Inside Stacey Solomon's journey from troublesome teen mum to millionaire TV icon

Stacey Solomon has gone from strength to strength since her X Factor fame.

The bubbly girl from Dagenham is now a best-selling author, social media sensation and beloved TV personality.

This year has been a big one for the Loose Women panellist.

She recently married long-term partner Joe Swash at their stunning Essex country home, has made her debut as the presenter of Bake Off: The Professionals and has been writing the second book in her Tap to Tidy series.

With various TV gigs under her belt, multiple clothing collections, and a best-selling book, Stacey has managed to amass an estimated net worth of £4million.

As she continues to rack up the successes, here’s everything you need to know about Stacey’s journey to fame.

Stacey Solomon’s life before X Factor

Stacey was born in 1989 in Dagenham to parents Fiona and David Solomon.

Speaking about her upbringing to the Daily Mail, Stacey said: “I loved my childhood. I didn’t know Dagenham was a poor area, it was just home. Mum only sold up about six years ago.”

Before she auditioned for The X Factor, Stacey studied musical theatre at college and worked as a barmaid at a country club, she also had a job at a fish and chip shop as a teenager.

While she loved her childhood, she had a troubled time during her teens.

In 2017, Stacey’s mum opened up about her daughters teen years when appearing with her on Loose Women, she said: “Stacey was the one who always got into trouble and always got caught. She bunked off school, went to the park, went out with her friends and got detention.”

At the age of 17, Stacey’s life was changed when she got pregnant.

She was terrified to become a teen mother, but when she reflects on it now, Stacey say’s it was the birth of her first son that set the path towards her success today.

She told the Daily Mail: “If I hadn’t had Zachary, would I have pushed myself as hard as I’ve done over the past 13 years? I don’t know that I would. So, ultimately, that decision to have him has made my life.”

Stacy Solomon’s X Factor fame

Stacey’s rise to fame all began when she auditioned for The X Factor all the way back in 2009.

At the age of 19 Stacey from Dagenham wowed the judged with her bubbly personality and incredible rendition of Louis Armstrong’s What A Wonderful World.

After her audition, the notoriously tough judge Simon Cowell told her: “I’m rarely surprised but that completely took me by surprise, that performance. I think you are really, really good.”

Stacey went on to make it through to the final of the competition.

She didn’t win the show but she did come in second place, as Joe McElderry finished first.

Stacey Solomon’s life after X Factor

After The X Factor, Stacey went on to tour the country with the other finalists and in 2011 she released a cover of Chris Rea’s ‘Driving Home For Christmas’ that reached number 27 in the charts.

Stacey landed a record deal but her first album ‘Shy’ wasn’t released until 2015 and it didn’t get the success she’d hoped, entering the charts at number 45.

But it wasn’t just Stacey’s incredible voice that people loved, they also loved her personality, and her rise to fame really started to happen when she began making a career for herself in TV.

In 2010 Stacey had appeared on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! and she came out as Queen of the Jungle.

She went on to co-host Sing if You Can with Keith Lemon and in 2012 she presented Sky Living’s dating show The Love Machine.

2016 proved to be the big year for Stacey as it was confirmed that she’d become a regular panellist on Loose Women.

Later that year she also took over from Laura Whitmore as host of I’m A Celebrity Extra Camp.

In 2019 Stacey got another new TV stint as she became a regular on Keith Lemon’s Celebrity Juice.

What is Stacey Solomon doing now?

It looks like Stacey’s TV career is far from over, this year, she’s made her debut as host of Bake Off: The Professionals and her BBC show Sort Your Life Out has been confirmed for another series.

As well as her TV career, Stacey also works as a social media influencer and has over 5million followers on Instagram.

She had her own clothing range with Primark and In The Style and also launched her own home fragrance with Air Wick earlier this year.

Stacey now has four children, three boys and one girl, and is married to fellow TV presenter Joe Swash.

The family currently live in a £1.2million mansion in Essex called Pickle Cottage.

Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk