Stacey Solomon and Joe Swash are reportedly not legally married, despite celebrating a lavish £1.2 million wedding at their Essex home, Pickle Cottage, in July 2022. The ceremony, which they described as 'the best day of their lives', was attended by family and celebrity friends, but it has emerged that the event was not legally binding.
Under English and Welsh law, a marriage must take place at a licensed venue to be legally recognised. Since Pickle Cottage is a private home without a civil ceremony licence, the couple had planned to register their marriage separately at a later date. However, more than three years on, they are said not to have completed the legal process.
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.'
At the time of the wedding, Solomon, 36, explained: 'To get married anywhere legally, the place has to have a civil ceremony licence. 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... We will register our marriage legally after.'
The revelation comes weeks after Solomon addressed speculation about her relationship with Swash, 44, after she was spotted without her wedding ring. Appearing on This Morning, she joked: 'Have I not been wearing my ring? Probably took it off to go to the toilet. Maybe I dropped my ring in the lake… with our marriage!'
The couple, who began dating in 2016 after meeting on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!, share three children and have blended their family with children from previous relationships. Their home life is documented on their BBC series Stacey & Joe. The Standard has contacted representatives for comment.
