Stacey Solomon has admitted she and her husband Joe Swash have had to work hard to perfect the dynamics of their blended family.
The Instagram sensation, 33, married Joe, 40, in a stunning ceremony at their family home, affectionately known as Pickle Cottage, this summer.
Between them they share five children, and Stacey has spoken candidly about the day to day struggles of family life in a new interview.
We are family: Stacey Solomon has admitted she and her husband Joe Swash have had to work hard to perfect the dynamics of their blended family (pictured with their youngest children Rex, three, and Rose, 12 months)
Joe shares son Harry, 15, with his ex Emma Sophocleous, while Stacey is mum to Zachary, 14 and Leighton, 10.
Together the couple share son Rex, three and daughter Rose, who turned one on Tuesday.
During her appearance on Rob Beckett and Josh Widdicombe’s Parenting Hell podcast this week, Stacey confessed that it hasn’t been plain selling combining their families since they first got together in 2016.
‘The blended family situation has been a rocky road,’ the Loose Women star explained. ‘That has never been easy’.
Mr and Mrs: The Instagram sensation, 33, married Joe, 40, in a stunning ceremony at their family home, affectionately known as Pickle Cottage, this summer
‘We have always had to work really hard to make sure everyone feels secure.’
She went on to explain that the couple’s recent wedding helped them realise ‘we are doing alright’ as their eldest boys all made heartfelt speeches.
‘It was so funny we didn’t say to the boys you need to do a speech,’ Stacey recalled, before admitting it was their sons’ speeches that had her in floods of tears.
‘Joe was an emotional mess the whole day. People coming up to me saying “Joe is a mess down there.”
‘As I walked down the aisle he was already sobbing but I thought I’ll be fine the whole day then as soon as the boys went “we want to say something” I could not hold it in.’
‘They never say anything! Especially teenage boys. They don’t ever tell you how they feel or what they think about anything so it was really emotional to hear what they have to say.’
Stacey said that Joe’s willingness to talk about his own father Ricky, who died from an undiagnosed heart condition when Joe was just 11, has helped their children be in touch with their own emotions.
Blended: Between them they have five children – Joe shares son Harry, 15, with his ex Emma Sophocleous, while Stacey is mum to Zachary, 14 and Leighton, 10 (pictured with Rex and Rose)
‘Because Joe is very open at home and he really talks about his dad a lot and how much it affected him losing his dad.’
‘We are a blended family and their lives and parents haven’t been everything you see in the films, they really appreciate what Joe has been through.’
‘He is an amazing dad and an amazing father figure in our lives. It was really shocking to see that we are doing alright!’
Stacey admitted life with five kids is hectic, explaining how she and Joe have to navigate three different school runs every morning as well as juggling baby Rose.
But she said that making sure her older children are independent eases the pressure on her around the house.
‘The thing is with the kids situation, two of them it’s fair to say can look after themselves.’
Married life: She went on to explain that the couple’s recent wedding helped them realise ‘we are doing alright’ as their eldest boys all made heartfelt speeches
‘Not that I have abandoned them but essentially they have to pick up after themselves and they have to not be pigs,’ she said referring to Zach and Leighton.
‘That is just the rules in the house. They have to do their own washing and wash up after dinner. 100% they wash their own football kits. Leighton was eight when he started doing his own washing, Zach was probably 12. I don’t wash Joe’s clothes either!’
Stacey has made family life and her DIY renovation of Pickle Cottage into a lucrative business, thanks to her 5.4million Instagram followers and her two Tap To Tidy books.
Alongside her and Joe’s busy TV schedule, there’s a lot to juggle but Stacey explained that she likes to ‘hammer’ work when it comes in as ‘none of this has longevity.’
‘It’s not an industry that is secure in anyway possible. Me and Joe just say to each other: “When work is coming in and we’re lucky enough to get jobs we have to go for it.”‘
‘We have a family so we have to make it work and make it happen. That’s what gets us through.’
‘Sometimes I am like “oh my god my brain doesn’t function there’s too much on”. A month later I’ll have nothing in the diary.’
Tap to tidy! Stacey has made family life and her DIY renovation of Pickle Cottage into a lucrative business, thanks to her 5.4million Instagram followers and her two Tap To Tidy books
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