Soap star and TV presenter Joe Swash has candidly opened up about losing hope of having a big family following the birth of his first child.
Swash, 41, is a proud dad to four children – three of whom he shares with Loose Women panellist Stacey Solomon, 33.
He shares his first child, Harry - now 16 - with ex partner Emma Sophocleous, 38.
Swash then went on to welcome son Rex, four, and daughters Rose, one, and Belle, seven-months, with Solomon.
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He's also step-dad to Solomon's two eldest sons from previous relationships, Zachary, 15, and Leighton, 11.
While he's gone on to have a rather large brood with his now-wife Solomon, whom he wed in a lavish ceremony at their home Essex in July 2022, at one point the actor thought he'd never have more than one child.
It's obvious Swash loves being a dad, but he admitted it can be 'exhausting'.
He told the PA News Agency: "It is exhausting. But I think your body just adapts to your situation.
"So after you’ve had three kids – four, five or six makes no difference. Me and Stacey have been tired for so long now that it’s become the norm.”
With their busy careers and three children all being aged four and under, Swash went on to hail their eldest sons as a 'godsend'.
“Our older kids are a godsend, they really help out,” he said.
“They’re always helping with dinner, they help feed the kids, they’re amazing. We’re really proud of our kids, how they all muck in and help – and we don’t ask them either, it’s all done out of love. It’s lovely to see.”
Swash sadly lost his own father, Ricky, to heart condition Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome when he was just 12-years-old.
After losing his dad at such a young age, Swash says he's 'always been quite a paternal person' and hoped for a big family – but thought 'that was really it' after Harry's birth.
Swash and Sophocleous split less than a year after Harry's arrival.
He said: "I thought that was really it, and I’d given up hope of having any more kids and a family.
"And then I met Stacey, and we’ve gone on to have three kids together, we’ve got six kids combined – and I would never have imagined myself in this position."
The former EastEnders star has previously opened up about falling into a 'dark depression' after his split from Sophocleous as he wasn't able to see his then-young son.
Discussing what his lowest point was, Swash told The Sun last year: "Not being able to see Harry. Not being able to be the dad I wanted to be.
"I think, above everything else, more than acting or TV work, I’d always wanted a family and I thought: ‘I’m never going to have that'."
Topics: Sex and Relationships, Celebrity, Stacey Dooley, Parenting
Niamh Shackleton