Christine McGuinness reconnects with heroin-addicted dad who ‘chose drugs over her’ after split from husband Paddy

CHRISTINE McGuinness has turned to her father, who is one of the nation’s oldest heroin addicts, for a shoulder to cry on after her split from Paddy McGuinness.

The TV star, 34, hasn’t been close to Johnny for many years as he struggled with drugs – but is now said to be ‘closer than ever’.

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Johnny was supposed to walk her down the aisle at her wedding to ex Paddy Guinness, but he didn’t show up that day, and he still hasn’t met Paddy or their three children – twins Leo and Penelope, eight years old and five years old – old Félicité.

However, sources say their relationship is better than ever since his split from Paddy and they are back in regular contact.

An insider said: “Christine has made no secret of how difficult her childhood was.

“It was very difficult for him to read his perspective on his addiction in his autobiography.

“She always felt like her dad chose drugs over her, but since splitting with Paddy, she’s reconnected with her dad.

“Christine has been visiting Blackpool a lot to see him and she’s also bonded with other family members, they’re closer than they’ve ever been.”

Christine has previously said that her problems started when she was just a one-year-old baby and after crawling on one of her needles as a child, her mother Joanne had her. left – moving away from Blackpool for Merseyside.

Growing up with her sister Billie-Jo, Christine witnessed her father’s addiction as a teenager, but understandably struggled to understand why he chose to use Class A drugs over being present in his life.

She wrote: “I saw my father inject heroin. As a teenager, I struggled with his addiction. I blamed myself. When I became a mother. I kept thinking about how he chose drugs over his own children.

“But as I got older, I realized it wasn’t such an easy choice for him. Addiction is a disease. »

Sadly, 30 years into his battle with addiction, she said she doubts he could ever come clean for good.

Writing in her autobiography, A Beautiful Nightmare, Christine said: ‘He is one of the oldest recorded heroin addicts in the country and he is prolific around Blackpool.

“Honestly, I don’t know how he went on. He’s been in and out of the hospital so many times. Many times the doctors called us and said, “We don’t think he’s going to make it. There it is now.

“I would say, ‘He looks like a skeleton. Looks like he’s going to die!’ And then he will come out, strong as an ox. He is like a cat with nine lives. He gets up and goes and did it for over 30 years as a drug addict.

She also revealed that doctors had previously warned that they thought they would have to amputate Johnny’s legs due to the number of holes and abscesses in them – caused by the injection of unsanitary needles.

“I remember a time when we thought he was going to die and we went to see him in the hospital,” she wrote.

“He looked me straight in the eye and said, ‘Christine, if I die, I’ll die happy. I had a good life. I like what I do. I like it. It feels good.”

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