Having built up an Instagram following of six million by charming fans with her down-to-earth and relatable lifestyle, Stacey Solomon is now able to reap the rewards of her hard work. Sadly, though, those rewards – like her recent mega-luxe trip to Las Vegas to see Adele perform – are now threatening to alienate those same fans.
‘Stacey's wild trip to Vegas has been bittersweet,’ an insider tells heat of the trip, which was gifted to the influencer by beauty brand Space NK. ‘She felt as though she was being offered the experience of a lifetime and there was no way she was going to turn it down. But she went into it knowing full well that trolls would have something to say about it.’
Perhaps that’s why when the 35 year old returned from her four-day trip – and was sweetly welcomed at the airport by her husband of two years, Joe Swash, and kids Rex, five, Rose, three, and Belle, one – she shared an Instagram story, thanking her followers for their kindness. She wrote, ‘Thank you. After all, let’s be honest, I would never have had the chance to go on an adventure like this if it weren’t for every single one of you.’
But our source says the mum of five now feels obliged to over-explain everything to her fans. ‘Her pals felt really sad that Stacey felt the need to thank people for being kind, as though she needed the public’s permission to go on an amazing trip to Vegas with her girlfriends. But Stacey knew people would have an opinion about her getting to drop everything at home with Joe and the kids, and fly first class to meet Adele, and – to top it all off – having that whole experience for free.
‘She knows most of her hardworking fans will never get this kind of once-in-a-lifetime experience, and there’s no escaping that. She’s doing her best to keep her head high and ignore all the haters, but she’s only human and doesn’t deserve all the hate that comes her way. At times, her deepest fears take over and she worries that everyone is going to turn against her.’
This isn’t the first time Stacey’s holiday habits have caused controversy. As heat previously reported, in August, Stacey, Joe, 42, and their blended family of Zachary, 16, Leighton, 12, Rex, Rose and Belle enjoyed a lavish holiday in Turkey, and fans were astounded at the £27,000 price tag that came with the trip, calling it ‘tone deaf’. Luckily, Stacey’s close friends including her sister Jemma and aesthetician Caroline Hirons – both of whom attended the trip to Las Vegas with her – have been supporting the reality star and hope to convince her that she’s allowed to enjoy herself after working so hard.
‘Her pals have been encouraging her not to read anything negative and keep up her carefree attitude because there have also been some overwhelming positive comments, and a lot of fans seem genuinely happy for her,’ we’re told. ‘Stacey knows part of her success is being relatable and authentic, so she is constantly walking that fine line between being seen as a normal Essex girl-done-good and someone who has extreme privilege during a time when so many regular people are struggling.
‘But she does feel as though she’s beating herself up too much over it all, so she’s going to try and keep up her attitude of not caring what people think. But it’s easier said than done and it can really catch her off guard and she’ll suddenly start feeling down about it.’
Stacey has constantly referred to 2024 as her ‘f**k it year’, saying in February, ‘I’m also not going to make myself small and dull my light to make other people feel better.’
If this new, carefree attitude gets her free trips to America to see Adele, then long may it continue!