It should be the happiest day of her life, but Stacey Solomon has admitted planning her dream wedding to Joe Swash is proving to be a bumpy road.
She recently revealed that she’s fallen behind with preparations amid the upheaval of moving into their new home, which she has been busy renovating on top of juggling her TV commitments and looking after her three boys.
Stacey, 31 – who’s set to wed fiancé Joe, 39, at their £1.2 million Essex pad, “Pickle Cottage”, on 25 July following their Christmas Eve engagement – admitted, “At the moment, my wedding planning has not gone any further from last year. We didn’t foresee moving house.”
The Loose Women presenter – who is mum to Zachary, 13, and Leighton, nine, from previous relationships and two-year-old Rex with Joe – quipped, “At this rate it will just be me, Joe, my family and the rabbi in the garden – no food, no disco, nothing.”
Now, as her big day draws nearer, insiders say the broody star is debating whether to postpone their nuptials and focus on trying for another baby instead. Earlier this year, she revealed Joe is, “100 per cent trying to get me pregnant again.”
A source says, “Stacey’s a self-confessed perfectionist and doesn’t want to get married unless everything is just how she’d dreamed.
“So, with only a couple of months left to plan everything, she’s having second thoughts. She’s understandably panicking and she and Joe have been discussing pushing the date back to next year to relieve some of the pressure that’s been building up.
“They are also pining for another baby, and after celebrating Rex’s second birthday last week, it reminded them how fast he’s growing up. It made them realise how they don’t want to leave it too much longer before giving him another sibling. Stacey also joked how she needs a flower girl in the wedding line-up, to balance out the page boys!”
Stacey has made no secret of feeling broody, admitting in November, “I’m broody all the time, especially in lockdown when you’re all bored and think, ‘Hmmm, might as well get pregnant!’”
A few months earlier, she told her 4.4 million Instagram followers how I’m A Celeb! spin-off presenter Joe had to “drag me out” of a baby shop when she got side-tracked by a crib. She also told a fan she’d “love to” have more children, adding, “If they were all like Rex, I’d have a thousand!”
Joe has admitted he’d like to add to their family too, saying, “I’m really starting to miss the baby period because it does go by so fast and that is such a precious time when the baby is first born. So, I’m not going to lie, I think I might have one more in me, you know? I’m getting a little broody.”
Check out: The X Factor 'joke' contestants - where are they now?
The X Factor joke acts - where are they now? - slider
Wagner then
You need to cast your mind back to 2010 to remember Wagner, the Brazilian pocket rocket who had us in stitches with his theatrical performances, while simultaneously covering our ears to block out the noise he was making with his mouth.
Wagner now
Wagner's comic appeal saw him finish sixth in the seventh series – a placing which irked top judge Simon no end. In 2012 he caused controversy when he had a baby with his then 20-year-old girlfriend Lydia – who's 36 years his junior.
Stevi Ritchie then
Resident joke act in 2014 was Stevi (he dropped the 'e' - pure edge) Ritchie, a fan of big songs and big vocals that verged on shouting a lot of the time. He went on to have a relationship with fellow 2014 contestant, Chloe Jasmine but definitely not for publicity or anything like that.
Stevi Ritchie now
Stevi has been busy showing off his killer new bod on Instagram after dropping over three stone in just eight weeks with a grueling diet and exercise regime. Sadly, his romance with Chloe wasn't to last, but he did pop up in a selfie of hers on Insta earlier this year.
Diva Fever then
Also from series seven and one of the only novelty acts to be mentored by Simon Cowell, Diva Fever were a camp-as-they-come party act made up of Craig and Josef. They made it to week two of the live shows before they were booted off.
Diva Fever now
Though it looks as though Diva Fever have officially disbanded, we're pleased to report that Josef and Craig are still pals and were out in force this year to celebrate Pride with their squad.
Johnny Robinson then
Series eight saw one of our all time FAVOURITE contestants take to the stage and blow away the judges - this time with Gary Barlow in the top spot – with his mega voice. Johnny Robinson was mentored by Louis Walsh in his over 25s category, and lasted until week five in the live shows.
Johnny Robinson now
Prior to his stint on The X Factor, Johnny performed as his drag alter ego, Sarah Lee, and in 2016 he reprised the role and released two singles, Eaten Alive and Deliver Me. Last year he gave an interview for The Sun's Back To Reality series, where he said he'd "rather bake a quiche" than find love.
Chico then
The original joke act, Chico was mentored by Sharon Osbourne way back in 2005 for the second series of The X Factor, which was won by Shane Ward and was the first series anyone really paid attention to, anyway. His performances were crazy high energy, and one time he poured a glass of water over himself mid song.
