Christine McGuinness has told how she was once so poor she tried to steal a pair of shoes from Asda.
The model and mum-of-three was caught in the act trying to swipe the footwear from the supermarket near her home in Blackpool and had the cops called on her.
Speaking about the incident in her new book Christine McGuinness: A Beautiful Nightmare, the 33-year-old told how she felt forced to pilfer the shoes as a child after being bullied for wearing ones with holes in them.
She said: “I’ve only ever stolen one thing in my life. When I was a child, I attempted to take a pair of shoes from the local Asda.
"My school shoes had holes in them and I was getting bullied about it.
"Much to my horror, I got caught and the police came and took me in a back room to give me a telling off. They also called my mum in.”
Christine, who is married to TV star Paddy McGuinness, told how one of the shop assistants in the Asda then spotted her tatty shoes and felt sympathy for her.
Christine added: ““’m getting bullied and I’ve got holes in my shoes,” I wailed to this complete stranger.
“I can’t afford new ones for her,” my mum said, mortified. And seeing how little we had, they let me keep them.".
Christine goes on to explain in her new book that her upbringing had become financially difficult after her mother split from her father.
Her mum had met her father as a teenager, giving birth to her older sister Billie Jo at 18, and Christine at 19.
She reveals that her parents had split when she was young, but that it broke her mum’s heart to separate from him and that she had longed for the relationship to work out.
Soon after, the family moved from Blackpool to Christine’s mum’s hometown of Liverpool, where Christine, her sister Billie-Jo and her mum lived in a high rise flat “with bars on the windows” in Halewood, Merseyside.
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However, Christine said she still saw her father once a year in Blackpool, and has fond memories of visiting the promenade with him and that he made them laugh.
She also explains that despite her childhood being difficult financially, her mum worked extremely hard to put food on the table and to ensure that her family had heating to keep warm.
Speaking about the book, Christine said: “It is very much a ‘rags to riches’ and ‘not all that glitters’ story, and that’s why I called it ‘A Beautiful Nightmare, because there have been times in life that have been a complete nightmare, but also beautiful too.
“I’m hoping that this story inspires people, and I want people to believe that it doesn’t matter where you come from, or what happens in life
“With love and support anything is possible, always remain positive because even in times of trauma you can find strength.”
* Preorder Christine McGuinness: A Beautiful Nightmare (RRP £20, out 25 Nov) and save £5 with the offer code XA9. Order online at Mirrorbooks.co.uk
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