Stacey Solomon is reportedly going through a difficult period with husband Joe Swash amid months of rumours of trouble in their marriage.
Last month, it was reported that Solomon, 36, and Swash, 44, had not formally registered their 2022 wedding at their Essex home, Pickle Cottage.
Solomon - who previously said there are times she “can’t bear to look at Swash” - was seen wearing her engagement ring but not her wedding band hours later, prompting further speculation about their relationship.
The Loose Women presenter dismissed the divorce rumours on her podcast last week, insisting she still “fancies the pants” off her partner.
However, sources have claimed she has been going through a “tough patch” with the former EastEnders actor and is feeling a “lot of pressure” from having their issues play out publicly.
“Stacey is fed up with the divorce rumours. All couples have their ups and downs, but they’re having theirs in the spotlight,” an insider told The Mirror.
The source added: “Stacey is very sensitive and she reads all the comments, whereas Joe is laid-back and easy-going, and says, ‘Don’t worry about it, don’t look at it.’
“It’s not been a good year for them and they’re having a tough patch. They’ve got a young family and there’s a lot of pressure, but they won’t let this break them.”
The Standard has contacted Solomon’s representative for comment.
Solomon hit out at the split speculation on her Sort Your Life Out Unpacked podcast late last month.
“Who cares if the whole world is like: ‘Oh, they’re on the brink of divorce?’ she said.
“Being in the public eye I think creates certain pressures, but not on our relationship because half the time what they’re saying : ‘If we know it’s not true, who cares?’”
She went on to describe the ordinary push and pull of a long-term relationship.
“Sometimes I fancy the pants off him and can't wait to come home to see him. Sometimes I’m like: ‘Get out of my stratosphere – stay away from me.’ I think we’re just like any other couple.”
The remarks come after the couple's relationship attracted growing attention.
Last month, reports emerged that the couple had not formally registered their 2022 wedding ceremony at their Essex home.
However, a source close to the couple said the registration oversight was due to their busy lives.
"They have six kids," they told the Daily Mail. "If you look back at when they actually got married, it was just like a whirlwind, baby after baby. They just haven't got round to it yet."
The couple are parents to Rex, seven, Rose, four, and Belle, two, as well as Solomon's older sons Zachary, 18, and Leighton, 13, and Swash's son Harry, 18, from a previous relationship.
Solomon took a break from Instagram for much of April, returning at the end of the month with a quiet carousel of family photographs, in which Swash didn’t feature.
She captioned the post: “A slow April, in our little world… Missed coming on here and chatting to you all, but had a lovely April shutting off from the world and just being.”
Behind the scenes, production on their BBC reality show Stacey & Joe was disrupted during the same period.
According to the Daily Mail, a crew booked since December had their schedule thrown into disarray by what an insider described as tensions at Pickle Cottage that were "increasingly difficult to manage."
Filming eventually resumed, with Solomon spotted shooting scenes at Scotts Tulip Farm in Brentwood, a short distance from the family's £1.2 million home.
The BBC recently that Stacey & Joe has been commissioned for a third series, which will continue to follow the blended family's daily life.
In December, Solomon admitting there are moments when she “can’t bear to look” at Swash and said they “argue all the time”.
“How can you not fall out with your husband?” she told Good Housekeeping UK. “That’s a pipe dream! We don’t have a house full of staff, although we do have help. My mum will put a wash on; Dad looks after the kids.
“Joe and I argue all the time over the stuff that’s got to be done. I feel like we’re in that era: five kids, three of whom are young, so everything’s a kerfuffle.”
“[Joe and I] got together because we like each other,” she explained. “We have the same morals and values, so even if we do have a couple of months of, ‘F***king hell, I can’t even look at you right now,’ we’ll eventually remember why we got together in the first place.”
The couple first met in 2010 while filming I’m A Celeb in Australia. Solomon, who went on to win the series, crossed paths with Swash while he was presenting its spin-off show.
