Paddy McGuinness has detailed his battle with clinical depression and revealed it was his estranged wife Christine who discovered the symptoms.
The 49-year-old TV presenter admitted he was “unaware” of how low he’d gotten and said he quickly lost his temper looking back on his struggles.
Paddy said he began to resent his job as he had to make crowds laugh before he had to go home unhappy himself.
Speaking on the Monday Mile podcast, Paddy said he was diagnosed with clinical depression after his then-wife Christine, 35, discovered the symptoms.
He said: “In my experience with something like depression, I was diagnosed as clinically depressed and was unaware of it.
Struggles: Paddy McGuinness has detailed his battle with clinical depression and admitted he was “unaware” of how deep it had gotten
Support: Speaking on the Monday Mile podcast, Paddy said he was diagnosed with clinical depression after his then-wife Christine, 35, discovered the symptoms
“You can be as low as you can get and it’s the people around you that tell you.
“So Christine and some of my family members were saying things and asking if I was okay, and I was like, ‘Why do they keep asking me that?’
“But obviously you can’t see it yourself, it’s in your head, it’s not like you have a limp where people can spot it and you can spot it.”
Clinical depression is low mood that lasts for days or months and interferes with your daily life, with symptoms such as hopelessness and low self-esteem.
Paddy explained that he became increasingly frustrated and easily annoyed as he admitted he was starting to resent his job.
He continued, “I started getting annoyed with standing in front of a crowd and making them laugh because I used to be like, ‘You guys are fine, but I’m going home with this feeling.’
“I’ve never been one to lose my temper, but I could feel myself getting agitated more quickly in certain situations and I just thought, ‘It’s not me.’
“I wasn’t running around throwing mugs at the b****y wall and screaming, but I could tell right away how angry I was and I wasn’t supposed to feel that.”
Hard times: Paddy explained that he was frustrated and slightly upset when he admitted he was starting to resent his job
Exes: Paddy and Christine were married for 11 years before splitting last July, but they continue to live together for the sake of their children
Paddy said he tried to get therapy but spoke to two different people who he thought were “garbage” and said he had completely “given up”.
However, he said he then found another doctor to work for him and urged others not to give up and keep finding someone who can help them.
He said: “I see therapy like buying shoes – it’s about not giving up and I almost did.
“If you try a therapy and it doesn’t work for you, that doesn’t mean all therapies don’t work, just keep going until you find them. It might cost you six fucking times, but it’s worth it.”
The comedian said he used to see his therapist once a week and admitted he felt “relieved” when he was told he was suffering from clinical depression and said he sees his doctor every few months now .
Elsewhere in the podcast, Paddy addressed his recent BBC documentary, Our Family and Autism.
Paddy and his estranged wife Christine share three children, twins Leo and Penelope, eight, and Felicity, five, who have all been diagnosed with autism.
Of the documentary, he said, “It took five or six years to complete [me and Christine] wanted to talk about it because we were in so many terrible situations and didn’t know which way to go.’
Christine was also diagnosed with autism in 2021 and spoke about her late diagnosis in a second BBC documentary, Unmasking My Autism.
Autism refers to a broad spectrum of conditions characterized by challenges in social skills, repetitive behaviors, language, and non-verbal communication.
Family: Christine recently shed light on her living circumstances, insisting she and Paddy will “always” be family after their split
Paddy and Christine were married for 11 years before separating last July but they continue to live together for the sake of their children.
Christine recently shed light on her living circumstances, insisting she and Paddy will “always” be family after their split.
Appearing in Lorraine on Tuesday, she said: “We want things to stay the same for the kids as much as possible.
“I don’t want them to be influenced by anything. We will always be family and we live in a happy home.”