Stacey Solomon breaks down on Loose Women after being branded too 'dumb' to homeschool her kids

Stacey Solomon was close to tears during an appearance on Loose Women after revealing the abuse she's received since disclosing that she's homeschooling her two boys.

The former X Factor star – who earlier this month revealed she removed her kids, Zachary, 10, and five-year-old Leighton, from mainstream school last September – struggled to contain her emotions as she spoke about being perceived as 'dumb'.

Speaking on the panel alongside Janet Street Porter, Nadia Sawalha and Christine Lampard, Stacey explained: 'I'm usually very good on social media and I think if you’re on there, you put yourself out there for comments and all that.

'But recently I've been quite affected, as people have been saying – "You're so dumb how could you even teach your own kids, you can't even spell your own name.

'I feel like a long time in my life I have come across as dumb because of my accent and personality. That's how people have always treated me. I don't know why it just struck a chord with me.'

Trying to boost Stacey's mood, Nadia replied: 'Well, you know what? You don't have to feel like that.

'You are smart, you are witty, you are informed and you are a great Loose Woman. So just chuck that label away and never think of it again.'

Nadia’s supportive words were met by a huge cheer from the audience, while viewers at home jumped to Stacey’s defence and offered their own words of encouragement.

‘You're lovely! Ignore the haters’, one wrote.

'Don't listen to them, they're jealous', another added.

While a third said: 'Don't ever worry about these Negative Nelly's trying to bring you down'.

Earlier this month, Stacey admitted she had decided to home-school her children after watching her son Zachary go from 'happy go lucky child,' to 'quiet and sad'.

'We spoke about this a lot and he explained to me that his behaviour was deemed naughty and disruptive by teachers and not cool by his peers,' she told The Sun.

'Yes, it's controversial, and not everyone will agree with me but parents have to make their own decisions. No-one should judge them and you shouldn't feel judged.

'There are so many home-school communities all over the country, where you can socialise and even arrange group lessons at a much lower cost but still a very small ratio of students to teachers.'