‘Homesick’ Paddy McGuinness breaks silence on breakup with Christine – admitting ‘life is hard when you’re out of touch’

‘Homesick’ Paddy McGuinness has broken his silence on his split from wife Christine, admitting ‘life is hard when you’re out of touch’.

The couple, who have three children together, confirmed their split in July last year.

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However, the couple are both dedicated to raising their children Felicity, 9, and twins Leo and Penelope, 7, who all have autism.

That means Paddy, 49, makes sure he’s never away from home for too long, no matter what TV show he’s filming.

“Always, even back then with Take Me Out, I’ve always had a kind of rule I stick to where I never do more than nine days anywhere because I just like being at home,” the lovable star told The Sun TV -Like. “I think you get homesick, of course.”

So you can imagine filming his latest Channel 4 show – reality challenge series Tempting Fortune, set in South Africa – would have been a hassle.

Luckily Paddy was able to stick to his rule despite the exotic location.

He said: “I did that in two different stints. So I went out for five days, came back and towards the end I went out for another I think four days.

“So it wasn’t that bad, really. I made longer. For example when I did Take Me Out you think a bit differently because you’re in the UK so it’s not that bad psychologically, but Take Me Out used to last a week.

“Oddly enough, of all the shows I’ve done, Take Me Out is the show that has kept me away from home the longest. More than Top Gear, more than A Question Of Sport, more than anything I’ve done.”

He continued: “If I have to work away, I have a phone. If you work a job where you might be away a few days a week or whatever it is, it’s a small world these days because you have zoom and phones and whatsapps and everything else so you still have not feel like being away as such.

“But if you’re in the position, these guys [the contestants on Tempting Fortune] are in where you literally have no contact with your family, then the chips are really down.”

In Tempting Fortune – which continues this week with episodes two and three – the 12 contestants must resist the lure of all the treats on offer as they embark on an arduous 18-day trek through the South African wilderness.

As the show’s well-known host, we imagine Paddy was treated to a little more luxury?

He replied with a laugh: “I have to be honest, I thought that was the deal – until I got there!

“Channel 4 lured me in with that. So when we got to where we were filming, I was like, ‘Where’s the spa?!’ I remember the first night I lay in my bed and I could hear this scratching and tearing and tearing – something was alive in my bed! up because it might be poisonous.’

“So I brought the team in and they literally ripped apart the divan on the bed and it was a family of geckos living there. They took them out but the geckos came back every night and they just ended up going wild – I’ve slept with this family of geckos in my bed while I was sleeping and I was like, ‘This is just crazy!’

“So it was interesting, but on the other hand we were so far out that you were walking down like a little dirt road and a giraffe would just walk past you.

“I saw some stuff and I was like, ‘My God, people pay tens of thousands of pounds on safaris to see this and it’s kind of there every morning.’

“There was a small beach nearby and just wild horses galloping up and down the beach, it was amazing to see.”

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Tempting Fortune continues on Sunday April 2nd at 9pm on Channel 4 and is also available on All4. TV Mag is available for free every Saturday, only on The Sun.