Why Octomom Natalie Suleman Modified into “the Poster Person for Mommy Shaming”
When Natalie Suleman welcomed octuplets in 2009, she furthermore birthed her Octomom persona. The mother of 14 told E! News how she parented via the intense scrutiny and why she's sharing her story now.
For Natalie Suleman, eight would were enough.
Frankly, the one itsy-bitsy one born to Lithuanian trainer Angela Suleman and Palestianian restaurant proprietor Edward Suleman would were gay with seven.
So, two years after now-18-300 and sixty five days-frail twins Caleb and Calyssa joined older siblings Elijah, 23, Amerah, 22, Joshua, 21, and Aidan, 19, the graduate student booked an appointment to stare Dr. Michael Kamrava, the fertility doctor that helped her conceive her eldest six teenagers via in vitro fertilization.
“I went attend to fill one extra,” Suleman explained in an uncommon interview with E! News. “In step with my past reproductive historical past, he's gradually transferred in five to 6 embryos.” Apart from her twins, she famed, the process on the total resulted in “singletons.”
As planned, Kamrava implanted the six embroyos—left over from the process she'd undergone to fill her twins. “My uterus started to heavily contract,” Suleman detailed, “and fixed with the doctor, all of them had been expelled.” Though she was as soon as “heavily sedated,” she persisted, “He asked me if he could transfer in the totally different six that had been in the petri dish.”
She wasn't fully lucid, the 49-300 and sixty five days-frail recounted to E!, however she signed his handwritten contract without studying a observe.
He transferred in the last six embryos, “and the leisure is historical past,” summed up Suleman. “It was as soon as love your whole the trajectory of my existence modified considerably.”
Some seven months later—on Jan. 26, 2009—her alter ego “Octomom” was as soon as born alongside the realm's first plan of surviving octuplets: Noah, Maliyah, Isaiah, Nariyah, Makai, Josiah, Jeremiah and Jonah.
Having already completed the postpartum ingredient five events before, Suleman was as soon as prepared to style out one other newborn fragment, albeit a extra special busier one. Welcoming eldest Elijah “was as soon as essentially the most tough time, attributable to you're novel,” she mirrored. “After I had the others, it started to was extra pure.”
However the total parenting books on this planet couldn't fill prepped her for the degree of vitriol that was as soon as leveled her manner.
“Octomom was as soon as conceived by the media,” Suleman talked about, calling the public idea of her “this comic strip” that was as soon as “the polar opposite of my correct persona.”
While she had been hoping to impress an even bigger family than the one she experienced rising up in Fullterton, Calif., she was as soon as definitively no longer seeking notoriety.
“One of essentially the most attention-grabbing misconceptions is that I needed it,” Suleman shared. “I needed reputation. None of that's correct.”
It's something the itsy-bitsy one development grad tried to point to at the time, “to no avail,” she talked about. But she's alive to to present it one extra strive, teaming with Lifetime for I Modified into Octomom, her fair currently launched essentially based-on-a-correct-story movie, and the six-fragment docuseries Confessions of Octomom, which debuts March 10.
“It's ultimate the staunch time,” Suleman explained, noting she was as soon as motivated in fragment by her youngest teenagers' contemporary 16th birthday. “They’ve been truly making an strive to fraction their tales, their expertise, their perspective. And they’ve impressed me to diagram attend out and embrace these ultimate tasks.”
The intention she sees it, the intense hatred of her—the mother shaming, the scrutiny and the death threats that adopted—had been the dwell result of a ultimate storm, Suleman believing that as folk had been navigating their manner via the 2008 recession, they “had been subconsciously seeking out a societal scapegoat.”
A single unemployed mother with 14 teenagers, she match the invoice.
In 2025, Suleman reasoned, “I don't cling I would were the target of such misplaced abominate.” But then, she mirrored, “I was as soon as form of a poster person for mommy shaming.”
No longer that she had the time in the gradual '00s to present all of it that extra special consideration.
Straight following their initiating, “I was as soon as fully hyper targeted on the nicely-being of the octuplets, and, obviously, my teenagers at residence,” Suleman recounted. “So, I didn't fill time. I selected to no longer fill any time. I compartmentalized the whole lot the attach I'm ultimate focusing handiest on my family and no matter else is occurring available in the market, that's no longer my difficulty. The protection of my family took precedence over the whole lot.”
