Stacey Solomon was left alarmed on a family trip to Dubai after husband Joe Swash made a parenting slip-up in front of football legend Rio Ferdinand.
The couple, who star in their own BBC reality series and share six children – Harry, Zachary, Leighton, Rex, Rose and Belle – were enjoying a break in the UAE when Joe became “starstruck.” Pushing Belle in her stroller, the former EastEnders actor spotted Rio having breakfast and decided to introduce himself.
Joe later recalled: “I thought I’ll disturb him having breakfast and introduce myself.” But what began as a quick chat turned into a 30-minute interaction. When he finally returned, Stacey immediately demanded: “Where’s my baby?”
Joe sheepishly admitted he had left Belle with the footballer. Fortunately, the incident ended on a lighter note as Rio walked the pushchair back, joking: “Swashy, you forgot something.”
The light-hearted blunder comes shortly after Stacey shared an emotional tribute to her eldest son Zachary, 17. She revealed he had saved up money from part-time work and extra jobs at their Pickle Cottage home to treat her to a trip to Amsterdam, where he was attending a Pokémon Go event. Posting photos of their canal boat outing, she wrote: “He’s been saving from work & doing extra jobs at pickle cottage & my heart is so full right now. Love you to the moon and back, Zachy.”
Fans praised Zachary as a “good egg,” with many noting how special it was to see a grown-up child take their parent on a trip to create new memories.
