Stacey Solomon and Joe Swash share five children aged between two and 17, but he’s ready for more – and the topic has ignited discord in their marriage. The couple admit they are currently experiencing their “stress era” and that their life at home is “at the peak of craziness.” But they wouldn’t change a thing. Now, Stacey Solomon and Joe Swash allow cameras to document every moment of their large family’s delightful chaos a new reality series. “Our house is full of love, full of life, full of energy and we love it like that,” shares Joe. “This is such a lovely family album to have. In years to come when the kids are getting married, we’ll have so much footage to show them what they were like.” The new BBC show, titled ‘Stacey And Joe’, will showcase the couple in their grand Tudor-style Essex home, affectionately named Pickle Cottage, with their children Zachary, 17, Leighton, 12, Rex, five, Rose, three, and Belle, two, as well as their dogs Peanut and Teddy. There will even be cameo appearances from their four ducks and two cats! While it may seem like a full house, for Joe, who also has a son called Harry from a previous relationship, it’s not quite enough. “Me and Stacey are so blessed that we are able to have kids and have this amazing family,” says Joe, 43. “But I’d love to have one more.” However, Stacey, 35, isn’t quite on board. “Joe would like me to be a baby machine!” she exclaims, rolling her eyes. “I quit! I quit. My pelvic floor is a shambles, the whole of my back is screaming at me. I can’t do it again.”
Stacey Solomon and Joe Swash front a new reality series as they welcome BBC One viewers into their chaotic daily life
The pair already share five children – but Joe is keen for more!
Stacey thoroughly enjoys being a mum, and while she is hesitant to expand her family further at the moment, she doesn’t rule it out entirely. “I would love to, maybe when they’re a bit older, and they’re all independent,” she shares. “If we’re lucky enough and if we were privileged enough to have a baby then, that’s when I would consider it. But right now, I’m finally feeling like I’m recovering from three consecutive births. It’s a lot.” Joe, too, acknowledges the challenges of raising their children and jokingly adds, “I feel the same, I’m recovering as well!” The recent milestone of their youngest child, Belle, starting nursery has stirred up feelings of broodiness in Joe. “It’s the first time for ages we haven’t had a baby in the house,” he explains. “I feel like I’m at a loose end, like something is missing.” Meanwhile, the couple is also adjusting to their teenage son Zach gaining independence as he learns to drive. “I moan about driving him all over the place, but I’m gutted that he’s going to learn to drive,” Joe admits. “I feel like I’m losing a part of me. What am I going to do with myself?”. The idea for their new show was initially sparked by Zach and Leighton, who were thrilled at the prospect of appearing on TV alongside their parents. “The older boys especially were like, ‘Oh my God, that would be so funny, can we do it?'” Stacey recalls. “So they were excited about it and that’s what made us consider it in the first place.”
Stacey’s oldest sons Zachary and Leighton managed to convince her to give fans a glimpse into their home
Joe and Stacey have found several benefits to documenting their marital ups and downs
(Image: Instagram)
Joe and Stacey have discovered that filming their ups and downs has actually been beneficial, providing them with a different perspective on their relationship. Watching themselves back has given them a unique insight into one another’s thoughts and feelings. Stacey points out, “What you see is what you get,” before adding, “What we’ve learnt about each other is that we’re not a perfect couple. We’ve never said we’re a perfect couple, but you get to watch yourself back, which is something that doesn’t happen often.” Stacey Solomon has gotten a fresh perspective on her marriage by being able to watch back footage of herself, which she reckons is more enlightening than counselling. “You might go to see somebody and talk through your relationship and they might give you advice, but you never get to [watch yourself] bickering,” Stacey shared. “We found that really interesting. There are definitely things in our communication where we’re like, ‘Wow, we could do that better. And we could talk about this more.’ It opens you up to the development of your relationship that you don’t always see in everyday life, because a lot of the time you’re just trudging through to get to the next day.” Stacey Solomon and Joe Swash’s love story is like a fairy tale straight out of the jungle! The couple first locked eyes when Stacey was crowned Queen of the Jungle on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! in 2010, with Joe fronting the ITV2 spin-off. The spark was there, but it took until 2016 for romance to truly bloom before they finally said “I do” in the familiarity of their own home in July 2022. Now they seem utterly inseparable. While taking a look back at their reality show, Stacey couldn’t help but feel proud of her clan. She expressed, “I don’t know if this will sound really big headed,” and gushed, “But I look at us sometimes and I think we are smashing it. We do love each other and we do have an incredible family and it gets intense. It’s our stress era!”.
