Pictures of Stacey Solomon and Joe Swash playing happy families during a day out last week have emerged as it’s revealed the couple are not legally married.
The couple headed on a family day out to Port Lympne Safari Park in Kent last week to celebrate the birthday of Stacey’s niece.
They were joined by Stacey’s Influencer sister Jemma Solomon and her family, but the couple were seen looking tense as they strolled around the park with their kids.
Whilst Joe’s wedding band was visible Stacey was once again not wearing her ring.
It emerged on Wednesday that the couple, who held a wedding ceremony at their £1.2million home, Pickle Cottage, in July 2022, never made the marriage legally binding.
At the time, Stacey, 36, said they were planning to register their marriage after the wedding as their home didn’t have a civil ceremony licence.
But three and a half years on, TV’s golden couple have still not made their union official.
The bombshell comes just two weeks on from when the television personality was quizzed about her relationship with Joe, 44, after she was seen without her wedding ring.
A source told The Sun: ‘They always intended to do the legal part, but with six kids and busy diaries just haven’t got round to it, life has got in the way.
‘Stacey and Joe obviously knew that their garden wedding wasn’t legal and were upfront about that.’
The news might come as a surprise to fans, who watched the couple on their BBC reality show, Stacey & Joe.
It followed their lives with their children; Rex, six, Rose, four, and Belle, three. Stacey is also mum to Zachary, 18, and Leighton, 13, from previous relationships. Joe is also dad to Harry, who is from a previous relationship.
Stacey also has lucrative family fashion ranges with Asda and Primark.
An insider said: ‘It will certainly raise eyebrows with firms and even TV execs that they’ve invested in a perfect picture that’s all a sham.’
The couple first met back in 2010 on the set of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!
But Stacey and Joe didn’t start dating until 2016 and moved in together two years later.
They got engaged in 2020 on Christmas Eve during a romantic walk and moved into Pickle Cottage a year later.
Following the wedding, Stacey spoke about the status of their union at the time. She said: ‘To get married anywhere legally, the place has to have a ‘civil ceremony’ licence.
‘One of the requirements for this licence is that the premises must be made ‘readily available’ for ceremonies.
‘As this is our private family home and we need it to remain that way we couldn’t go for that option.
‘So we are having a relaxed private blessing in front of our closest friends and family and a ceremony of our love to each other.
‘We will register our marriage legally after.’
The ceremony at their home saw a romantic performance from TOWIE star James Argent’s The Arg Band while Mrs Hinch acted as bridesmaid.
Fellow Loose Woman Linda Robson, 64, and ex-TOWIE star Ricky Rayment, 31, were part of the wedding party.
A source close to the couple told Daily Mail at the time: ‘Stacey and Joe had the best day of their lives.
‘It was exactly everything they had hoped for, the weather was glorious, and they had a joyous day with their children and family.
‘It was also important to Stacey for her day to uphold her strong Jewish values, as well as be a modern and fun day for everyone.
‘They had always wanted their wedding to be just for them, at their home, and keeping their celebrations intimate did not disappoint.’
Two weeks ago Stacey appeared on This Morning where she set the record straight about her ‘marriage’ with Joe after sparking speculation by removing her wedding ring.
Host Ben Shephard said: ‘There are these crazy rumours going on about the two of you at the moment… What’s going on there, Stace?’
Stacey replied: ‘What are they? Go on. There’s a new rumour each week!’
Ben explained: ‘You’ve not been wearing your ring. There might be some issues going on?’
‘Do you know what, I am terrible. I don’t read any of that stuff.
‘In fact, does anyone anymore?’ Stacey asked.
‘But yeah, we just… Have I not been wearing my ring? Probably took it off to go to the toilet, or something.’
Ben went on to say: ‘There is a lot going on at the moment, because of his lake, the plan for the lake is coming to fruition.
‘He was talking to us the other day…’
Stacey joked: ‘Maybe I dropped my ring in the lake… with our marriage!’
The first time fans began to speculate that the couple could be on the rocks came when they were seen arguing on the most recent series of their show Stacey & Joe.
The pair clashed as dad Joe unexplainably ‘disappeared’ for the day in one episode, and Stacey also hung up on Joe after he branded her ‘out of order’ and slammed her for ‘overreacting’ in a heated parenting row.
But the two admitted that they didn’t want to cut the argument like other couples would be tempted to do.
Joe previously said: ‘So many people represent their lives as being so perfect on Instagram. It’s our responsibility to show the real – the highs and the lows.
‘It’s not all a bed of roses. Sometimes we argue.’
While Stacey added: ‘What you see is what you get. What we’ve learnt about each other is that we’re not a perfect couple.
‘We’ve never said we’re a perfect couple, but you get to watch yourself back, which is something that doesn’t happen often.’
The news about Stacey and Joe’s ‘marriage’ comes after it was revealed her Loose Women co-star Olivia Attwood also never made her marriage to Bradley Dack legally binding.
Daily Mail has contacted Stacey’s representative for comment.
