She’s been happily straddling her demanding TV and social media careers with parenting her five children for the past few years. So fans were shocked as Stacey Solomon revealed her goals to step back from the glitz and glamour of showbiz life to focus on being a stay-at-home mum to the kids she shares with husband Joe Swash and from previous relationships.
Loose Women star Stacey, 34, made the comments on the Glad We Had This Chat podcast, telling host Caroline Hirons, “This year, when my team asked me my five-year goals, I was like, ‘I want to be a stay- at-home mum.’ That is my dream, my ultimate dream. I just want to be with my kids.”
And insiders say Stacey is feeling torn over her future as – with multiple projects currently in the pipeline – she’s worried about being judged for prioritising work over family.
An insider says, “Stacey is first to admit that she’s a total chatterbox and will often get carried away when she’s being interviewed or talking about personal things on Loose Women. She’s been wincing over her comment that she’s going to give up her career to be a stay-at-home mum as it’s not strictly true.
“Obviously, she feels that her words were taken slightly out of context because she has a mounting pile of projects on offer to her, and there’s no way she’s going to turn them all down. She doesn’t want to be made to choose between work and family, but now she feels – after saying what she did – she may have to.”
Stacey and Joe are well known for their big blended family. The mum-of-five has two older children, Zachary, 16, and Leighton, 12, and shares Rex, five, Rose, two, and Belle, 15 months, with husband Joe, 42. The family are all loved up in the idyllic Pickle Cottage, while EastEnders star Joe also has his own son, Harry, 16, from a previous relationship.
Stacey’s career has thrived since she rose to fame on X Factor in 2009. She’s carved out a successful career in the TV world, first as a panellist on Loose Women and then with her own empire of successful TV shows, from Sort Your Life Out to Stacey Solomon’s Renovation Rescue. The latter programme has even caught the attention of Hollywood, as it’s produced by Reese Witherspoon’s production company, Hello Sunshine.
She’s also a huge presence on social media – with 5.9m followers and is estimated to rake in around £12,000 for each social media brand deal she posts.
However, it’s not all smooth sailing for Stacey – who at Christmas faced criticism after whisking her extended family off to “paradise” for a Caribbean holiday that many deemed unattainable and at odds with her relatable image. And while Stacey has previously told her fans to “unfollow” when they’ve slammed her trips abroad, the insider says she’s worried about being “cancelled” again or called a “fraud” for her recent comments.
“Stacey feels awkward because she knows that for a lot of her fanbase, working from home is not an option and a lot of people have no choice but to leave their children to go to work,” the insider says. “She hates the idea of alienating her hard-working fans and sometimes it seems she can’t ever win when giving her opinion as it’s always going to offend someone.”
After revealing she’s planning to take a step back from the spotlight, insiders say Stacey Solomon is worried about letting down her fans as she juggles work and home life
While Joe has appeared on a number of TV shows over the years, and last year appeared on I’m A Celebrity! in South Africa, Stacey is the main breadwinner.
But while she’s said she loves her work, she has previously revealed her family are always her top priority, saying recently her favourite part of her day was “getting excited about coming home to Pickle Cottage”.
She explained on the podcast recently that she wanted to prioritise family after worrying she might have missed the chance to do so with her older kids.
“I definitely feel like I’m at a pivotal moment in my life where Zach is about to leave school and become an adult,” she said, stressing she felt Zachary and Leighton needed her more than ever now.
In addition, she said that with her “three babies”, she didn’t “want to miss what I potentially feel like I missed with my older children.”
But sources say Stacey’s still agonising over her future, and wants to be able to grab great opportunities while also being there for her kids.
“She doesn’t want it to seem like she isn’t eager to try more opportunities because she absolutely is,” the insider adds. “Stacey is a workhorse and wants to keep her brand going for many years to come, but she worries she’s made it seem like she’s ready to retire."
