Secret ‘strains’ behind Stacey Solomon’s picture-perfect marriage saw Joe Swash feeling ‘left behind’ before street row

IT’S unsurprising that Stacey Solomon’s millions of followers were stunned by her very public bust-up with her husband Joe Swash.

Since the pair wed in 2022, Stacey and Joe’s relationship appeared to be a picture-perfect romance – complete with six kids and a £1.2million “Pickle Cottage”, which they all live in as one big happy family.

But with many couples, what we see on social media doesn't always show the rough that comes with the smooth - and friends say Stacey and Joe are no different.

“Stacey and Joe have been having a turbulent time recently,” a friend tells The Sun.

“But they are like any other busy working parents, life is hard and it gets strained – which means they can take it out on each other.”

The famous couple, who have been together since 2016, were filming their new reality show Escape to Pickle Cottage when they appeared to have an argument - with Joe storming off down the street and Stacey being comforted by a member of the production crew.

An onlooker told The Sun: “Joe came out of a building on his own and stormed off down the street, he looked upset and was sitting on some steps for a while.

“Stacey came out of the building in tears and she looked really emotional, she was hugging someone.”

The witness said the atmosphere was “tense” and the couple left separately. 

Soon after the public row, the mum-of-five jetted off Las Vegas for a girls’ holiday, posting a tribute to her pals and saying: “I can't tell you what this trip has done for my soul.”

She added: “They've been my friends forever and they love and support me, have my back, lift me up, fix my crown and my soul and I honestly couldn't do life without them."

Vegas trip

Stacey and Joe are no strangers to opening up about their love life, with Loose Women star Stacey previously admitting: “If I’m completely honest, Joe often comes last in my life – and I’m not apologetic about that.”

Joe seemed to have out the row behind them and was all smiles when he greeted Stacey at the airport on her return.

But a friend confides: “Stacey flying off to Las Vegas wasn’t a good look after the public argument.

“That trip had been planned for a long time but it has led to speculation about what could be going on in their home life.

“Stacey has a hugely successful career on TV and she has carefully cultivated that over the past few years.

“She is also a devoted mum, so juggling work with caring for the kids does often leave Joe in last place – and that might not be easy for him.

“They have issues they need to talk and sort through, and that all came to a head with that row.

“Joe can often feel like he is left behind."

Bad habits

Stacey was a single mum of two boys, Zachary, now 16 and Leighton, 12 - when she started dating Joe in 2016, six years after they first met on I’m A Celebrity.

Three years into the romance she moved in with Joe - who also has a 17-year-old son, Harry, from a previous relationship - and was open about the habits that initially grated on her.

In her Sun column, she wrote that living together “24/7” was an eye-opener adding: “You notice EVERYTHING.

"At first every foible is very cute and endearing, but it only takes a couple of weeks for that to wear off.”

She went on to reveal he is a “one plate washer”, conveniently forgetting about the piles of dirty dishes left untouched while he cleans just his own plate.

He also leaves a “constant green-brown tinge on every surface” with his fake tan and used to watch scary documentaries late at night while she was tucked up by 10pm.    

But, she added: “He has endless amounts of time and love for my children and he is the most incredible father to his child.

“It’s the most attractive thing about Joe and it’s what made me fall so deeply and madly in love with him.”

The couple went on to have three more children - Rex, five, Rose, three and one-year-old Belle - as Stacey’s career soared.

After becoming a regular on Loose Women she built up her brand as a lifestyle influencer and landed her hit BBC1 show Sort Your Life Out.  

In 2021, Stacey forked out £1.2m on their their Tudor-style mansion, Pickle Cottage, in Essex.

The following July, the pair tied the knot with a small ceremony at the house with celebrity guests including close friend, cleaning influencer Mrs Hinch and her Loose Women co-star Denise Welch.

Their busy lives means their marriage doesn't always follow conventional lines and the couple recently revealed, on an episode of Celebrity Gogglebox, that they no longer share the same bed.

"We used to sleep in bed together, do you remember that?" Stacey said, after watching a couple indulging in "pillow talk".

"Before we had three kids in three years."

With her schedule ramping up, Stacey has also admitted to feeling jealous when Joe is at home with the kids while she is working.

“Every time I have to leave really early and all of the kids are in bed with Joe and they’re all having a little snuggle, I’m like, ‘ugh, I don’t wanna go’," she said.

“Or if I’m working away - sometimes I film for like a week at a time - Joe will FaceTime me with all the kids and they’re all running around and he’s making them dinner. 

“I always have to say to him on the phone, ‘I’m gonna go now babe because I feel so jealous of you right now’.”

Fly-on-the-wall show

Earlier this year it was reported that the former X Factor star was keen to launch a podcast where she and Joe would openly discuss their relationship - in a similar being to Abbey Clancy and Peter Crouch’s Therapy Couch.

But while both Stacey and Joe are open about their marriage, friends feared shining an even brighter spotlight on their lives together might put pressure on the relationship.

A source said: “Stacey often has a lot of big ideas without thinking about what could go wrong – and even Joe is feeling a bit sceptical about how a joint podcast where they talk freely about their relationship could pan out.

“Usually, Joe will let Stacey do whatever she wants and go along with it, but some of those close to her are concerned that people might see it as her being the one who calls all the shots in their relationship.”

However, fans who follow the pair on social media will soon see the doors to their world blown wide open in a new BBC docu-series – Escape To Pickle Cottage.

The fly-on-the-wall show will follow Stacey and Joe’s hectic lives – and their bust-up will be shown on screen. 

Those close to Stacey and Joe say the devoted couple will be able to overcome this “rocky patch” - although it will need work on both parts.

A friend adds: “Stacey and Joe’s show is going to be warts-and-all.

“There isn’t a chance that row won’t be shown on screen because it is real life.

“Stacey doesn’t want to gloss over that. Her brand is cemented in being a real woman, with a real life and very real obstacles that come up every day.

“Watching it back will be difficult though. Who wants to relive a row on national television with millions of people watching it?”

Stacey and Joe may not be relishing it, but I’m sure the production company execs will be rubbing their hands together with glee.