Sophie Hinchliffe, dressed in a soft green dress and holding white roses and eucalyptus, watched with loving eyes as the bride prepared to walk down the aisle.
Sophie was one of the eight bridesmaids chosen by Stacey Solomon for her 2022 wedding to Joe Swash. She helped with Stacey’s veil and makeup before the private ceremony at home.
Anyone following these influencers could see they were getting serious. Their personal brands, Instagram feeds, and even their families were starting to merge together.
Stacey and Sophie had been friends for just three years when Stacey asked Sophie – famous online as ‘Mrs Hinch’, the pioneer of ‘cleanfluencing’ with nearly 5 million followers – to be a bridesmaid.
The invitation showed everyone that the two women truly supported each other, both at work and in their personal lives – and that they shared a genuine friendship, not just a social media connection.
Now, with the unusual wedding at Solomon’s house, Pickle Cottage in Essex, becoming a distant memory, Stacey and Sophie have grown apart and rarely see each other anymore.
Stacey, 36, seemed to remove Sophie, 35, from wedding photos she shared online. Shortly after, a congratulatory message Stacey wrote on Sophie’s pregnancy announcement disappeared.
It left fans in little doubt that things had turned sour.
Why? The answer, in time-honoured fashion, might well have its roots in money.
For influencers, brand partnerships are the most important source of income. According to sources, disagreements over securing these deals – and the money that comes with them – ultimately caused a rift between these individuals.
According to a source, Stacey is a very sharp and determined businesswoman. She works diligently and consistently achieves her goals.
The two women have much in common, personally and commercially.
Sophie rose to prominence in the UK as a popular online personality, largely due to her effective and widely shared cleaning tips. She first gained attention in 2018, often using a simple £3 bottle of Zoflora disinfectant to demonstrate her methods.
The cleaning expert quickly gained a huge following of two million people, who became known as ‘Hinchers’.
Mrs. Hinch became popular by sharing her idea of cleaning as a way to relieve stress, and this really connected with people, especially those staying home during lockdowns. Now, she’s become one of the UK’s leading social media influencers.
Stacey had become well-known after appearing on The X Factor in 2009 and on the show Loose Women, and she’d also built a lifestyle brand.
It wasn’t surprising when the singer, now a social media influencer, messaged Sophie on Instagram to offer help with her sudden fame. This happened back in 2019.
The women discovered they had a lot more in common than just their jobs. Both Stacey and Sophie are the same age, grew up in Essex, and are mothers to six-year-old sons – Stacey’s son is named Rex and Sophie’s is Ronnie.
I was so thrilled when their playdates blossomed into a real friendship! It felt official when Sophie posted a picture of them together in 2020, with a caption about how incredible it is when women support each other. It just warmed my heart to see!
She shared with her followers that one day, a kind woman reached out to her with a simple message: ‘Are you okay?’
It felt like Stacey could tell I was struggling, even though I hadn’t said anything to anyone. I ended up confiding in her through text messages, asking for her advice on navigating life with a new baby while being in the public spotlight.
She suddenly announced she was popping over for a cup of tea! A cup of tea? I was shocked – Stacey Solomon, in my house?!
Rarely a day would go by without appearing on each other’s social media.
They have a prolific publishing output in common, too.
Sophie published her bestselling first book, Hinch Yourself Happy, in 2019, and followed it up with four more books over the next three years, all focused on helping people live simpler lives. Last year, she released a children’s book, Welcome to Hinch Farm, and she has another Christmas-themed book coming out soon.
In 2021, Stacey published her first book, Tap to Tidy. She followed it up with Tap to Tidy at Pickle Cottage, which quickly became a bestseller, appearing on the Sunday Times bestseller list.
Sophie and Stacey live only 20 miles apart. Sophie bought a £1.1 million farmhouse in Essex in 2022, a year after Stacey moved into her £1.3 million home, nicknamed Pickle Cottage, in Brentwood.
These properties all have plenty of space – several acres, in fact – allowing for things like swimming pools, big gardens, and even keeping chickens or dogs.
But today their double act has come to an abrupt end.
The last time Sophie and Stacey appeared together on TV was in September 2023, on Stacey’s BBC show, Sort Your Life Out.
Anyone hoping to find a reason could, perhaps, look at their respective commercial deals.
In the last few years, both have worked with Asda, Amazon, Tesco, Home Bargains and Karcher.
Instagram posts selling their products have seen them rake in hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Sophie started collaborating with Tesco in 2021, launching a line of products featuring cozy items like high-end bedding and loungewear, along with charming home accessories such as heart-shaped dishes and candles.
Two years after initially working with them, she decided to focus on her passion: creating fragrances for cleaning brands like Lenor and Bold, and ended their working relationship.
Last year, she expanded her collaboration with Joy of Clean – the company behind brands like Bold, Lenor, Flash, and Fairy – with the goal of creating unique fragrances for laundry products.
Next, she gathered Febreze Air Mist, Fairy-Max Power dish soap, Flash All-Purpose Cleaner, and Fairy dishwasher tablets. She also became a brand ambassador for the Home Bargains store.
The influencer shared her excitement on Instagram, saying that achieving this goal meant the world to her, especially considering how far she’d come. She described herself as being completely amazed.
I’m so excited to share what I’ve been working on! This summer, I launched ‘Stacey Loves,’ which is basically a collection of all my absolute favorite things – from gorgeous fragrances to cleaning products that actually work. You can find it now at Tesco and Home Bargains, and we’re also expanding our presence in Asda. It’s all about bringing a little bit of what I love into your homes!
Was this all a little too close for comfort? Some observers think so.
‘For Hinch, I think the friendship was real,’ said one. ‘Stacey turned them into frenemies.
You know, I’ve noticed this a lot with successful women. They often present a really warm, approachable, even playful side to the world – and that’s fantastic! – but underneath that, they’re incredibly sharp and strategic when it comes to business. It’s a brilliant way to disarm people and get things done, honestly. They’re not afraid to be seen as ‘nice’ while simultaneously being incredibly savvy.
According to one source, the friendship appeared to be created for marketing purposes and possibly a future television program. They are completely sure it wasn’t genuine.
Hinch believed she and Stacey had a genuine friendship. But when Stacey started securing opportunities that Hinch desired, it caused Hinch a lot of pain.
So far, this new coolness doesn’t seem to have harmed their business.
By the end of last year, Sophie’s business was worth £4.3 million, while Stacey had even more, with assets totaling £7.3 million from her businesses and properties.
If Mrs Hinch seems unstoppable, the Stacey juggernaut, too, seems to carry all before it.
She’s currently involved with two businesses: a production company inspired by her sons and a beauty brand celebrating her daughters. She also recently invested in the haircare company, Rehab, back in October 2023.
Stacey Solomon’s popular BBC show, Sort Your Life Out, has aired for five seasons and recently won a National Television Award.
She’s also well-known for representing Crafty Christmas, and ITV has asked her to create a new series of her show, Renovation Rescue, which will air in 2024.
You know, it’s funny how things change. Just three years ago, everyone was celebrating these two women from Essex and their success. Now, it seems like the same rural setting that once suited them both just isn’t big enough for the two of them anymore – a real sign that their paths are diverging, isn’t it?
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