Chico now
Chico went onto have some success with his single, It's Chico Time (erotic, hypnotic, exotic, that's for sure) and since then has launched his own fitness program and classes, Block 1. Last year he suffered a stroke following a blood clot on the brain, but quickly made a full recovery.
Jedward then
Another of Louis Walsh's bright ideas, Jedward were bound to win over the X Factor mainstay hailing from his native Ireland. They delivered consistently cringe-worthy productions with backing vocals – but still made it to week seven, because, as we've seen – the public love a novelty act.*sarcasm
Jedward now
This photo is from 2017, but let's be honest, Jedward haven't changed a bit, leading us to suspect they are in fact alien bots from the future sent to Earth for reasons so evil we couldn't possibly comprehend them. So far they're not doing a bad job of that, so we'll leave it there.
2Shoes then
In 2011, Essex- based duo 2Shoes won over Tulisa and took their place in the groups for series eight - but were pipped to the post by another girl group now known as Little Mix. Their infectious girly pop - and fondness of referring to each other as 'Shoe' – was cute, but got old quickly and they were eliminated in week one.
2Shoes now
SHUT UP! Far from having their confidence knocked from their time on X Factor, Charley and Lucy have continued to perform as 2Shoes, and earlier this year released a fab cover of Ariana Grande's Thank U, Next on YouTube. Meanwhile, Charley is now a mum of two after announcing her first pregnancy during the live show rehearsals.
Rylan Clark then
Rylan had already starred on Signed By Katie Price when he auditioned for X Factor with long, platinum blonde hair and a bizarre dance version of Des 'Ree's Kissing You in 2012. But he really cemented his future sleb status with his LEGENDARY breakdown at Nicole Scherzinger's house, after she told him he was going through to the live shows.
Rylan Clark-Neal now
It can be easy to forget about Rylan's humble beginnings, what with being a bona fide national treasure these days. He's worked on everything from Big Brother's Bit on the Side to the Eurovision spin off, You Decide. He's got a regular slot onThis Morning, stole the show on Celebrity Gogglebox alongside his mum Sandra and is currently filling the iconic shoes of Dale Winton in the reboot of Supermarket Sweep. In his personal life, he married policeman and Big Brother 14 housemate Dan Neal. Oh also, we love him.
Same Difference then
Same Difference was made up of brother and sister Sean and Sarah Smith, and their brand of pop-meets-musical-theatre saw them sail through to third place under the mentorship of Simon Cowell – without falling into the bottom two ONCE during the live shows.
Same Difference now
Sean is still singing, most recently performing at the Weston-Super-Mare Pride event in August 2019, and he's still got Same Difference in his Twitter bio so he's clearly not even embarrassed about it. Meanwhile little sis Sarah has been popping out kids, and is now mum to two boys, Bertie and Barney. Cute.
Honey G then
It's unclear whether Honey G - real name Anna Georgette Gilford – was a parody character or just one of the most dedicated acts in X Factor history, but either way, the public certainly warmed to her polite rap persona and she placed fifth in 2016 under Sharon Osbourne, who returned to the show for that series.
Honey G now
Honey did actually sign to SyCo, Simon Cowell's record label, before Christmas of that year but was dropped after just four months when her single charted at no. 149 in the UK charts – one of the lowest performing X Factor singles of all time. In 2017, she went on to star on Channel 5 make-under series 100% Hotter (dubbed "the most judgemental show on TV" by critics) where she was stripped of her hat and sunglasses.
And while pals have warned Stacey that having a fourth child could heap more onto her already full plate, she has insisted it would do the opposite.
The source says, “Stacey’s in this bubble of happiness in their new ‘little paradise’ as she calls it, and has become a real homebody. She loves doing the renovations.
“She says getting pregnant would give her an even bigger excuse to nest and continue doing up the house. Then, by the time the wedding comes around, it would all be done, and she wouldn’t need to stress about it not being perfect.
“Watching how close Zach and Leighton are has made her and Joe want to give Rex a sibling close in age, too. They’ve agreed that even if they don’t postpone the wedding, they’ll start trying sooner rather than later.”
This is not the first time Stacey – whose home improvement show Sort Your Life Out is currently airing on BBC One – has considered postponing her nuptials.
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She and Joe are planning to use their idyllic two-and-a-half-acre back garden for their wedding, but in April she revealed they could be forced to push back the date after being denied a licence to legally wed there. Although they’ve since had the decision revoked, insiders say she’s still considering rescheduling.
The source adds, “Stacey’s still got a lot she wants to do to the garden and, while she’s desperate to marry Joe, she’s insisted she’s in no rush and that having a piece of paper now or in a few months isn’t going to make a difference.
“With everything in her life falling into place, Stacey doesn’t want to do anything that might cause that bubble to burst. While it’s still very much up in the air, she’s insisted that whatever decision she makes will be the right one for her, Joe and their family.”
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