Paddy McGuinness says he and wife Christine still "love each other" following their split.
Paddy and Christine McGuinness in no rush to divorce
Paddy, 50, and Christine, 35, separated 18 months ago but still live together in the family home with their three children and have no immediate plans to divorce.
Paddy told The Sun newspaper: "I am very protective of Christine and our children.
“The fact that we can still live together, we never argue and there’s no toxicity in the house, says it all really.
“We have separate bedrooms because we respect that we aren’t together any more but, whether we work it through or we don’t, what we do have is a really, really lovely family unit at home.
"We both love each other.
"Sometimes I forget we’re separated and I suppose it must be strange for people looking at it from the outside in.
“We still hug, and we’re still messaging and phoning each other every day, we’re just not jumping into bed together any more.”
Paddy and Christine tied the knot in 2011 after two years of dating and he compared their amicable split to Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin's "conscious uncoupling".
He said: "Yep, we’re the Chris and Gwynnie of Cheshire.
“Just not as wealthy, and with fewer hit records and Hollywood films behind us.
“If you can do it like that, it’s the best way, there doesn’t need to be toxicity.
"There is more laughter and love in our house than arguments.
“The only time we have a slight disagreement is when lawyers are involved, when it comes to matters of divorce.
“The reality, though is that I don’t think either of us are in a rush to get a divorce.”