Stacey Solomon sets marriage rumours straight once and for all

Stacey Solomon has finally spoken out amid speculation into her marriage with Joe Swash. The TV star, 36, tied the knot with ex-EastEnders star Joe, 44, at their home in Pickle Cottage in 2022, but it has emerged in recent days that the pair have still not legally married.

Stacey and Joe are parents to Rex, six, Rose, four, and three-year-old Belle together, whilst Stacey has Zachary, 18, and Leighton, 13, from previous relationships. Meanwhile, Joe has Harry, 18, with his ex-partner Emma Sophocleous. The Mirror made clear at the time, that Stacey had previously informed fans that her marriage was not legally binding and they had married at home.

Citing their busy family life as a reason behind not getting legally married, a source told The Sun: “They always intended to do the legal part, but with six kids and busy diaries just haven’t got round to it — life has got in the way.”

Now, Stacey, who shot to fame on The X Factor but swapped a singing career for presenting for shows like Loose Women and Sort Your Life Out, has broken her silence on the matter.

In a series of videos shared to Stacey’s Instagram Stories she told concerned fans: “Everyone knows that we didn’t get a legal marriage certificate. When we got married here [at home]. I said to everyone when we were having our ceremony, we had a religious ceremony in our garden, because you can’t legally get married in your own garden without making it a public space. And the whole reason for us wanting to have a private ceremony here in our house is so that the press were legally not allowed to stalk us, take pictures, release things and be there. And I publicly said that. I said we’re not getting legally married here. This is a religious blessing and ceremony for our family and friends to celebrate our love together. And we will get legally married at a later point.”

After holding a ceremony at their home in 2022, Stacey clarified in her Instagram Story that they were not able to get legally married. Responding to a fan’s question about home weddings, Stacey wrote: “To get married anywhere legally, the place has to have a ‘civil ceremony’ licence.

“One of the requirements for this licence is that the premises must be made ‘readily available’ for ceremonies. As this is our private family home and we need it to remain that way we couldn’t go for that option. So we are having a relaxed private blessing in front of our closest friends & family and a ceremony of our love to each other and we will register our marriage legally after.”

Stacey has been pictured without her wedding ring multiple times, although she has also been pictured wearing it. Stacey directly addressed the speculation during a recent TV appearance. During a conversation with hosts Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard on This Morning, Stacey said: “There’s a new rumour each week.

“I’m terrible. I don’t read any of that stuff.” Looking down the barrel of the camera, Stacey said: “Have I not been wearing my ring? I probably took it off to go to the toilet or something, I don’t know!”

A few weeks ago in pictures obtained by The Mirror she was seen without her ring, although prior to those pictures being taken, she shared a selfie to Instagram with the ring on.

On Mother’s Day, Stacey shared an image with her children with her ring missing, while Joe honoured her on his account with a smiling family picture. For Zach’s 18th birthday post, Stacey’s hand was out of view of the pictures.

Directly referencing the speculation around the ring, Stacey continued with another video shared to her social media where she said: “If anyone knows me, anyone who has followed me for years and years knows I haven’t worn my engagement ring for years. Every ring that I wear on this finger is a ring that I designed with a company that I work with because I don’t like wearing my engagement ring and I know that I’ll take it off and lose it somewhere. So I designed engagement rings so that I could just wear fake ones and not worry about it and I’ll take it off, on and I’ll leave it somewhere and I’ll forget to put it back on, it’s not newsworthy.”

Joe and Stacey began dating in 2016, six years after they met on the I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! spin off show. The couple have allowed cameras to document the ups and downs of family life for their BBC reality show, Stacey & Joe, which has run for two series.

In September, the pair admitted they ‘argue all the time.’ Joe has previously revealed that at times there has been a ‘feisty atmosphere’ between them.

The pair also admitted their relationship isn’t perfect. Last April Stacey confessed: “I think sometimes it’s really good and sometimes it’s really c**p ain’t it? I think sometimes, everyone’s looking for this perfect partner, when actually the perfect one is the one you want to kill half the time, and are in love with half the time.”