Christine McGuinness addresses her sexuality: ‘It shouldn’t matter somebody’s gender’
McGuinness reveals she dated fluidly in her youth, saying: "I’d done that as a teenager: dated both men and women"
By Gary Grimes
The Real Housewives of Cheshire star Christine McGuinness has given a new interview in which she addresses her sexuality for the first time.
In an appearance on the How To Fail podcast, McGuinness spoke with host Elizabeth Day about dating women since splitting from her ex-husband, comedian and TV host Paddy McGuinness in 2022.
The reality television star explained to Day that she had previously avoided discussing her sexuality publicly as she couldn’t understand why it seemed to be a big deal that she was open to dating both men and women.
“It shouldn’t matter somebody’s gender. It never mattered to me, which was why once me and my ex-husband were separated and I met people, I didn’t properly date. It was more like blurred lines of friendships for me, that was normal.
“It felt comfortable because I’d done that as a teenager: dated both men and women. My ex-husband knew. My family knew. It was never a secret for me.”
“It was made such a big fuss of in the press, I almost went back into myself” – Christine McGuinness
McGuinness revealed that despite dating fluidly when she was younger, scrutiny of her sexuality post-marriage made her retreat into herself somewhat.
“When I was single again… it was made such a big fuss of in the press, I almost went back into myself,” she said. “I went extremely quiet from feeling quite comfortable and happy and free,” McGuinness continued.
“I almost was going backwards and I could feel myself shrinking and staying quieter because of the noise around it, it almost made me feel I must be doing something wrong because why would it be front page news? Why is it on every cover of every magazine if I’m seen with a woman?”
The star clarified however that she wouldn’t describe herself as lesbian or bisexual but simply a “free spirit”, stating: “That’s the only word I would put on it.”
McGuinness had been due to appear on an upcoming episode of Celebs Go Dating, however she pulled out of the show after beginning filming as she realised it was too soon for her to handle the attention that dating on such a public platform would bring.
The 37-year-old will launch a new podcast entitled Situationships with author Sophie Gravia on BBC Sounds later this month. The podcast promises to be “a deep dive into relationships and dating dilemmas.”