Joe Swash says court case with ex over their son was ‘best money he ever spent’

Joe Swash has opened up about a court battle with his ex over their son – describing it as the “best money I’ve ever spent.”

The EastEnders and I’m A Celeb star dated Emma Sophocleous between 2005 and 2008, and the two were even set to tie the knot.

But they called it quits after a series of rows, when baby son Harry was just seven months old.

Speaking to the podcast Step Life, Joe discussed his life leading a blended family with now-partner and Loose Women star Stacey Solomon.

The pair share Rex, one, while Stacey also has Zachary, 12, and Leighton, seven, from previous relationships.

“With me and Harry, it was tricky with his mum,” Joe recalled.

“We had to go to court and stuff like that. So in hindsight is it’s a great thing, but yeah, me and Hal, it’s been a strange one for Hal, he’s had to do a lot of adapting. I do feel quite sorry for Hal for what he’s had to go through.

“It’s just one of those things, his mum and I weren’t agreeing on certain things and we had to go to court. We had to do it that way. And that’s what courts there for to sort things out. And it done exactly that. It’s changed our lives.

“Me and Hal, we’re in each other’s lives on a daily basis now. We talk to each other every day, we see each other every couple of days, he only lives 20 minutes away from me and at the beginning, maybe even five years ago, it’s completely different to what it is now.”

He continued: “If anyone’s going through anything like that, having trouble seeing their kids as well, you just got to stick with it.

“You know, I always said to my mum, when I was in court fighting for Hal, I wouldn’t want to spend my money on anything else apart from wanting to see my kid. And it’s the best money I’ve ever spent.”

Joe and Stacey struck up a romance in 2016, shacked up together in 2018 and welcomed little Rex last year.

Joe went on: “We couldn’t be more blended if you tried. And like you said, it is tricky. It’s not straightforward.

“There’s lots of people to take into consideration. Some of them people might not be as reasonable as other people, you know, so it’s a constant one field of trying to juggle and keep all the parties happy.

He also told that he thought Harry might have been jealous of Stacey’s Zachary and Leighton when they first met.