Paddy McGuinness’s wife Christine has revealed their four-year-old twins, Leo and Penelope, both have autism.
In an emotional post on Instagram Christine shared a poem to her tots to celebrate their fourth birthdays.
The model told her twins to “embrace your autism”.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BWCuTulDBnD/?taken-by=mrscmcguinness&hl=en
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Christine captioned the post: “💙💖 My babies, My world 🌎 #Autism #AutismAwareness.”
In the heartfelt poem she said: “Today you both turn four, and I celebrate so much more. In the last 12 months you have learnt to talk, and you are using flat feet to walk.
“You are conquering your daily challenges, and I’m here to hold your hand, when you’re dealing with sensory overload, the quietest room sounds like a big brass band.”
She continued: “You are beautiful inside and out, in an extra special way.
“The meltdowns, the routines and all the planning ahead. The groundhog days, the beige food and the temperamental “time for bed”.
“I love you unconditionally, and I will encourage you both to embrace your autism. Because you are totally unique and fantastically awesome. All my love always, Mummy.”
Fans rushed to praise Christine for the beautiful poem.
One wrote: “Beautiful words, happy birthday to your babies. They’re lucky to have such an understanding, accepting strong mum.”
“Thank you so much @mrscmcguinness for your post and raising awareness,” another said.
A third commented: “What a beautiful poem for your amazing children Xx.”
One user added: “Love this thank you so much for raising autism awareness x.”
Paddy and Christine, who married in 2011, welcomed their twins in 2013.
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The couple welcomed their third child, Felicity, in September last year.
Shortly after welcoming the twins the mum-of-three spoke about the struggle she and Paddy faced trying to conceive a child.
She said: “It took us three years of trying before we had the twins.
“It was really hard and every month it doesn’t happen you feel like a failure – it’s so disappointing.
“We got there eventually but I think we tried a bit too hard because we ended up having twins!”
The 29-year-old recently appeared on ITV’s Loose Women and slammed trolls who criticised her for showing off her toned body on social media.
She told the panellists: “I was eight or nine[when it started].
“I didn’t like eating in front of people… I was fussy… I was skipping meals – that’s how it started.
“It wasn’t about body image. I accidentally fell into an eating disorder – I didn’t intentionally [starve myself].”
She added: “My mum took me to the doctor…. They said ‘You are affecting your fertility’.
“That was my wake-up call – it took a couple of years to get better.”