Stacey Solomon ‘admits she’s fed up with being a celebrity’ after leaving £1,300,000 Pickle Cottage

Stacey Solomon and Joe Swash may be taking a calculated step away from the spotlight (Picture: ITV/Shutterstock/Instagram) Stacey Solomon has reportedly grown ‘fed up with being a celebrity’ as she makes some major changes to her public life. The Sort Your Life Out star, 36, stunned fans last week when she revealed she and husband Joe Swash, 44, had sold their beloved £1.3million Pickle Cottage in Essex after five years. However, the surprise move is now said to be part of a much bigger rethink for the mum-of-five, who is reportedly looking to step away from traditional celebrity life and regain some privacy. According to The Sun, Stacey has been quietly planning the change for months and has told friends: ‘I’m fed up with being a celebrity.’ A source told the publication the former X Factor contestant has ‘lost interest in playing the classic celebrity game’ and has little desire to attend red carpets, give endless interviews or maintain a constant presence on television. Instead, she is said to increasingly see herself as a businesswoman, with her huge social media following allowing her to build a career outside the traditional showbiz machine. Pickle Cottage became almost as famous as Stacey and Joe (Picture: Instagram) ‘She doesn’t want to be on television all the time,’ the insider claimed. ‘She views herself first and foremost as a businesswoman, leveraging her massive Instagram presence to drive her lucrative brands.’ That doesn’t mean Stacey is disappearing from our screens completely. She recently wrapped filming on the seventh series of BBC hit Sort Your Life Out, with an eighth already on the horizon, and is also set to host The Voice. But outside those commitments, her TV appearances have become noticeably more limited. Stacey was once a regular fixture on Loose Women, but has largely stepped away from the ITV panel show in recent years. Her commercial career is reportedly changing too. Having previously worked with major brands including Asda, Tesco, Amazon and Home Bargains, Stacey is now said to be putting much of her energy into her own haircare company, REHAB. Stacey shared many intimate glimpses at renovations in Pickle Cottage over the years (Picture: Instagram) However, the biggest sign of her new approach is how she plans to handle her family’s home. Pickle Cottage became almost as famous as Stacey herself after she moved into the sprawling property in 2021. Her millions of Instagram followers watched as she transformed virtually every corner, sharing renovations, DIY projects and intimate glimpses into family life. It was also where Stacey and Joe tied the knot in 2022, while daughters Rose, four, and Belle, three, were born at the property. But after selling the home in a reportedly secret deal, Stacey has already made it clear there are some things she won’t be sharing this time. While she has begun documenting renovations at the family’s new fixer-upper, she has vowed not to reveal its exterior or location. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video ‘I’m not going to show the outside of the house this time around,’ she recently told followers. ‘Just for security and privacy reasons… we had some issues at Pickle Cottage in the end and it’s safer to just not show the building itself.’ A source claimed Pickle Cottage had effectively become a ‘tourist attraction’, with fans occasionally turning up at the gates. The attention reportedly left Stacey feeling ‘uncomfortable and entirely overexposed’, prompting her to rethink just how much of her private life she wants available online. The new property certainly hasn’t disappeared from her Instagram altogether, though. While Stacey shared a picture of the family in front of their new home’s front door, she’s told followers she’s not going to show any more of the outside of the property this time around (Picture: Instagram/@staceysolomon) Stacey recently shared an adorable picture of the family sitting together in its entrance, writing: ‘Home is wherever I’m with you… Pickle Project, Here We Go.’ Alongside Joe were their children Rex, seven, Rose and Belle, as well as Stacey’s older sons Zachary, 18, and Leighton, 14. She has also treated fans to a look around the home’s unusual top floor, which is currently packed with belongings apparently left behind by its previous owners. The colourful space features old fireplaces, retro furniture, an orange bathroom suite and even an old-fashioned television, while the enormous property also boasts its own lift. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The glimpses Stacey has shared of the new home led followers to joke it looks ‘haunted’ (Picture: Instagram/Stacey Solomon) Its slightly eerie appearance quickly caught followers’ attention, with Stacey’s eldest son Zach joking that it was ‘100% haunted’. While there are clearly plenty more renovations to come, fans shouldn’t expect the same access they had at Pickle Cottage. The insider claimed Stacey still appreciates the ‘financial stability and independence’ her fame has given her, but is now determined to put firmer boundaries around her family’s private life. Metro has contacted Stacey Solomon’s representatives for comment. 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