Life is full of surprises – some good, some bad – and often our biggest hopes and dreams can be thrown into disarray by unforeseen circumstances.
That’s something Paddy McGuinness and his wife Christine are discovering as they come to terms with their four-year-old twins being diagnosed with autism.
In a heartbreaking interview with The Mirror, Christine, 29 – who also has a ten-month-old daughter with Paddy – has revealed that the celebrity couple once hoped to have as many as EIGHT children.
But now, due to the challenges faced by the couple in dealing with their twins’ condition, she said they’ve resigned themselves to the fact that they won’t be having any more.
“We really wanted a big family,” explained the model. “We wanted eight children.
“We were happy to keep going. As soon as I got pregnant, I knew that was my life and that was what I wanted. I wanted to be a mum and have a really big family.
“[But] we’ve had to reconsider plans because the twins need us, and we’re stretched as it is. It wouldn’t be fair to have more.”
Read more: Christine McGuinness reveals fear her baby daughter also has autism
It was on their fourth birthday, on 2 July, that Christine first announced that Penelope and Leo were suffering with autism.
She posted a beautiful poem on Instagram, in which she spoke of “the meltdowns, the routines and all the planning ahead”.
And appearing on This Morning earlier this week, the blonde mum revealed that she was now concerned her younger daughter Felicity may also has the condition.
She explained: “I am looking for little things. If she does have autism, we’ll get her the help she needs.
“She does things like standing on her tippy toes, and she likes dry food.
“But she is brand-new, so I don’t want to put too much pressure on it.”
“It’s OK,” she told The Mirror. “Because she’s got the right mum for the job.”