We’ve all heard the quote, “The lady doth protest too much” – and there was an awful lot of protesting going on from Stacey Solomon’s corner of the internet last week. As headlines raged about Joe Swash’s wild antics on his stag do, the Loose Women star was at home, frantically posting about being completely, totally fine with pictures of her fiancé tearing up Ibiza.
But insiders say that behind closed doors things are very different.
“Stacey is pretty upset about the negative stories, especially coming just before her big day,” says an insider close to the former X Factor finalist, who’s marrying Joe, 40, at the end of July at their home, which they’ve dubbed Pickle Cottage. “She begged Joe to keep his stag do mature and classy, but those photos seem to tell a different story. She knows that nothing happened with the women he was pictured chatting to, but she’s sad it’s caused this feeling between them and feels let down by him.”
The 32-year-old TV star wasn’t shy about sharing her worries ahead of the trip, telling fans in an Instagram video, “My anxiety is through the roof!” She added, “Joe’s going on his stag do tomorrow... it’s been one of those stressful days.”
Turning to the former EastEnders actor beside her, Stacey continued, “I’m actually so worried about you going... please don’t do anything silly.”
And, as she pleaded with her 5.3million fans, “Pray for me”, her fears were soon apparently proved right. Within hours of his arrival in Ibiza, there were headlines screaming about Joe chatting to other women as he attended a boozy pool party at celeb hotspot Ocean Beach Club. The gang of lads – which included fellow EastEnders veteran Dean Gaffney, TOWIE star Ricky Rayment, comedian Rob Beckett, and Stacey’s dad David – then made their way around the bars on the famous party island.
heat’s own insider happened to be staying near the stags, and confirmed seeing the rowdy bunch “ladding around the hotel pool and shouting things at hotel guests – they weren’t exactly low-key”.
But Stacey, who is mum to Zachary, 14, and Leighton, ten, from previous relationships, as well as Rex, three, and nine-month-old Rose, with Joe, was quick to insist she wasn’t bothered.
Posting on Instagram stories again, she said, “I’ve got to admit, it’s got to be the funniest headline I’ve ever seen. ‘Exclusive: Joe Swash caught talking to a girl.’ I’d be more upset if it said, ‘Joe Swash caught ignoring everyone who talks to him’.”
She then showed followers a collage of FaceTime screengrabs with her partner of seven years, writing in the caption, “Hope you’re having the best time with your best friends, going out until silly o’clock in the morning and sleeping until the afternoon... You deserve it. The best dad ever who rarely gets the chance to ever do this because we are raising a family. Go for your life bubs. I love you. Can’t wait to marry you.”
Even after Joe – who is also dad to 14-year-old Harry from a previous relationship – arrived home, I’m A Celeb winner Stacy was still talking about the reports, posting on her stories, “Joe got back yesterday at 4am. So we spent the day having cuddles... and I caught up on all the topless, wild, girl-talking antics.” She then posted an array of photos showing her wedding prep, before a final bedtime selfie with her fiancé. On it, Stace wrote, “Joe’s been about as energetic as a sloth since he got back. He wasn’t built for Ibiza life. Still absolutely hanging.”
But behind her relaxed attitude on social media, friends say Stacey – who met Joe 12 years ago and got engaged to him on Christmas Eve 2020 – has been far from chilled about the holiday.
"She's putting on a brave face in the hope that it will all blow over quickly," says an insider close to Stacey.
“But the reality is she’s not happy at all, even though there’s no suggestion anything untoward happened. She really pleaded with him beforehand not to do anything silly – particularly being seen with any attractive women – because she knew that everyone would jump to conclusions and she hates being made to look like a fool.
"Friends are telling her to keep her cool and stop getting emotional. They’re worried she could spoil the run-up to the wedding, particularly when she knows Joe didn’t do anything wrong.”
Despite the last-minute drama, insiders say she’ll calm down.“ Yes,Stacey can overreact,” says the source.
“She’s just so panicked about everything they have to do for the wedding and wanted it all to be perfect. She knows she needs to quell her anxiety. She’s been practising her breathing techniques and has promised she’ll try to relax and start to enjoy the run-up to her big day. But she just can’t help feeling everything’s
a little bit tainted now.”
The insider adds, “Everyone’s praying Stacey and Joe can put it all behind them and truly enjoy their special day the way they had originally intended.”