Christine McGuinness admitted she's "petrified of dating" after opening up on her split with Paddy McGuinness in her BBC documentary Unmasking My Autism.
The former couple, who are parents to twins Penelope and Leo, nine and Felicity, six, separated last July.
Christine revealed in her documentary that she was able to call time on her marriage following her autism diagnosis.
She said: "Starting life on my own is scary, I struggle making decisions. I was only 19 when I met Patrick and for the last 15 years my role has been wife and mum. When I was diagnosed, I set out on a journey to find out who I was.
"I have separated from my husband in the process, I'm shedding my old identity and finding out who I am."
The model and TV star continued: "I've only ever had this one man in my life, I don't know what it is like to date, I can't imagine being single or with another man. But I'm going into a new chapter on my own which is petrifying for someone who doesn't like change."
Opening up in the documentary, Christine revealed she felt safe when she met the Top Gear presenter when she was 19.
She explained: "My relationships before I met Patrick were not very good. I'd say they were pretty bad experiences.
"Before Patrick, I had been sexually abused, I was raped. I used to pray every night that I wouldn't wake up in the morning because it was so awful.
"When I met my husband that was a time when I was very safe and I wonder if that's why I stayed.
"I know that I've stayed in a place where I was probably unhappy because it was safe and I don't like change."
After the documentary aired, a proud Paddy took to Instagram and said: "Very proud of Christine for making this new documentary highlighting Autism, particularly in women. It’ll be a massive help to our daughters in years to come along with our little lad. #unmaskingmyautism #awareness #acceptence."
Christine and Paddy released a joint statement last year confirming their split and stating their priority is their children, who have all been diagnosed with autism.
In a joint statement, they wrote: "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 anymore 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. We'll be making no further comment."
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