much more time at home, and said they plan to have a better work/life balance in the future

‘Because we don’t have childcare and our children have got additional needs, we can’t just leave them with any babysitter or a family member or whatever.

‘You know, one of us, the parent, needs to be here. So we did always tend to separate our time and go out separately, which meant that usually only one of us was at home.

‘But something that we’ve learnt over the lockdown is that we really want to try and make sure that the two of us are here together more if we can. 

‘Yeah, that’s what we’re taking from it. We just want to continue the positives that we’ve found in the pandemic.’ 

The McGuinness children stayed at home during the first lockdown. However, like others with an Education and Health Care (EHC) Plan, they were allowed to keep going to school, and in Felicity’s case, nursery, during the most recent lockdown, after Christmas. 

Penelope and Leo —– who were assessed for autism after displaying classic signs, including walking on tip-toes and being late to talk — were diagnosed with autism aged three and a half.

Felicity was diagnosed with autism in February last year when she was three, just before the first lockdown.

Those with autism, which affects around one in 57 or 1.76 per cent of children in England, often experience anxiety in unfamiliar situations, struggle to understand how other people think and feel, take longer to understand information and can be overwhelmed by bright lights or loud noises. 

Plans: Christine explained, 'Something that we’ve learnt over the lockdown is that we really want to try and make sure that the two of us are here together more if we can'

Plans: Christine explained, ‘Something that we’ve learnt over the lockdown is that we really want to try and make sure that the two of us are here together more if we can’