'I have to be sensible' Stacey Solomon opens up about why she might not marry Joe Swash

Stacey Solomon has revealed the real reason she might not marry her partner, Joe Swash.

The mum-of-two has been in a relationship with Joe for about two years, and has previously discussed marriage and having children with him.

But now the Loose Women panellist has revealed that wedding bells might actually not be in the cards for the pair - and for a very sensible reason.

The X Factor finalist, who has two kids from previous relationships, admitted that she has to put her children's financial stability first and is afraid of that being 'taken away'.

She explained in an interview with Fabulous magazine: 'I don't want anyone to have the ability to take half of everything I've worked hard for.

'I've set aside money for my children to make sure they've got a roof over their head, and I still have to work really hard to carry on making that happen for however long I've got left on my mortgage.

'I wouldn't ever want to be in a position where that could be taken from them, so I have to be sensible.'

The couple already have the seal of approval from fans, who frequently bombard snaps of them on social with comments like 'get married already'.

Stacey has previously discussed marriage plans with Joe, saying last year that they're taking it slow because their priority if their children.

'Usually, I am a hopeless romantic and I'm like, "Let's get married, let's have kids", she told Female First.

'But because me and Joe do value each other and want to make this forever, I think sometimes if you want it to be forever then you have to take it at a certain pace.

'The main thing is that we're happy, we just really want it to work and we want to take our time with it and put everything into it.'

Stacey welcomed her first child - Zachary - when she was only 18, with childhood sweetheart Dean Cox. She later had Leighton with her ex-fiancé Aaron Barnham.

Joe also has one child - Harry, who was born in 2007 - from his relationship with former fiancée Emma Sophocleous.