Stacey Dooley in tears over Kevin Clifton’s behaviour: ‘I cried so much the pillow was wet through’
The pair have been together since 2019
16 May 2025, 14:31Updated:16 May 2025, 16:35
Tags: Entertainment, Kevin Clifton, Stacey Dooley
Stacey Dooley has opened up about a time her partner Kevin Clifton left her in tears after he made a major error at home.
The TV presenter, 38, and dancer, 42, first got together back in 2019, after winning Strictly Come Dancing. Going from strength to strength, the couple then welcomed their first child, a daughter called Minnie, in January 2023.
And in a recent interview, Stacey revealed the challenges she and Kevin have faced looking after a newborn.
Stacey Dooley on parenting challenges with Kevin Clifton
Appearing on the CEO Mum podcast, Stacey opened up about motherhood, in particular the tough times including her struggles with expressing milk.
“I’d got this pump, because she was feeding every two to three hours. So I thought let me just express some of this and then I could maybe sleep for four hours or five hours. And that would feel like a good chunk,” Stacey said.
She continued: “So, I’m wrestling with this pump, obviously it wasn’t working. So I’m sort of teary-eyed trying to get the pump to work.”
Stacey added: “I get it to work right, I get some out, I’m delighted, thrilled and I think right I can go upstairs, Kev can put this in a bottle, I’m laughing.”
The TV star then shared that she told Kevin how to store the milk. Unfortunately he didn’t screw an important part back on.
Stacey ‘cried so much’
She recalled: “I said to him: ‘Just put it in the bottle and then screw the lid on and off you go.’
“He hadn’t put on the bottom bit, you know when you have to take all the bottles apart and put them in that sterilising thing? He hadn’t put the bottom bit on.
“So he pours the expressed milk into the bottle with no bottom on it. And it just spills all over the kitchen side.”
Fuming, Stacey said she tried to remind herself that Kevin’s error wasn’t intentional. But due to her being so tired she was overcome with emotion.
She said: “I went upstairs and cried, I cried so much I remember the pillow was wet through, because I was so like [frustrated] and I thought don’t be like this, it’s not out of spite or malice, it’s a genuine accident.
“But, you’re so knackered, you think that could’ve hooked me up. So moments like that I just remember going off for 20 minutes and crying.
“And it’s funny that now, I would love to have another child. But you have to remind yourself that those first few months are a shift.”
