Joe Swash in 'bizarre' confession about family life with Stacey Solomon
Former EastEnders star Joe Swash has lifted the lid on family life with wife Stacey Solomon and their six children.
Joe Swash has opened up about his busy family life in his and Stacey Solomon's home, 'Pickle Cottage' in Essex and their six children Rex, six, Rose, three, and Belle, two. They also have Joe's son Harry, 17, and Stacey's sons Zachary, 17, and Leighton, 13.
In an exclusive chat with OK!, the former I'm A Celeb winner spoke candidly about how losing his own dad at the age of 12 influenced the type of parent he's become. With their BBC show Stacey and Joe, which gives insight into their lives at Pickle Cottage, it's safe to say that the whole family are stars.
But Joe admits that Stacey and himself don't dabble too much into the world of celebs when they're off the clock. In fact, he deemed this element of their family life 'bizarre'.
He told OK: "To be honest, I think me and Stacey find it quite bizarre. We don't really flirt with the showbiz world – we very rarely go to openings and stuff. When me and Stacey are at work, we're at work – then when we're at home we just shut the door like any other family.
"My dad was a London taxi driver and he'd come home for the evening and he'd shut the door and he wasn't a London taxi driver any more, he was just my dad. It's the same for me and Stacey and, although we both love what we do and feel so privileged to do it, when we come home our jobs are irrelevant."
Although both parents work long and hard at their jobs in showbiz, they value an extended period of family time during the summer holidays.
Joe explained: "We get so excited because we spend so much of the year with the kids going to school, the clubs, me and Stacey working, so we always take a chunk of time off for the summer holidays. It's our way of reconnecting as a family. Those holidays are really important to us."
When asked if it was difficult to coordinate their calendars amid both of their busy schedules, the former EastEnders star said: "We do because what's the point in working all year if you can't get a chunk of time off together? We know once the summer's gone they're back to school, another school year older, so we want to make the most of it."
He also spoke of happy childhood memories with his own dad, saying: "We didn't know how short our time was going to be with our dad, so those are really happy memories. We would get a caravan, hook it up to the car and drive it to a campsite in the South of France for four weeks.
"It's the sort of thing that Stacey and I are trying to provide for our kids. It's what I hunger for and look back on with really fond memories."
With so many kids in the house of different ages and personalities, Joe says it's important for them to make everybody in the family feel valued.
He said: "The most important thing is making time for them, and their own hobbies and interests. We're at a point now where Rex loves his tennis, and Rose and Belle are into their dancing, and Zachary loves his cars – so they're all very different. We try to make sure they know that me and their mum know about their interests and no one is ever overlooked.
"Then when they get time together – the older ones and the younger ones – they love it. It's amazing to see them all having fun, playing in the pool or whatever. We have moments where we're just like, 'Wow, look at this!' It's amazing."
When asked if he was proud of the dad he had become, Joe confessed that he didn't think he was there quite yet.
He admitted: I'm very much still in the midst of the kids growing up and they've all got different needs and are at different stages. I'm maybe too much in the moment to step back and think, 'Oh, that was good.'
"I think in a couple of years' time, once the kids have all sort of found themselves, found their feet a bit more and established themselves a bit more, I'll be able to look back and think, 'Yeah, that was good.'
"I'm learning all the time as a parent too and I don't think there's a real right or wrong way to do it. So maybe that's one for the future because I would love to look back at this time and feel proud."
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