Fan-favourite couple Stacey Solomon and Joe Swash regularly entertain their combined 7.9million Instagram followers with wholesome family updates and candid insights into their marriage, which sometimes includes their tongue-in- cheek bickering.
Whether it’s teasing Joe about his laundry habits (Stacey recently shocked fans by playfully calling Joe “disgusting” on her Instagram Stories), arguing about who’s better at DIY, or criticising how much he helps out with chores, Stacey isn’t afraid to be honest about married life. The 34-year-old craft queen even recently locked horns with Joe when he appeared on her Channel 4 DIY show Renovation Rescue.
Stacey has previously spoken about arguing with her husband of nearly two years, admitting on Loose Women that if things ever get “heated”, she immediately bursts into tears, as Joe has learned that he can’t have “a discussion” with her in that way as he hates to see her cry. But when it comes down to it, it’s obvious that the pair are head-over-heels in love, as sources tell heat that the fake squabbling is all for the cameras – something Stacey wants to make sure they never take too far.
“They bicker like every man and wife, but they always make up and it’s never that serious,” our insider says.
“They’ve both admitted that sometimes they feel under pressure to create a bit of drama because it makes for good TV, and neither of them minds having harmless or cheeky banter, because that is what they are like when the cameras are off. The main thing is, Stacey loves being able to have Joe involved with the new show – and it seems the fans loved it. It’s all in the name of good TV and they never take the fights home with them.”
Renovation Rescue is not the first of Stacey’s TV projects that Joe has made a cameo on. He appeared on her BBC show Crafty Christmas last year, where the couple – who are parents to Rex, four, Rose, two, and 15-month-old Belle, as well as Zach, 16, and Leighton, 12, from Stacey’s previous relationships, and Harry, 16, from Joe’s romance with his former fiancée – had an equally playful fight about expanding their brood.
After Stacey joked that 2024 would not see her “getting pregnant again”, Joe hit back with, “You make out that I want the babies! Whenever we have this conversation, you go, ‘I’m having no more babies’, and then you give me the look as if to say I want a baby!”
Meanwhile, the mum of five is keen on getting the entire family involved in her work. In addition to her eighth Primark childrenswear collection hitting stores last week – as modelled by her three youngest – she previously recruited her eldest son Zach to give her a helping hand on BBC show Sort Your Life Out, and her beloved pooches Teddy and Peanut are brand ambassadors for dog food brand Pooch and Mutt.
And we’re told that Stacey – who married Joe in July 2022, after six years of dating – always has her family’s best interests at heart when it comes to her career choices. Our source says, “She loves sharing parts of her personal life, and is always keen to show people her flaws, too – nobody’s perfect. So, she’s happy to indulge in a little pantomime bickering every now and then, but the truth is, they’re a rock-solid couple.
“Joe is on the same page, so they always make sure that they check in with each other when they film together. They never want either to feel uncomfortable, and they know their fans are on their side and enjoy the funny moments in their marriage.
“She and Joe work hard on keeping the spark alive in their marriage and are really proud of what they have accomplished together as a family.”
