Stacey Solomon reveals the secret to a happy marriage is to fight as new show lifts the lid on the ‘perfect couple’

STACEY Solomon has revealed the secret to a happy marriage is in fact fighting.

The was recently left fuming after a row with her husband on their new BBC reality series, titled, Stacey And Joe.

The 35-year-old had been looking forward to her first meeting to , but it was disrupted by her crying children.

Why? Because Joe was running late.

Halfway through the meeting, a breathless Joe entered the room and apologised for being late by 20 minutes, blaming it on traffic.

However, Stacey was quick to correct him, saying he was actually closer to five hours late, prompting her associate to take a swipe at Joe's 20-minute guestimate.

After Joe left the room with their youngest in tow, Stacey's face betrayed her disappointment by his timing.

The family then spent time in the garden and there appeared to be

Stacey explained that Joe liked to wallow in self-pity when he felt hard done by. However, the frosty atmosphere didn't last long as the kids splashed around the Pickle Cottage .

But it comes after the pair candidly opened up about their on the podcast Newlyweds hosted by and Sophie Habboo.

Jamie asked: “What do you think the secret is to a happy marriage?”

“Fight,” Stacey immediately said.

“Always have an argument if there's something on your mind.”

“The worst thing we could do, the thing that splits us apart the most, is building resentment and not saying what we're thinking.

“As soon as we have it out and say ‘I hate this,' ‘This is p**sing me off' That's when everything lets go and you can reset and start from zero and just be back on the same page again.

Joe added: “And also embrace the hatred.

“Sometimes, it's natural to sort of go ‘Right, I need five minutes to myself, It's not cause I don't love you. I need 5 minutes to sit down, recharge.'”

While , Stacey is said to be horrified by the backlash.

One wrote: “How hard was it for Joe to be on time!! Gosh, he’s like another child for Stacey!”

Another moaned: “This show is making me exasperated for poor Stacey.”

A source close to the couple revealed to OK!: “Stacey and Joe want to work from home and show off their beautiful house and happy family.

“They want it to be like a more down-to-earth version of The ! But the fact is, with that, you do get criticism and people giving their opinions—more so than they realised.

“Joe can be very sensitive to criticism and gets very upset by it, so doing the show is not as easy as it seems.”

Speaking on the new show before it was released, said: “I think in terms of what we've learned by each other is that there's things that – we're not a perfect couple.

“We've never said we're a perfect couple, but you get to watch yourself back, which is something that doesn't happen often.”

Despite the backlash, people who watch the podcast were thrilled to see the couple's honest views on marriage.

One person wrote: “Absolutely LOVING this chat. They are so honest and real. Hearing Stacey and Sophie talk about how they are in really makes me feel seen, lol. Brilliant, brilliant episode.”

Another commented: “This made me laugh from start to finish!!! Love the open and honest relationship convos.”

“So nice to hear some advice on relationships. Needed this. Love Stacey and Joe. Realest couple,” penned a third.

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