The fourth season finale of Sort Your Life Out left viewers in tears Tuesday night as Stacey Solomon and her team helped declutter a family home full of memories.
The episode of the BBC One show featured Shirley and Martin, who had raised their two daughters in their Surrey home, the same house in which Martin grew up.
With her older daughters moved out and children of their own, Stacey Solomon and her team (Dilly Carter, Iwan Carrington and Rob Bent) got to work sorting through sixty years of memories.
After packing up the house and placing all of the family’s belongings in a huge storage room, it was revealed that they had 189 expired food items, 124 towels, and 306 stuffed animals, among thousands of other belongings.
Viewers praised the touching scenes as Shirley and Martin spoke about adopting their daughters Sarah and Katherine and their future plans to raise children in their home.
The fourth season finale of Sort Your Life Out left viewers in tears Tuesday night as Stacey Solomon and her team helped declutter a family home full of memories.
Stacey Solomon and her team (Dilly Carter, Iwan Carrington and Rob Bent) got to work sifting through sixty years of memories.
The couple revealed that after getting married 44 years ago they thought they would have children right away but realized “things weren’t happening.”
“To this day I don’t know how we got over that moment,” Shirley admitted. They explained that the adoption process took eight years, before they were able to welcome first Sarah and then Katherine into her home.
Shirley explained that because it had taken her so long to have her family, she had been reluctant to part with any of her belongings and memories, explaining that she felt “very lucky” to have her two children.
The couple also revealed to Stacey that they hope to have adopted children when they retire. Stacey related to the idea and explained that her husband Joe Swash, whose own mother she adopted, also has the same plans when her children leave home.
Home organization expert Dilly also shared her story about the emotional episode and explained to Sarah and Katherine how she was adopted.
“I know, for me, when I had my own daughter, Nellie, she was my first bloodline,” Dilly said. ‘You think “you’re the only person I’m related to.” I have no one else in this country, no one else in my life.
Both Katherine and Sarah told Dilly that having such an open conversation with her about adoption had “healed” a part of them. “Being in this process and taking ownership of it has been a really healing process for me,” Sarah explained.
Viewers praised the touching scenes as Shirley and Martin spoke about adopting their daughters Sarah and Katherine and their future plans to foster children into their home.
After packing up the house and placing all of the family’s belongings in a huge storage room, it was revealed that they had 189 expired food items, 124 towels, and 306 stuffed animals, among thousands of other belongings.
Home organization expert Dilly also shared her story about the emotional episode and explained to Sarah and Katherine how she was adopted.
“I can’t have any more children,” Dilly continued. “So now I hope to come full circle and embrace myself.”
In the final reveal, Stacey revealed the guest bedroom transformation and revealed that the team sought expert advice on how to create a welcoming space for foster children.
“If we could give back a little bit more to some kids who are so desperate, it would mean a lot to us,” Shirley told Stacey after seeing the room.
Daughter Katherine was also filled with emotion as she thanked the team at the end of the episode and called her parents “very deserving.”
‘You have given us a life that we potentially would never have had and you managed to make their home beautiful for them and we couldn’t have done it. So thanks.’
Viewers cried at both the home’s transformation and the family’s story, tweeting: ‘What a LOVELY family! Every episode is happy but this one really got me
“Honestly, you are the most amazing family,” Stacey told them. “And you deserve all the happy memories.”
“The feeling of giving a family the home they deserve never gets old,” the host continued. “Every time it blows my mind and makes me feel so grateful to be a part of all these families’ lives.”
Viewers cried over both the home’s transformation and the family’s story, tweeting:
‘What a LOVELY family this week! Every episode is happy but this one really grabbed me’; ‘What a lovely, brilliant family #SortYourLifeOut how wonderful, such a magical group of kind-hearted, special, generous people who care for each other on both sides’; ‘I just cried during #sortyourlifeout’; “Feelings were felt and it was wonderful to see adoption being talked about so openly.”
Sort Your Life Out won the Best Popular Factual category at the Royal Television Society Awards last week.
Speaking about the win on RTS’s Twitter, Stacey gushed that the Sort Your Life Out team will “always have my back forever.”
The star thanked the team and greeted all the riders and executives who helped put the whole show together.
She explained: ‘I’m not kidding when I say the team works hours and hours and hours meticulously putting everything into what you see.
“All successful sections are due to our team, and I love them very much.”