Stacey Solomon fiercely defends Joe Swash after he's attacked online by 'lunchbox police'

Stacey Solomon has fiercely defended her husband Joe Swash after he was targeted by online trolls over a packed lunch he made up for one of their kids.

The 42-year-old former EastEnders actor is married to 34-year-old Loose Women star with the couple sharing their kids, Rex, four, Rose, two, and their youngest daughter Belle, one, together.

Joe is also a proud dad to his 16-year-old son, Harry who he has from a previous relationship with his ex-fiancée Emma Sophocleous and is a stepfather to Stacey’s two eldest sons, Zachary, 15, and Leighton, 11, who she shares with former partners.

Despite being highly experienced in parenthood, when Joe took to Instagram on Tuesday to share a picture of the lunchbox he had prepared for his two-year-old daughter, he came under fire from a number of self-appointed food experts.

The image showed the inside of a bright pink lunch box which had multiple compartments inside it with various foods.

One section had tubes of yogurt inside, and another had some blocks of cheese. A further compartment held cucumber and carrots sticks - while the final section had grapes, ham and a biscuit housed together.

He shared the image along with a simple caption stating: “Rosie’s packed lunch for today?”

Little did he know that the image would provoke a furious response from his followers, with many criticising the celebrity dad for putting certain foods together.

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One disgusted follower replied: "Nooo, the biscuit can't be next to the ham" while another questioned: "What are you doing putting the biscuit on top of cut grapes next to the ham and a soggy biscuit?"

A third said: "Chop up the ham and put in the space next to the cheese, ya nutter."

Stacey jumped to Joe's defence as she wrote in his comments section: “Omfg the lunch box police are out in full force today.”

The couple have hinted that they might expand their family even further after welcoming baby Belle in February last year.

Back in January, Stacey replied to questions from fans about whether or not she would have a sixth baby and the Loose Women star did not rule out the possibility.

She replied: “I can honestly say, my favourite thing in the world is being a mum. I just get so much joy from watching our little ones grow & getting to be a part of their world.

"I would love more. Whatever will be will be. But omg I love them (Joe will be off to get a vasectomy when he sees this).”

Meanwhile, in August last year, Joe reflected on how exhausting it is to be a dad to six kids.

He told PA: “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.”

Praising the elder children for helping out with their younger siblings, he said: “Our older kids are a godsend, they really help out. 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.”

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