Stacey Solomon has addressed months of speculation about her marriage to Joe Swash.
Last month, it emerged that Solomon and Swash, 44, had allegedly not formally registered their 2022 wedding at their Essex home, Pickle Cottage.
Hours after the report broke Solomon, 36, was photographed shortly afterwards wearing her engagement ring but not her wedding band prompting further speculation about their relationship.
And now, the Loose Women presenter dismissed divorce rumours, insisting she still “fancies the pants” off Swash.
Speaking on the Sort Your Life Out Unpacked podcast, Solomon was unequivocal: “Who cares if the whole world is like: ‘Oh, they’re on the brink of divorce?’
“Being in the public eye I think creates certain pressures, but not on our relationship because half the time what they’re saying : ‘If we know it’s not true, who cares?’...
She went on to describe the ordinary push and pull of a long-term relationship.
“Sometimes I fancy the pants off him and can't wait to come home to see him. Sometimes I’m like: ‘Get out of my stratosphere – stay away from me.’ I think we’re just like any other couple.”
The remarks come after several weeks in which the couple's relationship has attracted growing attention.
Last month, reports emerged that Solomon and Swash, 44, had not formally registered their 2022 wedding ceremony at their Essex home.
However, a source close to the couple moved said the registration oversight was due to their busy lives.
"They have six kids," they told the Daily Mail. "If you look back at when they actually got married, it was just like a whirlwind, baby after baby. They just haven't got round to it yet."
The couple are parents to Rex, seven, Rose, four, and Belle, two, as well as Solomon's older sons Zachary, 18, and Leighton, 13, and Swash's son Harry, 18, from a previous relationship.
Solomon took a break from Instagram for much of April, returning at the end of the month with a quiet carousel of family photographs, in which Swash didn’t feature.
She captioned: “A slow April, in our little world… Missed coming on here and chatting to you all, but had a lovely April shutting off from the world and just being.”
Behind the scenes, production on their BBC reality show Stacey & Joe was disrupted during the same period.
According to the Daily Mail, a crew booked since December had their schedule thrown into disarray by what an insider described as tensions at Pickle Cottage that were "increasingly difficult to manage."
Filming eventually resumed, with Solomon spotted shooting scenes at Scotts Tulip Farm in Brentwood, a short distance from the family's £1.2 million home.
The BBC confirmed last month that Stacey & Joe has been commissioned for a third series, which will continue to follow the blended family's daily life.
