Joe Swash's family has been growing rapidly over the past few years, with his wife Stacey Solomon welcoming three children in just four years. But the former EastEnders star – who also has a son from a previous marriage and two stepsons – says the pair are now keen to stop at six.
In fact, Joe, 41, even says that Stacey, 33, is hinting that he should get a vasectomy.
He tells Closer, “We love our family unit and all our kids. But we’ve got to put a cap in it somewhere. I think six is a good number. I think the snip could be on the cards. I’m trying to fight it, but it’s a losing battle – Stacey keeps telling me it’s reversible, and that’s a big hint!”
His comments follow Stacey’s revelation on a recent Instagram video that Joe would “keep having children until the cows come home”.
Joe and Stacey met in 2010, when she won I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! while Joe was hosting the spin-off show, but things didn’t turn romantic until late 2015. Since then, their relationship has gone from strength to strength, with the couple welcoming their first child Rex, four, in May 2019.
Then, in December 2020, Stacey revealed that Joe had proposed to her during a walk with the boys, and they eventually tied the knot in July 2022, 10 months after the birth of their daughter Rose, one. Second daughter Belle followed in February 2023.
Since March 2021, Joe and Stacey have lived in Essex at their idyllic Pickle Cottage – worth a reported £1.2million – with their blended family, which consists of their three children plus Stacey’s two sons, Zachary, 15, who she shares with her ex-boyfriend Dean Cox, and Leighton, 10, who she shares with her ex-fiancé Aaron Barnham, as well as Joe’s son Harry, 15, from his three-year relationship with Emma Sophocleous.
Although Harry lives with his mum full-time and Zachary and Leighton regularly spend time with their dads, Joe admits that Pickle Cottage can be hectic.
He explains, “It’s going all right – it’s a busy house, but it’s exactly how we love it. We love kids, and ours seem to be particularly amazing. Stacey did the first three months of night feeds while she was on maternity leave, and I’ve done the last three. So, we’re 50/50 at the moment.”
And when asked what he considers to be the key to maintaining the harmony in a blended family, Joe adds, “There is a lot of love, and we love all the kids the same. Our kids are all so close. My eldest – from another relationship – and Stacey’s kids, they all get on, so it’s brilliant. We’re a big unit.”
While Stacey first rose to fame on The X Factor in 2009 before carving out a successful TV career, appearing on Loose Women and fronting her own series, Sort Your Life Out – which was nominated for a National Television Award this year – Joe has been acting since he was very young.
His career began with an Andrex commercial when he was six years old, as well as several small TV and films roles, before he was cast in EastEnders as cheeky chappy Mickey Miller in 2003. Since leaving the show in 2008, Joe appeared on – and won – both I’m A Celebrity in 2008 and Dancing On Ice in 2020. More recently, he fronted the BBC documentary Joe Swash: Teens In Care.
And despite his transition to reality TV and presenting, Joe hasn’t ruled out a return to the show that made him a household name, admitting, “EastEnders can bring people back from the dead, so there’s always a chance of a return! I guess if they really wanted me, they would phone. I don’t know what I’d say if they called. I’ve such a busy life with the kids, but if it fitted in with my life, I would love to.
“I’ve done some documentaries this year for the BBC, so I’m hoping to do a few more of those. We did one on social care with kids in care. I like social issues and finding out people’s problems. But as always, my family come first.”