Stacey Solomon and Joe Swash have been married for four years and share three children together, but the couple have said that they wish they could get away together more
Joe Swash has confessed “it’s difficult” to whisk wife Stacey Solomon away on romantic breaks as they balance their relationship with family commitments. The former EastEnders actor and television personality first crossed paths during the tenth series of I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!.
Stacey claimed the crown as Queen of the Jungle in December 2010, twelve months after Joe triumphed in the popular ITV show. Romance flourished between the pair, who started courting in 2016 before tying the knot at their picturesque Pickle Cottage in 2022.
The couple are parents to Rex, Rose, and Belle, whilst Stacey has two lads, Zachary and Leighton, from earlier relationships, reports the Manchester Evening News. Joe is also dad to Harry from his previous relationship with Emma Sophocleous.
The brood recently offered supporters an insight into their world through the Stacey and Joe television programme. In it fans watched on as the busy parents enjoyed a fishing trip away together.
Speaking on Alan Carr’s Life’s a Beach podcast, the comic questioned whether the duo had shifted to taking breaks within the UK rather than romantic escapes overseas.
Joe responded: “It’s difficult leaving the kids and all the animals. We only really get a night together or a night and a day, so it’s easier just to do something local.
“I’d love to go away with Stace, take her to Rome or take her to Italy, but we’ve just got to get rid of the kids first. So I think that might be something in the future, so for now, a nice little staycation is the way forward for us.”
Stacey continued: “We’re not in that era yet. We’ve got babies, ducks, chickens, and dogs. Whenever someone says they’re not doing anything on a weekend, we just say, ‘Do you want to have our kids? Do you want to take our kids out seeing as you’re free?'”
Joe however reckons the sheer number of their offspring makes securing babysitters a nightmare. He explained: “That’s the problem.
“There’s not a lot of people who are going to take five kids so we have to send them far and wide to different people. It’s like a military operation.”
Despite this, Stacey and Joe do manage to escape with their little ones in tow.
They chatted about a recent holiday to Dubai, where Joe bumped into former England ace Rio Ferdinand and his missus Kate.
Joe, who was pushing baby Belle past the Manchester United icon, decided he would “disturb” Rio as he tucked into brekkie at their hotel.
When he wandered back half an hour later, a panicked Stacey demanded: “Where’s my baby?”.
Joe confessed: “I’d left the baby with Rio Ferdinand.”
Luckily for the soap star, Rio turned up with Belle, cheekily telling him: “Swashy, you forgot something.”