She is renowned for sharing every detail of her life with fans, from stories of her home births to the antics on fun-filled family holidays.
But now, insiders say that Stacey Solomon is feeling the pressure of being a social media star and is hoping to take a break.
Stacey – who has five children, Zach, 15, Leighton, 11, Rex, four, Rose, one, and six-month-old Rose in her blended family with husband Joe Swash – has 5.7 million Instagram followers and posts daily stories about what she’s up to. In among the family content, she also shares sponsored posts promoting products and gives her fanbase a glimpse into her busy work schedule as a TV presenter.
But an insider says that Stacey, 33, has a love-hate relationship with maintaining such a huge online presence.
A source says, “Stacey has really struggled to stay off social media, but she’s started to worry about missing precious moments with her family and she doesn’t want to be glued to her phone all the time. Although a lot of what she posts is family-orientated, there is a lot that isn’t, and it can be tough trying to juggle all the sponsorship deals and posts as well as being a mum to five kids. She wants there to be more of a balance, but right now she is just feeling burnt out by it all and would really enjoy a break from it.”
Stacey – who rose to fame on The X Factor in 2009 before carving out a career as a Loose Women panellist, TV presenter and social media influencer – can reportedly earn up to £12k per sponsored post, which has included promoting face serums and creams, and a luxurious family getaway in Dubai.
In 2020, she quit social media for a day during a “confidence crisis”, admitting to her loyal followers that she was feeling “embarrassed” of herself.
“I just thought I’d be honest and share the rubbish along with all the good otherwise what’s the point in it all? Hope you have a lovely day,” she wrote on her story.
More recently, Gwyneth Paltrow – who has 8.3 million followers and runs her multi-million-pound business Goop largely via social media – announced she was taking herself off it for a while.
Alongside a moonlit photograph, the actress and businesswoman penned, “Taking this full moon energy with me as I go into a social media break. Going to work on being present. Happy summer.”
And now, a source tells Closer that Gwyneth’s move has planted a seed in Stacey’s mind to follow suit, but she is worried about sparking backlash whichever route she takes moving forward.
A source says, “After seeing a big celeb like Gwyneth recently announce she was taking a break, it’s made Stacey think about her own relationship with social media and how it can be addictive and unhealthy. She loves sharing her home life with fans and communicating with them, but the problem is, it’s part of Stacey’s job and livelihood. She finds herself constantly trying to think of ways to keep her content fresh and engaging, which can be a pain at times.
“She’s thought about getting a social media team to help with the load, but she’s worried about being labelled a fraud if someone else posts on her behalf, so she feels a bit trapped by it. She is worried about losing fans and business.”
Over the last week, doting mum Stacey has been keeping her fans updated on her sun-soaked family holiday, where she has been sharing photos with all of her children and equally proud dad Joe, who she married last summer in their idyllic Pickle Cottage garden.
And now, the insider explains that Joe has been the voice of reason for her and is prompting her to get a team on board to help with the social media side of things.
The source adds, “Joe is really encouraging of Stacey needing some time out. He thinks it would be healthy for her – but he also understands that she provides a lot of financial freedom and security for the family by doing what she does.
“She also hates letting people down and she works with a lot of lovely people when it comes to promoting stuff on her page, mostly from her own brand deals and designs. Joe has suggested that she finds a happy medium and gets someone to help her with her posts so that she doesn’t have to do everything herself – and that there’s no shame in having a bit of help.”