Joe Swash has shared how Stacey Solomon is a 'massive support' to his family as he reveals his serious plans to implement change. The actor and TV personality has recently opened up about his family's future, saying that he's considering fostering with his wife.
Stacey and Joe, who wed in July last year, currently share three children together and three between them from previous relationships. Stacey, 33, gave birth to their daughter Belle back in February after announcing their surprise pregnancy just weeks earlier.
They welcomed baby Belle just 14 months after welcoming first daughter, Rose, into the world while they also share son Rex, four. Stacey is also a doting mum to eldest sons Zachary and Leighton and doting dad Joe, 41, has teenage son Harry from previous relationships.
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"Fostering is something that me and Stacey have talked about and would love to do," Joe recently told The Netmums podcast. "We'd love to foster, we'd love to give something back, you know? It is something that we definitely want to do, when our kids get old enough that they're not as reliant on us."
The potential idea has likely been inspired by his mum, Kiffy, has been a foster carer for the last 15 years. And it was also announced back in November that the former soap star, who played Mickey Miller in BBC's EastEnders, will front the documentary Joe Swash: Teens In Care which will see Joe spend time with young people who are currently living in foster or residential care, and those who have recently left.
The presenter, who went on to win both I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here and Dancing On Ice, told the PA News Agency: "I’ve watched it and been involved with the process for years. My mum’s last child, Daniel, he came to us when he was eight, and now he is 18 and in university. So I’ve always been mindful that although Dan has us, not everyone is so lucky. And what happens to them?
"So when [the BBC] came to me with the idea for the documentary, it just felt like a perfect fit. I don’t know the ins and outs of the foster system, so it was interesting to see how it all works."
But his deep dive was further spurred on by the Independent Review Of Children’s Social Care in England, he remarks, which having first been commissioned by the Government in 2019, published its long-awaited findings last year, concluding that children’s social care in England is at breaking point.
Speaking about his documentary, Joe said: "The idea is to show what growing up as a teenager in care is like and highlight the challenges these teenagers face, where the system is going wrong and where it could be made better. The system needs to change, and as a society, we owe it to them."
In addition to spending time with teens, Joe meets experts and policy-makers first-hand to ask what they are doing to reform the system and while policy change will take time, one thing the 41-year-old does hope is that his journey will encourage those considering fostering or similar to scope out how they could help – big or small.
"Obviously, people are busy and have their own lives and families and jobs, so if you haven’t got the time to do it full time, you can still help," he said. "There are a lot of charities out there that are dying for people to come and help them."
And as already mentioned, Joe hasn't ruled out foster care in his future as it is something he and Stacey have discussed. "We just said, when our kids get a bit older, and they’re not reliant so much on us, it’s a subject that we’ll talk about and maybe dip our toes into," Joe said.
“Me and Stacey have been together for a long time now, so she’s watched my mum’s journey, she’s watched Daniel’s journey. She’s been a massive support.”
In the meantime, for those wondering whether Joe will continue on his path for change with the same tenacity, he said: "Well, I’m always going to be involved in this subject because of Daniel, because of my mum," sharing how he would love to "pick apart the care system in full and have a look at it in real depth.
"I’d love to revisit this documentary too and revisit these kids in a couple of years and find out how they actually got on. What their experience of leaving the care system was… These kids that have been in the care system, they should be spoken to. If they’re going to change it, get the kids that have lived and breathed it to tell them where it’s gone wrong."
Joe Swash: Teens in Care will air on BBC One on Tuesday, July 11 at 9pm.
