New! Magazine – 19 August 2019

‘ I want to add a girl

to our family!’

Joe Swash exclusively tells us about life as a new

dad, his date nights with girlfriend Stacey Solomon

and the big wedding party he has planned

EXCLUSIVE

W

e couldn’t have been happier

for new! favourites Stacey

Solomon and Joe Swash

when they welcomed their

first child, son Rex, in May.

Since then, both have been keeping

fans up to date on Instagram with the highs

and lows of having a newborn, including

breast-feeding struggles, constant nappy

changes and sleep deprivation.

And when we catch up with Joe, he tells

us life is crazy at the minute, but says he’s

totally in awe of their new addition.

“He’s beautiful,” the 37-year-old former

EastEnders star gushes.

Last month, Joe announced that after

10 years working on I’m A Celebrity spin-off

Extra Camp, he would be stepping down

to focus on his family. Joe is also dad to 12-

year-old Harry from a previous relationship

and Loose Women star Stacey, 29, also has

two boys Zachary, 11, and Leighton, seven.

Here, Joe lifts the lid on family life,

getting through the tough times and

marriage plans with Stacey...

Hi Joe. Congrats on little

Rex. How’s he doing?

He’s starting to smile and

make little noises. He’s so

lovely and we’re going

away so it will be his first

holiday – we can’t wait!

Have you spoken about

having more children?

Yeah. I’d really love to have

another child. I’m not the one

to make that decision, so it’s up

to Stacey. We’ve not had a girl

yet, so it’s tempting.

When would you like to do that?

We’re just going with the flow.

Would you like to get married?

Yeah, definitely. We’re really

PHOTOS: Getty, Shutterstockbusy at the moment. There are

loads of things going on and we’ve just had

Rex. Once we’ve settled down and we start

focusing on each other, then it’s definitely

something that will be coming along.

Does Stacey nag you to propose to her?

She doesn’t at me, but she’ll go on Loose

Women and vent her frustration! She gets

her message across to me loud and clear.

Do you want a big wedding?

I’d like to have a little, intimate wedding,

but I’m more interested in having

a real big party afterwards. But

you know Stacey, I won’t be in

charge of that side of things.

How is Stacey doing?

Really good. She just loves

being with the baby. She’s got

a couple of weeks left before

she dips her toe into work,

which I think she’s dreading.

Is she going to be rejoining Loose

Women soon?

There’s an anniversary soon, so she’s going

to go back, but I don’t know what

Stacey’s schedule is going to be like.

I’ll try to help out as much as I can.

Have you planned anything for

her 30th birthday in October?

She wants to go to

Disneyland in America

and wants me to

organise it. I don’t

know how I’m going to

do that. If anyone knows

anyone who can help me,

put them my way, please!

Do you and Stacey get to

go on many date nights?

We do like to go on dates.

Sheesh in Chigwell is lovely,

so we go there now and

again. But at home, most

of the time, I have no control

over the telly. Stacey and

the boys are either watching

Fortnite on YouTube or watching Stranger

Things for the millionth time. I have to really

battle for my time with the telly!

Would you ever do your own fly-on-the-wall

TV show like The Mummy Diaries?

I don’t think so. I love the ones that are out

at the minute, but they’ve already been done.

I don’t know how we’d do it differently.

How does it feel having a little one again

12 years after Harry was born?

I’m quite a paternal person and

I’ve got a big family and I love

kids. When I had Harry it

was quite a learning curve,

everything was new. I felt

a bit more relaxed with

Rex. Every baby is different

so all your approaches

have got to be different.

What does Harry think

of Rex?

He loves him! He’s like me and

he’s got a big paternal bone in him.

He’s so good. All the kids help us out.

Do all the boys get on well?

They do. But at the beginning, because

they’re all of similar age, it was like survival

of the fittest! It was like having a house full

of dogs trying to find out what their hierarchy

was. Now they all play well with each other

and really get on.

We love yours and Stacey’s honesty on

Instagram about the struggles of being

parents. Is that important for you to show?

Yeah, it is. So many youngsters look at

Instagram and try to live their life by it. And

it’s this fake glamour where people take these

perfect photos in perfect locations. Me and

Stace thought it’s important to show it’s really

difficult and hard and it’s not glamorous, but

it’s the most amazing job in the world.

You’ve decided not to present Extra Camp

this year. Was that a hard decision to make?

It was honestly one of the hardest decisions.

There was only going to be one outcome and

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With Extra Camp co-

stars Joel Dommett

and Scarlett Moffatt

Marriage is on

the cards for Joe

and Stacey