Cleaning influencer Sophie Hinchliffe, better known as Mrs Hinch, was inundated with congratulatory messages last week as she announced her third pregnancy to her 4.8million Instagram followers. Alongside an adorable video, Sophie called their unborn son a ‘special gift’ from her late father, after he passed away suddenly in April. Stacey Solomon was one of the first to comment on the post, writing, ‘I love you. And I’m so so happy for this beautiful blessing on all of you. Dad must be beaming.’ But the message was later mysteriously deleted – whether by Sophie or Stacey is unclear – and it didn't go unnoticed by their fans, who started speculating that its disappearance could be linked to a rumoured rift between the two influencers.
Rumours have been swirling online for some time that the long-term friends have fallen out. Both Essex girls with a penchant for cleaning and DIY, they would regularly post sweet snaps together, support each other’s content and Sophie was even a bridesmaid when Stacey married Joe Swash, 42, in 2022. But they haven’t been seen together online for some time, as the last post featuring Mrs Hinch on Stacey’s grid was shared in January 2023, before she welcomed her daughter Belle.
And now, heat has learned that mum-of-five Stacey is making a conscious effort to reconnect with Sophie, especially as she’d like to be on hand when her friend welcomes her little boy. A source says, ‘Stacey and Sophie had drifted apart in recent months due to work and family commitments, but Stacey has offered her a very public olive branch by commenting on her new baby post to show everyone they’re close again. They were best friends – and Stacey is determined to get that back, especially as she would love to offer Sophie advice on how to deal with lots of children.
‘Sophie really misses Stacey, and feels this baby is healing so much in her life. The women were once inseparable, and they were each other’s support network as they both went through very similar things. But they haven’t seen as much of each other as they would like, and they both want to put that right.’
The pair’s friendship dates back more than five years, shortly after Stacey welcomed her third son Rex, and Sophie became a first-time mum to son Ronnie – she also has Lennie, three, with her businessman husband Jamie Hinchcliffe. TV star Stacey – who is also mum to Zach, 16, Leighton, 12, Rose, three, and 21-month-old Belle – initially reached out to Sophie online to see how she was coping with navigating raising a newborn in the public eye. They clicked instantly, bonding over a McDonald’s and a cup of tea on the sofa, and swiftly bought matching best friend babygros for Rex and Ronnie.
But their days spent joined at the hip seem to have dropped off, and many of their fans have been wondering why. With both Stacey, 35, and Sophie, 34, existing as key players in the online cleaning, home and DIY market – comprising of brand deals and collaborations of a similar calibre, such as Asda and Tesco ranges – it has been suggested that the high level of competition for ads and sponsorships could have come between them.
However, our source insists there was no massive fallout, but they have drifted in recent times and do miss each other. We’re told, ‘They’re going to have three children of quite similar ages, and they want that special childhood for them all.
‘Sophie will always be grateful to Stacey for reaching out to her when she started to become big on Instagram. It really bonded them and they’re hoping this new baby will get their bond back.’
