As Stacey Solomon and her family move into a new mansion, she’s feeling a bit overwhelmed
She’s in love with Pickle Cottage, but feeling overwhelmed
It was with wild excitement and a fair few emosh tears that Stacey Solomon showed fans around her incredible new Essex mansion last week – after uncharacteristically keeping it on the down low for months. We all know how stressful moving is, let alone with so many pickles (that’s kids, to you and me) – and nothing says “relaxing weekend” like piling your whole life into boxes and then having to unpack them again. However, when you’ve moved into a £1.2m period home in the countryside, it probably makes the whole experience a little more joyful. Stacey’s 4.2m Insta followers were thrilled for her and loved her tour of the 15th-century, four-bed property and grounds. As did we. Most exciting thing to have happened to us all week.
Stacey and fiancé Joe Swash have moved with their family – Zachary, 13, Leighton, eight (Stacey’s sons from previous relationships), one-year-old Rex, and their two dogs, Peanut and Theo. Joe’s son Harry, 13, wasn’t there for moving day. Posting a family shot from their 2.5 acre back garden, Stacey told her fans, “We cannot even describe how strange it feels that this is home. Never in a million years did we ever think this would be. We feel so lucky and are so grateful to have found this hidden treasure closer to our family and further out. We can’t wait to fill it with love and give it our everything. To raise our family here. And
to just start afresh.” Accompanying the picture taken in front of the house, Stacey said, “I’m very emotional for some reason. It still hasn’t sunk in and doesn’t quite feel real... Here’s to the next chapter in Pickle Cottage.”
And we’re told that Stacey is in complete disbelief that she has been able to buy her dream home and is feeling a bit overwhelmed. “Stacey really can’t believe what has happened to her over the past 18 months – she has to keep pinching herself that this is her life,” an insider close to the 31 year old told heat. “She had Zach at 17 and had nothing, so now she feels so grateful that she can give him and her other kids this dream life. She is a worrier and has moments of freaking out that it’s all too good to be true.”
Stacey has dubbed the fourbedroom house – which also has a swimming pool and detached outbuilding – “Pickle Cottage” in reference to her nickname for the kids. The property, which dates back to the 1500s, features a large country-style kitchen with an AGA, a library, a “leisure complex with Jacuzzi”, and a master bedroom with en suite and a dressing room. And with the décor looking a little dated, it’s clear that Stacey is keen to get cracking on renovating.
On her Insta tour, craft and Diy-queen Stacey pointed out wardrobes she was planning on painting, fireplaces she wanted to clean up, and all of the property’s many sinks that she has become “obsessed” with. The boys, however, seemed to be most excited about the giant garden – complete with a mini house built in the exact likeness of the main property for them to play in.
Stacey – who rose to fame after her appearance on The X Factor in 2009 – is now one of the UK’S top mumfluencers and is famous for her “Tap to Tidy” posts and videos, as well as her fondness for upcycling and crafting. Her book Tap To Tidy: Organising, Crafting & Creating Happiness In A Messy World has become an instant bestseller and has clearly helped her afford her luxurious home. The mum of three – who’s already a popular presenter on ITV’S Loose Women – is also soon set to front her very own BBC1 show, Sort Your Life Out, which will see the star help families with her tidying hacks. And to add to her successful year, rumours are swirling that she is a shoo-in for the 2021 Strictly Come Dancing line-up. The financial rewards have been huge.
Our source shares, “Stacey didn’t believe she’d ever be able to buy a house like that, and she knows it’s down to her fans. They have supported her and bought her book, helping her become a huge success over the past year. She is also in disbelief that the BBC want her for shows like Strictly, and that she’s so in demand and will be fronting her own TV programme.”
But fans will have noticed that the Essex star has struggled to take it all in and keeps reiterating how overwhelmed she is, saying things like, “I’ve never felt so lucky, it almost scares me”, and that she’d woken up feeling disorientated, “a bit like waking up on holiday”. It seems that behind it all, Stacey, who sees her legion of fans as friends, is concerned that she’s “showing off” with snaps of her idyllic new life. “Don’t want to look like I’m a massive show off or make anyone feel rubbish or anything. I’m just sooo excited,”
‘She’s worried that her new lifestyle will alienate fans’
she wrote online, later adding, “I’ve never had anything like this in my life. I can’t believe it’s mine and Joe’s as much as you guys can’t.”
And our insider reveals Stacey’s feeling anxious about her fans’ reactions. She wants them to see her as an ordinary girl next door who’s had her ups and downs, shares their fears and joys, and will always be down to earth. “She knows that one of the reasons she’s been a success is because her fans can relate to her, and she’s worried that her new lifestyle will alienate them, especially as the pandemic has been rough on so many families,” we’re told. “She doesn’t want to make people feel bad, but at the same time, she’s worked really hard and wants to enjoy her success. Working on this new house, and doing as much of it herself as she can, will only make her more successful and in demand, but she’s sensitive to the fact that she has more than most of her fans could ever dream of.”
Just days after moving into the property, Stacey told her followers she’d received “unkind” messages from online trolls, but that the positive comments from her followers were all that mattered. She wrote, “Your messages are just so lovely. They really mean a lot. There’s always going to be unkind people out there. And I’ve seen a fair few over the last few days especially. People will always try to bring you down, but they don’t matter at all. These kinds of messages are everything.
They cancel out any nastiness and just mean so much more.”
She’s also irrationally worried that, as everything is wonderful, will it all be snatched away from her somehow? “She just can’t escape the creeping fear her new life will come crashing down in some way,” our source adds. “Is it possible for anyone to be this lucky and happy? She knows it’s silly, but it just pops into her head.”
And while she is going to have her hands full with plenty of tapping and tidying, our insider says that at the end of the day, being a parent is what matters most to Stacey. “Being a mum and being with her kids is the most important thing to her – everything she gets offered will have to fit in around that.” ■