SHE may be set to heat up Celebs Go Dating by being the first famous contestant to date women and men on the show, but the real reason Christine McGuinness signed up for E4 show is not to find romance.
Insiders close to the stunning mum-of-three have revealed there’s actually a heartbreaking factor behind her decision to put herself out there on the dating show.
It turns out she needs the money after her cripplingly expensive divorce from husband Paddy McGuinness, with whom she shares three kids, twins Leo and Penelope, 11, and Felicity, nine.
A friend of Christine’s tells The Sun: “The biggest driving force behind Christine making the decision to do the show was because her divorce has cost her a fortune and she needs to recoup that cash back.
“Ordinarily, Christine wouldn’t feel that comfortable dating on a TV show, especially as she is still in the early stages of exploring her attraction to women as well as men, but this payday was something she couldn’t turn down.
“It’s a decent chunk of cash that has come along just at the right time after she has had to shell out thousands on very pricey solicitors.
“Of course, it she finds love on the show, or it leads to further work opportunities, that’s all an added bonus, but it’s not why she signed her contract with Channel 4.
“Like everyone says, when it comes to divorces, the only people who win are the lawyers who rake it in and that’s certainly the case here.
"Both Paddy and Christine have been hammered by a very long, dragged-out process, but whereas Paddy has always had a big income from all of his TV work, Christine earns a fraction of what he does so it hit her harder.”
Christine was reported to have landed a £40,000 fee for Celebs Go Dating, although The Sun understands the figure is closer to £50,000.
While The Sun has approached a rep for Christine for comment, another pal adds: “The money is just the windfall Christine needs to help her remain financially independent.
"At the end of the day, she is now a single woman co-parenting three kids, so she needs to have her own income streams.
"She has other businesses too, like her fitness apparel and a jewellery line she is working on but nothing pays as well as TV. This is great money for just a few weeks’ work.”
Christine hired ‘pitbull’ lawyer Catherine Bedford to represent her in the divorce and the high-profile legal eagle has represented the likes of Sophie Turner in her split from Joe Jonas, and Lisa Armstrong in her divorce from Ant McPartlin.
She is believed to charge in excess of £500 an hour.
Earlier this month. Christine revealed the divorce, which was only finalised late last year - two and a half years after the couple split - cost her £300,000 - which she paid for out of her own pocket.
“I paid for my own divorce,” she told The Shizzio Show podcast. “I think people assume the man pays for your lawyers or whoever earns more will pay for your legal fees. People assume when you’re going through a divorce with someone who earns a hell of a lot of money, your legal fees will be covered. The costs will be covered. But it doesn’t work like that.”
She also went on to say that she “didn’t even have £300,000 spare to spend on divorce”, adding that she is “still paying for it”.
However, other sources with knowledge of the messy split claim these figures may have been inflated.
They told The Sun: “The amount she’s spent on lawyers is actually closer to the £70,000 mark. It would only have skyrocketed to near the figures she’s thrown out there if their case had gone the full way in court, but it didn’t.”
From falling in love, to cheating allegations and living together after split and divorce - here we take a look at their relationship over the years.
2011 Paddy and Christine get married after dating for two years
2013: They welcome their twins Leo and Penelope in July
2016: Christine gives birth to their third child Felicity Rose in September
2021: The pair raise awareness of their kids autism with their documentary Paddy and Christine McGuinness: Our Family and Autism
Dec 2021: Paddy reveals he's been diagnosed with clinical depression
July 2022: Christine goes on a solo holiday without Paddy
July 2022: Christine and Paddy's marriage is rocked after claims he cheated on her with a TV star
July 2022: They announce they've split on social media with official statements
Aug 2022: Christine ditches her wedding ring after split
Oct 2022: Paddy is spotted without his wedding ring for the first time
Dec 2022: Christine sought support from close friend Chelcee Grimes in the wake of her split
March 2023: Christine reveals real reason she stayed in 'unhappy' marriage
July 2024: Christine and Paddy get officially divorced
11 March 2023: Christine reveals she and Paddy are still living together
Nov 2024: Christine told The Sun she has a very 'busy dating diary' as she starts dating again
March 2025: Christine revealed Paddy is now dating again and reveals she spent £300,000 on divorce
April 2025: They are in the process of trying to sell their £6.5m mansion
Another insider has countered the claim that Christine was exaggerating.
“Christine is a straight shooter and it’s true that the divorce has cost her an insane amount that she just didn’t have, so now she has to try and earn that back. She’s always said she didn’t ask for half of Paddy’s money, and also a lot of their finances are tied up in their property, which still hasn’t sold.”
Indeed, the family home - which Paddy and Christine have continued to live in together to ensure a stable environment for their kids - has been an issue in the pair’s separation.
The property, which went on sale last month for £6.5million, was purchased for £2.1m back in 2020.
“Christine is expecting the sale to be dragged out because of the listing price,” a source tells us. “Initially she never wanted to leave the family home but now the divorce is done and they are selling it, she just wants to move on and start fresh but she can’t do that fully until the house is sold.
“In the meantime, there are worse ways to earn money than being paid to go on dates with gorgeous men and women.”
As The Sun revealed last week, Christine is open to dating both sexes on Celebs Go Dating - and will be flying out to Ibiza after being matched with a gorgeous girl she clicked with at the first mixer which was filmed recently.
And, according to recent reports, friends of Christine believe Paddy won’t be thrilled to see her on same-sex dates on TV because it will be a blow to his ego.
But we’re told Christine isn’t doing this to get a rise from her ex, she’s simply exploring life.
“Life’s handed Christine some tough blows in recent years but she’s determined to become a stronger woman because of it - she’s going to make her own money and she’s going to enjoy herself doing it.
“She’s past caring about what other people think. This is about building a future for herself and her kids, without having to rely on her ex’s income, while also pursuing her own happiness.”
