Christine McGuinness has revealed her Question Of Sport star husband Paddy called her an ambulance ‘a few times’ when she was struggling with an eating disorder during lockdown.
In excerpts obtained by The Mirror from her upcoming autobiography, A Beautiful Nightmare, Christine, 33, who developed anorexia at the age of eight, shared: ‘I had anorexia for years and if I’m honest, it still can be a problem now, but I’m getting better.’
She added: ‘Patrick called an ambulance a few times. Even during lockdown, I fainted and had to explain to the paramedics I hadn’t eaten for a while.’
Scary: Christine McGuinness has revealed her husband Paddy called her an ambulance ‘a few times’ when she was struggling with an eating disorder during lockdown
Model Christine said she experienced a ‘real wake up call’ after collapsing in front of her and 48-year-old Paddy’s eight-year-old twins, Penelope and Leo.
She confessed: ‘It’s something I’ll never forgive myself for. I don’t know how long I was out, probably minutes. It upsets me thinking about it, and I’m ashamed. I’ve got to make sure I stay healthy for the kids.’
Christine – who also has daughter Felicity, five, with Paddy – explained she developed anorexia as a child due to being ‘fussy with food’.
The doting mother recalled feeling social anxiety when entering her school’s dining hall as a child and did not ‘know where to sit or who with’.
Struggles: Christine, who developed anorexia aged eight, revealed: ‘Patrick called an ambulance a few times. I fainted and had to explain to the paramedics I hadn’t eaten for a while’
Wake up call: Model Christine said she experienced a ‘real wake up call’ after collapsing in front of her and 48-year-old Paddy’s eight-year-old twins, Penelope and Leo (pictured in July)
Christine’s eating disorder was diagnosed when she was 14 after not having ever had her first period.
She credits Paddy – or Patrick as Christine calls him – for helping her ‘eat more normally’ and ‘gently’ trying to ‘change her eating habits’ after they moved in together.
Christine was later diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome and was required to put on weight in order to fall pregnant.
Christine – who was born in Blackpool and grew up on a council estate in Merseyside – also talked about her childhood.
She shared that her mother Joanne was a cleaner and ‘juggled’ cleaning jobs so that the family could afford central heating and food on the table.
Supportive: She credits Paddy for helping her ‘eat more normally’ and ‘gently’ trying to ‘change her eating habits’ after they moved in together
Christine also recalled an incident when she was caught shoplifting shoes from Asda as a youngster.
After being held in a ‘back room’ by police, Christine’s mum arrived and explained she could not afford to buy her daughter new shoes.
Noticing Christine’s ‘battered loafers’, police allowed her to keep the shoes she had stolen.
By the time Christine reached secondary school, she was using alcohol as a ‘crutch’.
Weight gain: Christine was diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome and was required to put on weight in order to fall pregnant
Elsewhere, Christine claimed she was raped at a house party aged 13, and subsequently ‘blamed’ herself because she had been under the influence of alcohol.
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The model said she lost her virginity when one of her classmates reportedly climbed into a bed she had been sleeping in and forced himself upon her.
She claimed that members of staff at her school gave her ‘very little sympathy’ and tried to convince her that she had ‘got it wrong’.
Awful: Christine claimed she was once raped at a house party aged 13, and subsequently ‘blamed’ herself because she had been under the influence of alcohol (pictured in 2020)
Detailing how she was abused, she wrote: ‘I remember saying ‘no’ and I tried to push him off, but I was so drunk I couldn’t physically move him.
‘After that I blamed myself massively. I know as an adult it wasn’t my fault, but I still think if I wasn’t drunk it wouldn’t have happened. But I’m OK, thank God.’
The TV personality went on to claim she was sexually abused by ‘someone close to her family’ between the ages of nine and 13 who made her watch videos ‘with sexual stuff in it’ as well as ‘tapes of people being murdered’.
Vile: The model said she lost her virginity when one of her classmates reportedly climbed into a bed she had been sleeping in and forced himself upon her (pictured in 2021)
She penned: ‘He’d also take me on days out to places like the beach, and after playing in the sea he would tell me he didn’t have any dry clothes. I would then have to travel home naked.’
Paddy McGuiness’ wife went on to write that she had heard the man – who was ‘loved’ by everyone – later went to prison for abusing a child.
It followed an investigation surrounding claims of paedophilia where he wasn’t prosecuted for his crimes, she said.
A survey by UN Women UK recently revealed that 80% of women of all ages in Britain have been sexually harassed.
For confidential support call Rape Crisis England & Wales on 0808 802 9999 or visit rapecrisis.org.uk/get-help for more details.
A Beautiful Nightmare by Christine McGuinness will be released to the public on November 25.
Moving on: ‘I know as an adult it wasn’t my fault, but I still think if I wasn’t drunk it wouldn’t have happened. But I’m OK, thank God’
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