And that meant making some no longer easy picks.
With childcare (“I had nannies till they grew to was 2,” she talked about of the octuplets, “and then no lend a hand after that”) and a $1,000-a-week grocery invoice that included 21 dozen eggs and 20 gallons of milk, she relied on a mixture of authorities assistance and all-out hustle to outlive.
That meant making deals with the an analogous tabloids she felt had exploited her story, taking a job as an weird dancer and even signing on for the AVN-a success adult movie Octomom Home Alone.
“I was as soon as in autopilot, ultimate transferring, transferring, transferring,” Suleman recounted. “And I was as soon as furthermore residing in a grunt of palpable alarm and alarm, the total death threats and then the stalkers.”
She figures that for years, “I was as soon as in a grunt of fight or flight,” talked about Suleman, “and I'm a fighter. So, I kept combating. I would no longer ever discontinuance combating for my family.”
Her weapons of decision encompass an intense faith (“I truly fill a extremely sturdy reference to God”) and a healthy standard of living (she adopted a vegan food diagram in 2016, with most of her teenagers following suit) and no matter express she could squeeze into her time desk.
And she's confident those picks “played a extremely, very noteworthy aim in how I stayed mentally healthy and physically healthy.”
Now to no longer articulate she wasn't compelled to navigate some low lows.
“There's too many moments of adversity and the pains and tribulations to even focus on,” she talked about. But she dove deep when filming Confessions of Octomom. “I was as soon as strongly impressed to sit down in it,” she added of the process. “I didn't are making an strive to. It's painful.”
However the fashion she sees it, “That’s the time when we truly originate to heal, when we sit down in the danger and we sit down in the struggling and we process those feelings.”
On the second, though, she's spending beyond regular time celebrating than wallowing. Amongst her contemporary highs: Staring at several of her extra introverted teenagers embrace the probability to fraction their actual story.
“My oldest ones, for the very first time, especially my oldest two boys, they're going to be speaking on digicam,” Suleman talked about of Elijah and Joshua. “I'm ultimate so proud of them.”
And proud doesn't even start to duvet how she felt when Joshua and his better half welcomed their first itsy-bitsy one, a child lady, final August.
“We're truly truly, truly shut as a family,” the newly minted grandmother talked about of her brood, crediting their commitment to start, correct verbal replace.
And while she's no longer the correct at patting herself on the attend for her ability to outlive, “Now I'm ultimate reflecting on the whole lot that's occurring, and I'm so grateful,” talked about Suleman. “I would name what I cling, what I'm experiencing, ultimate gratitude.”
Which is why she's so alive to to pay it ahead.
After spending a decade and a half of affirming the bottom doubtless profile, she's ready for the realm to know her story.
“It's one of, I cling, energy and survival and success, no matter the total odds,” Suleman detailed. “So if I could diagram out the totally different facet stronger and even extra resilient and serene thriving, then I judge girls folk available in the market who feel they can't overcome adversity, maybe by hook or by crook my story will inspire them to press on.”
Receive up on her dawdle up to now by checking out some of her family's sweetest photos.
Making Recollections
Natalie “Nadya” Suleman famed her first grandchild turning six months frail with some sweet photos.
“I will’t cling our itsy-bitsy angel is already 6 months frail!” she wrote on Instagram in March 2025 alongside photos of the kid, who is the daughter of her son Joshua. “You’ve got been one of essentially the most attention-grabbing blessings in all of our lives. Your gorgeous, sweet smile fills my heart immeasurably. I love you extra than phrases could express. We are all so grateful to stare you develop and thrive every day!”
Borrowing the phrases from the teens's e book Enjoy You Continuously, Natalie added, “I’ll like you forever. I’ll love you for gradually As prolonged as I’m residing My broad-child you’ll be.”
Joyful Thanksgiving
Natalie thanked her teenagers Noah, Nariyah, Jonah, and Isaiah for their “tough work and dedication in the kitchen” for Thanksgiving 2024.
“Your healthy plant essentially based, whole food, nutrient dense creations are compassionate and delectable!” she wrote on Instagram at the time. “We are all grateful and blessed.”
Halloween Fun
The mother of 14 marked Halloween 2024 by sharing a throwback photo of her and a few of her teenagers dressed up in their costumes in 2015.
Becoming a Grandma
In September 2024, Natalie launched that she'd was a grandma.
