Christine McGuinness has revealed that holidays with her three autistic children have been ‘tense’ as she worries about them so much.
The model, 33, and TV presenter husband Paddy, 48, share three autistic children – twins Leo and Penelope, eight, as well as youngest child Felicity, six.
But she has now told how she wishes she could get to ‘the point where she can relax and enjoy’ time away as a family.
Candid: Christine McGuinness has revealed that holidays with her three autistic children have been ‘tense’ as she worries about them so much (pictured with husband Paddy)
She said on the couple’s Table Talk podcast: ‘We started off with a little holiday in Preston, and then gradually we got to Spain.
‘I want to get to the point where I relax and enjoy it. I don’t think I’ve done that. I’ve been tense.’
During the candid chat, the pair also advised other parents looking to go on holiday with disabled children to do so ‘gradually.’
Doting mum: The model, 33, and TV presenter Paddy, 48, share three autistic children – twins Leo and Penelope, eight, as well as youngest child Felicity, six (pictured at the airport)
Further sharing advice, Paddy commented: ‘Over-pack just in case. It’s just worth it for your own peace of mind.’
It comes after earlier this week Paddy admitted he fell into a ‘depressive state’ due to a lack of sleep caused by his twins, Leo and Penelope, which he said ‘really affected’ him and his wife Christine.
The TV star made the confession while giving an insight into being a father to children with autism, during an exclusive interview alongside his partner, 33, with MailOnline.
Their eight-year-olds, along with daughter Felicity, five, were diagnosed with the developmental disability before the model realised she was affected too last year.
Honest: But she has now told how she wishes she could get to ‘the point where she can relax and enjoy’ time away as a family
He began: ‘When I think back to the twins – Leo and Penelope, up to kind of being 4 or 5-years-old – the lack of sleep that me and Christine had really affected us.
‘I think that’s when I first started going into that kind of depressive state. I felt like I was permanently jetlagged.’
The Real Housewives Of Cheshire star went on to reveal she feels ‘inspired’ by her little ones due to their authenticity and attitude of not caring what others think.
She said: ‘When I’ve taken our children out and about – they’re completely not interested in what anyone thinks of them.
‘If they want to have a meltdown, or if they have sensory overload, they just carry on being them, and in some ways I find it kind of inspirational. They don’t care.’
In December last year, the BBC aired a documentary featuring the McGuinness clan called Our Family and Autism, Paddy and Christine.
During the show, the couple spoke to autistic children about their experiences and consulted with development experts about their brood.
They also dispelled the dangerous myths surrounding links with autism and vaccines with leading scientists, before the show followed Christine on her own journey to discovering she too is autistic.
Struggle: During the candid chat, the pair also advised other parents looking to go on holiday with disabled children to do so ‘gradually’
Elsewhere in the show, Paddy went to a secondary school to speak to two children, Jack and Maggie, about their experience of higher education, after worrying about his own children making the transition.
Paddy was then helped by speaking to former footballer Paul Scholes, whose 16-year-old son is non-verbal and autistic.
He said: ‘The biggest thing that he said that really resonated, is about not caring what people think. I don’t care what people think either but obviously I do, because I get het up.
‘If anybody mentioned the word autism to me I would say “I don’t want to speak about it, I don’t want to think about it.” Now I’m finally talking about autism, I just wish I hadn’t spent so much time trapped by the fear of it all.’
Insight: In December last year, the BBC aired a documentary featuring the McGuinness clan called Our Family and Autism, Paddy and Christine
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk