Christine McGuinness opens up about being sexually abused as a child in an autism documentary

Model and TV personality Christine McGuinness has opened up about the sexual abuse she suffered as a child in her new documentary. Unmasking of My autism.

For the show, which will air on BBC One on Wednesday March 15, McGuinness spoke to specialists who told her many women with autism have experienced domestic or sexual violence in relationships.

“I experienced that and didn’t speak out, and I wonder if I never said it because I was autistic,” said McGuinness, who was diagnosed with the condition in 2021. “Was it me? Would a neurotypical woman have said anything? Is it my fault? How did I find myself there? All those questions.

“I experienced that when I was a teenager and then when I met my husband [Take Me Out presenter Paddy McGuinness]that was a time when i felt very secure and i wonder why i stayed in this relationship for 15 years.”

Christine, who announced her split from Paddy last summer, was asked if her autism diagnosis made her feel better about leaving him.

“Yes,” she said, “because I know I stayed in a place that I was probably unhappy in because it was safe and I don’t like change and eventually I wanted to keep my family together.”

The couple have three children together, all of whom have autism. They made a documentary about the experience of raising autistic children in 2021.

“My relationships before Patrick weren’t very good,” Christine said in the new documentary.

“I would say these were all pretty bad experiences. I do not know how to say it. Before Patrick, I was sexually abused. i was raped I used to pray and it’s sad now when I think about it, I prayed every night that I wouldn’t wake up in the morning. I just didn’t want to live just because it was so awful. It was just awful.”

In her 2021 book a beautiful nightmare Christine wrote about being raped by a classmate when she was 13 at a house party.

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She also claimed to have been sexually abused by an adult close to her family between the ages of nine and 13, who would make her watch violent and sexual videos.

If you are a child and need help because something has happened to you, you can call the NSPCC toll free on 0800 1111. If you are an adult and concerned about a child, you can also call the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers adult support on 0808 801 0331