Model Christine McGuinness diagnosed by Simon Baron-Cohen

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Christine McGuinness has been diagnosed with autism.

The 33-year-old model - who has twins Leo and Penelope, eight, and daughter Felicity, five, with husband Paddy McGuinness - admitted it is a "relief" to have been told as an adult that she has the developmental condition, but it wasn't something that surprised her as there have always been "little hints".

Christine revealed her diagnosis - which is shared by all three of her children - in her memoir ‘Christine McGuinness: A Beautiful Nightmare'.

In an extract obtained by the Daily Mirror newspaper, she wrote: “I have been confirmed as autistic. It’s strange, but I’ve noticed there are little hints throughout my life that I’m autistic and more like my children than I ever could have imagined.

"My issues with food, my social ­struggles, how hard I find it to make friends and stay focused, and my indecisiveness. The way I float through life reminds me of how my eldest daughter Penelope is.

"It all makes sense now. And as much as I’m not totally surprised, it’s still been emotional for me to accept, but it’s a relief as well.”

She wrote: “My diagnosis came in August. Patrick and I were invited to meet with expert Sir Simon Baron-Cohen at Cambridge University.

“Patrick and I filled out what’s called an AQ questionnaire.

She went to say that her score of 36 was “high” while Paddy’s was “bang-on average”.

“Those two weeks between finding out I’d scored high on the test and my official ­diagnosis from Simon were a turbulent ­whirlwind of upset and trying to process the idea I could be autistic. Sir Simon quickly put me out of my misery and confirmed I’m autistic. And not just mildly – I’m quite high up the spectrum.”

Christine called it “a lot to take in” and “broke down in floods of tears” after hearing the news, after it prompted memories about struggling at school - leaving with no GCSEs - because of her “inability to concentrate”.

And she outlined that she was “trying to see my diagnosis as a positive thing - at least I know for definite.”

Christine McGuinness has announced a new BBC documentary on autism after diagnosis. The model shares three children with Paddy McGuinness all of whom have also been diagnosed with autism.

The 34-year-old, from Blackpool, says her own autism diagnosis was a 'huge relief' as it helped her to understand her own identity so much more. She admits that she 'masks' it quite a lot and tries to 'hit in'.

To do this, she often copies other people and she wants to raise awareness that this behaviour is often found in autistic people - but more so in women and girls. Her new BBC documentary, Christine McGuinness: The Secret World of Autistic Women and Girls, will focus on this.

"I am aware that I ‘mask’ a lot, I try to fit in, I copy others and this is something I really want people to understand as this behaviour is often found in autistic people but more so women and girls. The hour-long BBC documentary will unravel the untold story of how autism in women and girls has been ignored and misunderstood by science and society - often seen as something mostly affecting men.“

Christine McGuinness has shared insights into her intimate battle with autism while navigating through her recent 'spiral' episode.

In a black and white Instagram post, 35, the model posed, elaborating to her 726,000 followers about the phases of an 'autism meltdown,' employing spiral visuals to aid in understanding.

Christine, who split with her estranged husband, Paddy McGuinness in 2022, said: ''Might delete later' kinda post (scared emoji).

'Because my autistic self likes to present perfection, this goes against what I like to share but it is part (a small part thankfully my 'moments' are few and far between) of me being authentically autistic me so,' she continued with a breathing out emoji.

'The music in my car helps to block out the noise in my head music is medicine for me,' she continued.

'And understanding the spiral really helps, I hope the visual representation helps others too.

'(Every person is different and may feel differently, for me this is very accurate) be kind to yourself, remember it passes, it always passes.

'P.S, I am absolutely fine, I don't want to worry anyone. And my feeling of "I don't want to live anymore" is more often like "I just want to disappear for a while".'

Christine McGuinness was shaken after a man approached her and yelled at her claiming autism was "nonsense" and "a label".

The model, 35, took part in BBC Two's Pilgrimage: The Road Through North Wales with Michaela Strachan, Spencer Matthews, Eshaan Akbar, Amanda Lovett, Tom Rosenthal and Sonali Shah. When she took part in the programme's press launch, a heckler screamed out that autism wasn't real.

He made the comment as, in the show, Christine found a connection with Friday Night Dinner star Tom, who reminded her of her son Leo, who has autism. She told Tom there was a possibility he could have autism and he told her many others have told him he could be neurodivergent

She said: "As soon as I met Tom, I thought, ‘He’s definitely autistic. Being autistic isn’t a bad thing. You might need to get extra help in certain places. Tom absolutely magnifies with how much information he can take in, how he speaks, and the way he dresses. He’s quite quirky, he likes to be alone quite a lot."

The scenes angered one heckler who yelled at her during the press launch at London's Charlotte Street hotel. Christine, who said the interaction was "quite rude", said: "I felt like I had to say something. Part of my job as an advocate and a mum to autistic children is to speak up when I need to and I’ve never felt so much like I had to speak up as I did then."