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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Katie Wilson

Stacey Solomon's rise to fame – X Factor to TV presenter and millionaire influencer

These days Stacey Solomon is best known for ITV’s Loose Women and being a TV presenter in her own right.

She currently hosts Sort Your Life Out helping families de-cutter their homes, which has just been commissioned for a second series.

And her book ‘Tap To Tidy: Organising, Crafting & Creating Happiness in a Messy World’ is an Amazon bestseller.

The 32-year-old also has an impressive 5.3 million Instagram followers and regularly promotes products as an influencer and brand ambassador.

All this means Stacey has amassed a fortune of around £4 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.

But how did the mum-of-four, who is set to marry Joe Swash at the end of this month, become so successful? Here we look back on her rise to fame...

The X Factor

Stacey came third on The X Factor after Olly Murs and Joe McElderry (Ken McKay)

The first time anyone had heard of Stacey Solomon was when she auditioned on The X Factor way back in 2009.

The bubbly 19-year-old from Dagenham was already a single mum to eldest son Zachary, who is now 14.

Judges Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh, Dannii Minogue and Cheryl admitted they weren’t expecting much – until they heard her sing Louis Armstrong’s What A Wonderful World.

After blowing them all away, Simon told Stacey: “I’m rarely surprised but that completely took me by surprise, that performance. I think you are really, really good.”

Although she didn’t go on to win the competition, she reached the final with Olly Murs finishing in second place and Joe McElderry taking the top spot.

Music career

Stacey released an album after X Factor but it only reached number 45 (ITV)

After The X Factor, Stacey toured with her fellow finalists and it seemed like her dreams of becoming a singer were finally coming true.

In 2011 she released a Christmas single, a cover of Chris Rea’s ‘Driving Home For Christmas’.

It reached number 27 in the UK charts and was used in the Iceland Christmas commercial.

There were reports there was a bidding war between labels to sign her.

Once she landed a record deal, Stacey started working on her debut album ‘Shy’, but it wasn’t released until 2015.

However, it wasn’t the success she hoped and entered the charts at number 45.

TV work

Stacey won I'm A Celeb in 2010 (ITV)

Alongside her music, Stacey was also carving out a career in TV.

This started with a minor presenting stint on The X Factor in 2010, the year Matt Cardle won.

That same year she went on I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! and was crowned Queen of the Jungle.

Game show Sing If You Can, which she co-hosted with Keith Lemon, followed and saw celebrities try to sing in front of a live studio audience while various attempts are made to distract them.

In 2012, Stacey joined Chris Moyles to present Sky Living’s dating show The Love Machine.

Stacey is now a regular on ITV's Loose Women (ITV)

She was a judge on ITV2’s Top Dog Model and had a recurring role as Fuschia the Flamingo on kids’ show Pip Ahoy! which she also recorded the theme tune for.

But 2016 was a big year for Stacey – in the summer it was announced she would become a regular panellist on Loose Women.

Then in September she took over from Laura Whitmore as co-host of the I’m A Celebrity spin-off show.

In 2019 she teamed up with pal Keith Lemon again to become a regular on Celebrity Juice.

Her most recent TV appearances include hosting Bake Off: The Professionals on Channel 4.

While her BBC show Sort Your Life Out was nominated for a BAFTA earlier this year and has just been commissioned for a second series.

Influencer career

In addition to her ‘day job’, Stacey works with several brands as a trusted influencer, which can command thousands of pounds per post.

She is currently a brand ambassador for Dove and has fashion ranges with Primark and In The Style.

Earlier this year she teamed up with Air Wick to launch her first own home fragrance range.

With 5.3 million followers on Instagram and 1.5 million Twitter followers, Stacey is in demand from brands.

It is estimated she earns around £12,000 per Instagram post – this means if she did one a week she would be on a salary of £624,000 a year.

Personal life

Joe and Stacey will soon become husband and wife (Instagram)
They looked dressed up for a wedding at this year BAFTAs (Instagram)

Stacey is a busy mum-of-four and is engaged to fellow telly presenter Joe Swash, who she met when they both worked on I’m A Celebrity.

Former EastEnders star Joe, 40, recalled the moment they first met when Stacey was crowned winner in 2010 and he was presenting.

Giving her a hug to congratulate her, Joe told Metro the thing he remembers most is the smell.

“Did you know she smelled worse than any other camp mate that came out of the jungle?” he said.

But it didn’t appear to put Joe off and he popped the question on Christmas Eve 2020. The pair will tie the knot at their £1.2 million Essex mansion - dubbed Pickle Cottage - later this month.

As well as Stacey’s older kids – Zachary, 14, and Leighton, 10 – with previous partners, Joe has a 15-year-old son with his ex.

Together the couple have gone on to have three-year-old Rex and baby Rose, who will turn one on Stacey’s 33rd birthday on October 4.

Do you have a story to sell? Get in touch with us at webcelebs@trinitymirror.com or call us direct 0207 29 33033.

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