Joe Swash has admitted that it is 'hard' when private moments from his life with Stacey Solomon end up on air, after the couple were caught in a huge row over beans during filming of their BBC reality show Stacey & Joe.
Private Argument Captured on Camera
The couple, who invited BBC cameras into their £1.2 million Essex home, Pickle Cottage, in April 2025 for the first series of the show, saw the premiere episode attract some 4.2 million viewers. However, Joe told podcaster Alan Carr that sometimes the cameras capture moments they would rather keep private.
Stacey chimed in, recounting: 'Last season when they recorded us arguing over beans, I was so annoyed that time and I thought 'I'm hiding this so well.' But then I thought they'd stop rolling the cameras and I was on FaceTime and I said 'I'm surprised you haven't said sorry.' Then they start rolling again. And then we have this big row and then I look up and I'm like, 'Oh, they're filming this. They're definitely filming this. They've got this whole thing …'
'It's hard,' Joe added. 'The thing is, when we decided to do this, we said 'It's got to be warts and all. We can't be looking to be perfect because we're not perfect.'
Reality Show Veterans
Stacey and Joe are seasoned reality TV stars, having met on I'm a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! in 2010. 'We have a holiday romance that never ended,' Stacey said. Joe also had a brief appearance on ITV's Club Reps in 2002, before his role on EastEnders. He recalled annoying show regular Marie Slater by calling her 'Treacle,' which later led to reps across Europe wearing 'Don't call me treacle' on their uniforms. 'So it's like my first claim to fame,' he added.
Joe admitted he tried to hide his involvement in Club Reps: 'I really tried to keep it quiet because I thought I was going to lose my job on EastEnders.'
Serious Topics: Joe's ADHD Journey
Beyond the lighthearted chaos, the couple occasionally touch on more serious topics, such as Joe's ADHD diagnosis. In a recent Instagram update, Joe shared that he had not been 'managing it well' and had stopped taking medication for the past year. He said: 'I have stopped taking the medication for the last year. Now, in hindsight, I know is a bad idea, so I'm sort of gonna start the journey again from scratch. I've got a meeting with my doctor, and ADHD doctor as well. I realised the busier I get, the more overwhelmed I get with things and I start forgetting things, doing things in weird orders.'
He added: 'I can't explain why I've done it that way either. So, I'm gonna start the journey again, which I'm sort of excited about because I don't feel like I sort of finished the journey in the beginning. So this time, I feel like I'm gonna let you know how I'm getting on.'
