Since dropping the exciting news that she is expecting her fifth child soon, Stacey Solomon has been keeping her adoring fans up to date every step of the way (not that we would expect anything less). But beaming bump pics aside, heat has learned that Stacey is worried about how she is going to cope with the new addition at Pickle Cottage, especially as she will now have three children under four.
An insider says that despite being a doting mum and taking endless pride in keeping her home looking Insta-perfect, the Tap To Tidy author is considering getting some help. “Stacey has always prided herself on doing everything herself when it comes to being a mother and running her home,” heat’s insider says.
“Even though life can be chaotic, she’s always just embraced it and done her best. But with baby number five coming along, Stacey’s had to admit that she needs to hire help at Pickle Cottage to ease the burden of it all. She’s been really fretting about the decision, as she doesn’t want to upset the dynamic in the house, but she’s been speaking to a number of candidates that she is excited about.”
Stacey and her husband Joe Swash already share two children – Rex, three, and 15-month-old Rose. The Loose Women star also has two older sons from previous relationships – Zachary, 14, and Leighton, ten – while Joe is a dad to Harry, 15, from a previous engagement.
In December, 33-year-old Stacey opened up about her marriage to former EastEnders star Joe, 40, explaining that it can be hard to juggle their respective careers and life at Pickle Cottage. “Joe and I can be like ships passing in the night... When I work, he looks after the kids, and when he works, I have the kids,” she admitted.
The pair – who wed last July at their Essex home – both boast glittering TV careers, and Stacey hinted at an upcoming project of her husband’s in a recent Instagram Story. “Today was a crazy day,” Stacey began, “School run, then filming for a documentary Joe’s making about fostering, then I organised the plate cupboard.” And in another, Stacey – who has 5.5m followers on Insta and is thought to earn around £12k per #spon post – revealed that she was trying to finish as many work commitments as possible in the next two weeks before she is “newborn bubbled”.
With it clear their demanding schedules aren’t showing any signs of letting up, we’re told that an extra pair of hands suits both Stacey and Joe. “Joe is thrilled that she’s going to get help because he’s not going to be there all the time, and he’s been really worried about how Stacey would cope on her own when he’s away working,” our insider adds.
“Obviously, she has a very supportive network of family and friends, but Stacey can’t expect them to just give up their lives to come and help her. She has told her pals that she can’t do this by herself and is genuinely worried about how she is going to juggle motherhood, her career, and keeping Pickle Cottage running for the whole family.”
After Rose was born, Stacey returned to work three months later, a decision later questioned during an Instagram Q&A. She replied, “So many of you are messaging me. I know it’s not long enough. I could be in this bubble forever. But I’ve got one of those weird jobs and you never know if you’re going to get work or not and nothing is guaranteed, so you’ve got to make the most of any opportunity that comes along.” And, while enlisting the help of an outsider feels overwhelming for the soon-to-be mum of five, a source says logistically she can’t manage it all.
“She’s really organised when it comes to planning things for her children and knows it’s going to be hard to hand that control over to someone else, but once she’s given birth and is caring for her newborn, she won’t have much choice.
“It has been stressful enough with Rose, let alone having another little one to take care of.”