“Thank you God for blessing my son Joshua and gorgeous daughter in law with this gorgeous reward!” she wrote on Instagram. “We are so grateful she is a brand novel addition to our family! Toddler lady you could be so very loved and we are able to’t wait to stare you develop!! 8/30/24.”
Surrounded by Enjoy
While her teenagers smiled for the digicam, Mother snuck in a wish on her forty ninth birthday in July 2024.
“Thank you teenagers for making my birthday the previous day so special!” she wrote on Instagram. “I love you all.”
Compliments to the Chefs
Jonah, Nariyah, Noah and Jeremiah had been in mark of the family's vegan feast on Native American Heritage Day in 2023.
“Joyful belated Thanksgiving and Joyful Native American Heritage Day!” Natalie wrote on Instagram in November 2023. “Thank you to the head chefs Jonah, Nariyah, Noah, and Jeremiah, who labored relentlessly cooking delectable meals for the family. You could be loved and liked, and deserved those two overflowing plates of your creations! Hope all our style supporters had a safe and blessed special time with members of the family!”
Girls Night Out
Mother took Amerah and Calyssa out for ramen (vegan, obviously) in August 2023.
Birthday Bliss
In lieu of Forty eight candles, the teens introduced balloons for their mother's birthday in July 2023.
Younger Queen
Natalie's eldest daughter Amerah famed her twenty first birthday in July 2023.
Dynamic Duo
The two enjoyed a mother daughter movie night in July 2023.
We've Obtained Every Other
Natalie marked twins Caleb and Calyssa's sweet 16 with this cute throwback pic.
“Joyful sweet 16th birthday to my, (couldn’t be extra polar opposite), twins Caleb and Calyssa!” she wrote on Instagram in October 2022. “Calyssa, you could fill grown into a style, loving, compassionate (in direction of all residing things), wise, gorgeous young woman. Phrases can not describe how proud I am to name you my daughter. You could be a talented author and artist, and can serene shatter any purpose you plan for yourself, as prolonged as you by no manner stop. I fancy your mental energy, decision, and perseverance, and am blessed to be your mother. Caleb, you could fill grown into a loving, caring, highly wise, comedic, instant witted, perceptive, and devoted young man. I am blessed to fill you ever as a son. Might maybe maybe also God proceed to bless you each abundantly. I love you.”
First Day of College
In August 2022, Natalie famed her octuplets initiating eighth grade.
“Be proud of yourselves teenagers for being style, respectful, and precious to your whole fellow chums, teachers and workers,” she wrote on Instagram alongside their first day of faculty photo. “You could be distinctive aim items to the Sixth and 7th graders. I love you.”
And to any “critics” questioning about why her older teenagers weren't in the snap, Natalie made it sure “their older siblings didn’t desire me to put up a image on their first day. I admire their decision, so could serene you.”
Beloved Cats
The family loves their fur infants too.
Search for What I Made
Showing off a cat and crafts on the sofa.
Twinning!
Maliyah and Nariyah had been a coordinated sister act.
Fur Toddler Bonding
The Sulemans are a cat family, so Maliyah took the choice to attain some dog-sitting.
Man of the Home
Natalie snuck a rare contemporary pic of eldest son Elijah onto her feed in honor of his twenty first birthday in 2022.
Every Day is Mother's Day
Mother's Day is by no manner lonely for Natalie, right here celebrating alongside with her octuplets and their broad sister Amerah in 2022.
12th Birthday
“Joyful 12th birthday to eight of essentially the most style, caring, and respectful teenagers I truly fill ever acknowledged,” Natalie wrote to her octuplets on Instagram in January 2021. “Your compassion for all residing things and the rate of humbly serving others is the definition of like. You influence my heart fat, and fill blessed our lives abundantly. I am honored to be your mother.”
Brotherly Enjoy
Noah and Jonah got ready to dig in.
14 and Counting
The Suleman octuplets enjoyed baked items on their 14th birthday.
Throwback Photography
Joshua, carrying the temporary face tat, and broad brother Eli had been about to procedure shut flight in this throwback pic their mother shared.
Loving Siblings
On this throwback photo, Natalie mirrored on how “Makai has gradually been Aidan’s guardian angel, taking a admire out for him from day one.”
Santa's Helpers
Getting eight teenagers to line up and smile for a pic sounds love a Christmas miracle to us.
Source credit : eonline.com
