Stacey Solomon and Joe Swash have become one of the nation’s most-loved couples since they first met in 2010. Fast-forward to today and they’ve got six children between them, a houseful of pets and a string of successful TV shows and businesses to maintain. So, how do they do it? That’s what we’re about to find out, as Stacey and Joe let cameras into their Essex-based home, Pickle Cottage, to see what their life is really like…
Why did you want to make a reality series?
Stacey: People speculate about our lives anyway and they’ll say what they’re going to say. For us, making this felt like filming a lovely memory or a home movie for the future. We’re not very dramatic and we’re not looking to cause a load of drama. If people want to know and want to see, let’s just let them see! Everyone thinks they know everything anyway!
How chaotic is life at home?
Joe: It’s worse than chaos, it’s pure madness in the house. I’ve got friends that come over and when they go home they feel like they have tinnitus because everything is going off at once, but we love it like that. Our house is full of love, full of life and full of energy.
Stacey: It is chaos and absolute madness a lot of the time. My family are super-supportive and really helpful, and we could not do our jobs and our lives without them, but we do take on the load between us. It’s just me and Joe with the day-to-day mundane things. What you see is what you get. Probably the hardest thing was remembering that it’s all being recorded, and the cameras do see everything!
Was it important to show the nappies and rows as well as the good bits?
Joe: I feel like it’s our responsibility if we’re going to open up the doors to people and see our life. So many people represent their lives as being so perfect on Instagram, and it was our responsibility to show the highs and the lows – it’s not all a bed of roses. Sometimes we argue, and that’s got to be shown as well.
Would you consider having more children in the future?
Joe: Me and Stacey are so blessed that we’ve even been able to have kids and a family. But yeah, I’d love it!
Stacey: Joe would like me to be a baby machine! My pelvic floor is in a shambles. I can’t do it again. I would love to, maybe when they’re all a bit older and they’re all independent, if we would be lucky enough and privileged enough to be able to. That’s when I would consider it but, right now, I’m finally feeling like I’m recovering from three consecutive births, and it’s a lot!
