Paddy McGuinness and his wife Christine have publicly announced their separation after 11 years.

The couple, who married in 2011, revealed they had made the decision to part ways “a while ago” but are still living together with their three children.

The Top Gear presenter, 48, and former the Real Housewives Of Cheshire cast member, 34, said in a joint statement posted on Instagram: “We hadn’t planned on sharing this publicly until we were ready but after the lack of privacy surrounding our personal life, we feel left with no other option but to clarify.

“A while ago we took the difficult decision to separate but our main focus as always is to continue loving and supporting our children.

“This was not an easy decision to make but we’re 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.

“We hope this now draws a line under any more unwanted and unnecessary intrusion into our private life. Although we work in the public eye we ask kindly if you could respect our wishes for privacy on this matter.”

The pair signed off the message: “Loads of love. Paddy & Christine.”

Brit Awards 2013 – Arrivals – London
Paddy McGuinness and Christine McGuinness arriving for the 2013 Brit Awards at the O2 Arena (Ian West/PA)

Earlier this month, Christine spoke openly about their relationship problems in an interview with The Sun, saying: “I can’t deny right now is a very, very difficult time for us.”

Hours before they issued the joint statement, Paddy posted a photo of him and Christine during a recent holiday to Centre Parcs in Nottingham, and Christine also posted a video from the trip.

They had to cancel a booked holiday to Spain at short notice after realising their daughter’s passport had expired.

The couple met in 2007 at the Liverpool Tennis Tournament, and got married at Thornton Manor in Cheshire in June 2011.

In 2018, Christine said on ITV’s Loose Women that she and Paddy were “happier than ever” following speculation over their marriage.

In December, the couple shone a light on life with autism in their moving BBC documentary, Our Family And Autism.

The pair are parents to Felicity, and twins Leo and Penelope, all three of whom have autism.

Christine subsequently received a diagnosis at the age of 33, describing it as “a huge relief” that helped her understand “why I am the way I am”.

The separation follows a surge of Paddy’s career in the last few years, including taking over from Sue Barker as host of A Question Of Sport last year and becoming a host of Top Gear in 2019.