Paddy McGuinness is selling the marital home he shares with ex-wife Christine for £6.5million, can reveal.
The TV presenter, 51, put the sprawling seven-bedroom mansion on the market amid claims from sources close to Christine, 36, she is ‘miserable’ and ‘desperate to sell up’ rather than continuing to cohabit the house with Paddy and their three children.
Model Christine previously feared moving house would bring unwanted upheaval to the lives of Felicity, eight, and 11-year-old twins Leo and Penelope, as well as herself.
But the dynamic in their relationship has clearly changed in recent months sparking Paddy, who kept the Cheshire property as part of his divorce settlement finalised in October last year, to put the house up for sale.
The former Top Gear host is hoping to make a £4.4million profit after purchasing the home for £2.1million back in 2020.
He and Christine spent months renovating the property before moving in to cater for the needs of their young family.
A source said: ‘Paddy and Christine were content with living together in the house for the sake of their children.
‘They were getting on fine and didn’t feel the need to disrupt their kids’ lives.
‘But in recent months Christine has grown increasingly unhappy which has led to a change to heart.
‘They felt it was best for a new start, for all concerned, which triggered Paddy’s decision to sell up.’
The mansion features its own gym, a huge kids playroom containing soft play equipment, his and hers dressing rooms, an orangery and a kitchen diner.
Its seven bedrooms have six en suite bathrooms and the house has been described by estate agents handling the sale as ‘tailor made for hosting family and friends’.
In an interview with the Daily Mail’s Weekend Magazine earlier this month, Paddy discussed his living situation with Christine and intimated the pair would continue staying under the same roof.
He said: ‘Yeah, still the same. It doesn’t feel tricky. I think it would if you lived in a toxic household – God forbid.’
Asked how their unique living arrangement works, Paddy added: ‘If I’m at home with the kids it’s great.
‘If I’m working and Christine is at home with the kids, that’s great.
‘If we are there together, that’s fine. As long as my children are happy, that’s all that matters to me.’
Despite cohabiting, both Paddy and Christine have started dating again, according to the latter, but neither has gone public with a serious relationship.
However, last week sources told Christine was far from happy living with Paddy, who likes being ‘king of the castle’.
An insider said: ‘Christine is at the end of her tether and can’t carry on living with Paddy…She is desperate to sell the house, split the proceeds, and buy a smaller property where she can live happily with their three children.’
Speaking last year, Christine told how she was ‘petrified’ of living on her own following her split from Paddy, claiming would be worried about how she would cope if she and the Phoenix Night’s star lived separately.
Speaking to Kate Thornton’s Wine Wine Question Time podcast, she explained: ‘I still struggle with change and I’m just learning how to do things the best, what works for me and the children, and not what is expected.
‘Of course when you see a couple split or divorce, you expect them instantly to move out or go separate ways and start your own life and for us that was never going to work. It has to be slow.
‘I am absolutely petrified of the thought of living on my own one day with the children.
‘I want to get to the point where I’m excited about it and I’m not there yet. For now, it works because we’re not having to change the children’s routine.
‘So Patrick [Paddy] goes to work, then I got to work. And then I go to work and Patrick stays at home.
‘It does worry me when we do go in separate houses, how are we going to cope with that.
‘How are they [children] going to be staying at daddies [house] then at mummies [house]. That’s why we are not sure what is the best way to do that. But whilst we are okay we’ll stay here and then eventually figure it out.’
On the back of Christine’s worry, she revealed that she ‘barely left the house for eight years’ and became ‘extremely reclusive’.
She added: ‘I chose to stay at home and I took it to the extreme by becoming very, very reclusive. I barely left the house for about eight years, and I would only go to the supermarket around 1am, 2am in the morning when it was quiet.
‘I’d say no to anything because I was comfortable in my bubble at home. I wasn’t unhappy, but I think I was just existing. I don’t think I was fully living.’
Paddy and Christine announced their separation in July 2022 after a decade of marriage.
Christine confirmed they had split in an Instagram post – days after Paddy had been accused of kissing a fellow TV star behind her back.
In a joint statement the couple said they wanted to ‘clarify’ speculation about their private life.
It continued: ‘A while ago we took the difficult decision to separate but our main focus as always is to continue loving supporting our children.
‘This was not an easy decision to make but we are moving forward as the best parents we can be for our three beautiful children.
‘We’ll always be a loving family, we still have a great relationship and still live happily in our family home together.’