In tonight’s episode of Stacey and Joe, Stacey Solomon and Joe Swash are in for a turbulent time, and trouble is brewing over a can of baked beans. The new BBC series takes us inside the married couple’s impressive Tudor-style abode in Essex, affectionately known as Pickle Cottage.
Here, they live with their brood of children: Zachary, 17; Leighton, 12; Rex, five; Rose, three, and Belle, two, and their adorable pups, Peanut and Teddy.
However, harmony is set to be disrupted in tonight’s (8 April) show as Joe causes an uproar by allowing the kids to have baked beans on the couch. Tensions boil over when Joe, away recording another TV project, ends up in a flaming row over the phone with Stacey, resulting in Joe hanging up.
Things heat up further when Joe expresses he’s been waiting for an apology from Stacey all day.
Stunned by his expectations, Stacey exclaims: “Wow,” and recounts her irritation: “The argument was I came home and thought I’m going to tidy the front room because the front room is a s***hole and all over my sofas was beans!”
Joe refuses to admit defeat and demands: “Nope, how many baked beans were on the sofa?” Steadfast, Stacey retorts: “About 10 baked beans!” Visibly frustrated, she insists she’d never allow eating beans on the sofa.
Joe, feeling cornered, snaps back: “I’m not you! You go on as if you’ve never ever given those kids food in the front room, which would be a lie!”
Stacey remains decidedly unamused, hitting back with the final word: “I might give them a biscuit on the sofa, but I would never sit there and give them beans on toast on the sofa.”
Joe is adamant that he was just lending a hand, explaining: “Your reaction to me giving the kids beans on toast on the sofa is an overreaction. You’re out of order, Stace. I spent the day looking after the kids. I cooked them lunch..”
Stacey, however, doesn’t get where he’s coming from and retorts: “You’re a dad. That is a normal thing to do to have your kids.”
Tension rises as Joe finds himself in a hotel room, far from home. Frustrated, he cuts short their call, saying, “I’ll speak to you later. I’m done. I’m done with this conversation. Have a lovely evening, Stace.”
Crushed by the disagreement and concern for her sofa, Stacey later shares with the camera: “It’s not just the beans. The beans are like the icing on the cake of all the things I have to go around and pick up….”
In the premiere of their six-part series, another argument had arisen, pinning fans against Joe after he arrived five hours late when he knew Stacey had a work commitment. While having their disputes broadcasted might be uncomfortable, Joe believes in transparency about both the happy and hard times, reports the Mirror.
He previously told The Mirror, “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.”
Joe and Stacey have discovered that watching back footage of their own tiffs provides valuable perspective reflection. Reviewing their exchanges has enlightened them to each other’s points of view.
Stacey shared her thoughts on this therapeutic approach to conflict: “You might go to see somebody and talk through your relationship and they might give you advice, but you never get to witness when you’re bickering between each other. We found that really interesting. There’s definitely things in our communication where we’re like, ‘Wow, we could do that better.
“And we could talk about this more..’ It opens you up to the development of your relationship that you don’t always see, in everyday life, because a lot of the time you’re just trudging through to get to the next day.”
Embracing what they’ve learned, Stacey now aims for self-improvement, acknowledging: “I am trying to pick my battles. Sometimes I will watch myself and go, ‘Oh, gosh, you didn’t really need to pick up on that.’ There’s bigger issues.”
Meanwhile, Joe has resolved to become less defensive, admitting: “Sometimes I need to sit back, I need to listen instead of being so defensive. The main thing I’ve learned is that I’ve just got the most amazing family and most amazing kids. They’re our little legacies.”