Stacey Solomon has built an empire worth £10 million and is one of the UK’s biggest TV stars, but behind the scenes the Loose Women favourite is haunted by insecurity
She’s one of the biggest success stories in British showbusiness, with an unstoppable TV career, lucrative brand deals and millions in the bank.
But despite her phenomenal wealth, mum-of-five Stacey Solomon is still plagued by heartbreaking self-doubt and worries that one day she could lose everything she’s worked so hard for. Last week it was revealed that, 17 years after she first found fame as a 19-year-old X Factor hopeful, Stacey is worth an impressive £10 million.
And while her empire, which includes TV projects and numerous high-profile business ventures, continues to go from strength to strength, we’re told that the star fears her success might not last.
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“She basically feels not worthy and not good enough,” says our source. “Even though she had the talent, she never thought she could do all of this. She feels like she doesn’t deserve to be there and she’s worried one day, she will wake up and lose it all.”
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Over the past decade, the former I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! winner – who has been married to former EastEnders star Joe Swash since 2022 – has established herself as an interiors guru, famed for her “tap to tidy” Instagram catchphrase and her hit BBC home makeover show, Sort Your Life Out.
She has also worked on money-spinning projects with top brands including Asda, Jet2, In The Style and Primark, while she co-owns booming haircare company REHAB, which is said to have an annual revenue of more than £3 million.
And with a staggering 6.2 million Instagram followers watching her every move as she shares her and her family’s idyllic – if occasionally chaotic – home life at her £1.2m Essex pad, Pickle Cottage, she has also become a social media phenomenon.
But behind the tidying tips, DIY hacks and sparkling surfaces, it seems Stacey, 36, hasn’t forgotten her humble East London roots, when she struggled financially as a single teenage mum.
“Both she and Joe weren’t brought up with any money,” says our source. “She is scared of going back to those days and she feels that people instantly look down on her.
“She does a nervous laugh and giggles, but that’s her way of covering up when she feels people aren’t listening to her – when people are looking down on her and thinking they know better. She hates that feeling.”
Stacey, who shares children Rex, six, Rose, four, and Belle, three, with Joe, and is also mum to Zachary, 17, and Leighton, 13, from previous relationships, has always been seen as the main breadwinner in her family.
While Joe, 44, fronts cookery show Batch From Scratch: Cooking For Less on Channel 4, and also appears in their hit BBC docuseries, Stacey & Joe, the actor has previously faced money worries – he has been declared bankrupt twice over unpaid tax bills, once in 2009 and again in 2013.
According to our source, the responsibility of providing for her family has also upped the pressure on Stacey. “Joe’s great and her children make her feel really great, but she’s got a lot of points to prove,” says our source. “She’s doing enormously well, but it’s never enough. She’s always doubting herself.”
Stacey has been open about suffering from “imposter syndrome” throughout her career, saying, “When you’ve grown up with limited resources, there’s almost a narrative that everything’s unlikely and the odds are against you.
“I guess then, if things start to happen, you immediately think, ‘Do I even deserve this?’ I really work hard to teach the boys that nothing is certain.”
The British public first fell in love with the Dagenham-born star when she auditioned for The X Factor in 2009. Her bubbly, down-to-earth nature and impressive singing voice won over viewers and she ended up finishing third, behind Joe McElderry and Olly Murs.
A year later she was crowned Queen Of The Jungle, before going on to become a regular on hit TV shows Loose Women and Celebrity Juice. But it’s as a lifestyle guru that she’s truly found her niche, with a sixth series of Sort Your Life Out due later this year.
Following in the footsteps of the likes of Kylie Jenner and Rihanna, she is also set to launch her own range of cosmetics, after registering a business called Belle & Rose, named after her two daughters.
Having struggled herself as a youngster, one thing is clear – Stacey never wants her own children to go without. But that’s not to say she won’t expect them to work hard. “I was excited to earn my own money and be financially independent. I want my children to be excited for that too,” said Stacey, who spent half-term enjoying a skiing holiday with her brood in Switzerland. “It’s a wider picture of their self-worth and their happiness in general. I want them to feel accomplished and have things.”
A drive to support her family is one of the main reasons she remains committed to carrying on working as hard as she can, so don’t expect to see Stacey with her feet up any time soon.
“She’s putting everything into her work,” says our source. “She’s invested a lot and she wants to keep this business growing. And although it sounds big, having this £10 million, it’s really all invested in the business. So she wants to build this for her kids’ futures.”
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