Natalie “Nadya” Suleman retreated from the public eye in 2013, but now she’s back — and sharing her side of the story.
Suleman rose to fame in 2009 after getting pregnant with octuplets via IVF. That same year, she welcomed Noah, Maliyah, Isaiah, Nariyah, Jonah, Makai, Josiah and Jeremiah Suleman is also mom to six older children: Elijah (born in 2001), Amerah (born in 2002), Joshua (born in 2003), Aiden (born in 2005) and fraternal twins Calyssa and Caleb (born in 2006).
As she prepares for the release of her Lifetime film, I Was Octomom (Saturday, March 8), and docuseries, Confessions of Octomom (Monday, March 10), Suleman is reflecting on her life.
“I wasn’t happy as an only child, and clearly I projected my dream onto my kids and wanting a big, well, not this big of a family, but I did want seven kids,” she told People. “But it’s not enough to say I wanted a big family because I was lonely. There is an amalgamation of factors. I wanted kids to create maybe a safe and predictable little world that I lacked growing up. So then of course, I projected onto my future family.”
Scroll down to see the biggest takeaways from Suleman’s return to the spotlight:
Her 1 ‘Regret’
Suleman had multiple back-to-back rounds of IVF administered by Dr. Michael Kamrava. While the recommended standard practice is to implant two embryos, Kamrava implanted her with 12.
Suleman, who wanted “just one more” baby, was told by Kamrava that he had only implanted six embryos. He later admitted to planting 12 and his professional medical license was revoked.
“I don’t think I’d do too much differently,” Suleman told People. “I do regret not suing the infertility doctor. I definitely regret that because his insurance would’ve been the one paying, and it would’ve been some millions, and it would’ve been helpful for my family.”
She continued, “I regret that I kind of threw myself under the bus to cover for him, and I shouldn’t have but I was grateful. I wouldn’t have had any of my kids if it weren’t for his innovative technique. No one else in the world did this type of procedure so I didn’t have it in my heart to sue him,” she said.
However, Suleman “did sue the hospital because they breached HIPAA,” claiming that hospital employees reportedly shared her information. “They’re the reason why I ended up in the public eye.”
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Her Financial Status — And ‘Biggest Misconception’
Suleman is setting the record straight on her financial situation after rising to fame. “At the time, I was not unemployed. I was on disability,” she told People.
Despite being accused of receiving and using government assistance to conceive her children, Suleman said, “That was a lie.”
“I did not use taxpayers’ money. I’d saved so much money working as a psychiatric technician at a state psych hospital,” she said. “I saved well over a hundred thousand dollars. I used all of that money. Instead of buying a house I bought in vitros. I also had an inheritance close to $60,000 that paid for it too, which I’m not proud of. It should have gone for my older kids. I also got student loans, but I paid for everything, period.”
Suleman’s financial situation became more dire after welcoming her octuplets, leading her to participate in paid interviews, photo opportunities and a solo adult film.
“I’ve never wanted fame,” she said. “That’s a No. 1 biggest misconception ever. I sued the hospital because they were the reason I ended up in the public eye.” She added, “I did whatever I needed to do to make ends meet. And that was shaming myself, sacrificing my integrity. The life I was leading was not only destructive, it was dark. It was the antithesis of who I am as a person.”
In 2013, the year she left the spotlight, Suleman said the family was struggling financially “more than ever.” Suleman went back into her “old profession as a therapist working 40 hours a week.”
She added, “I used my education. For years I was typecast as the welfare recipient, unemployed mother, all of which is wrong.”
Five years later, Suleman left her job when son Aidan’s “needs were becoming overwhelming.”
“I’ve always been his only provider, but I never got paid,” she said of her son, who is autistic. “So in 2018, that’s when I started to get actually paid. It’s decent money, but it’s still nothing compared to what we need to make to be comfortable in life.”
Now, Suleman and 11 of her 14 kids live in a three-bedroom townhouse apartment in Orange County, California. The family receives support from members of the community, including one couple who “offered us to live here half the rent just because they’re good Christian people. People at church have made a positive difference.”
Her Love Life — And Being Celibate
Before welcoming her octuplets, Suleman was married to Marcos Gutierrez. The pair separated in 2000 and officially divorced six years later. Looking back, Suleman told People that it “wasn’t a real marriage.”
“I was married, but on paper. He was just a donor and I only tried to pacify my very, very old-fashioned Middle Eastern family on my dad’s side, where some of the marriages are still pre-arranged,” she said.
Her first six children were conceived from a “platonic friend donor,” while the octuplets “have a frozen anonymous donor.” Suleman always knew she wanted a family, but without a partner.
“I’ve never really dated,” she said. “I had one relationship and I was very up front with him and said, ‘I’m really only interested in having a child. Wonderful guy, very nice, funny, great guy. And he had feelings, but I didn’t really reciprocate them. But I was open with him. I was never hiding the fact that I just wanted a child and he tried to help me, but it didn’t work out.”
Suleman revealed that she has been celibate for 25 years. “That’s actually something I’m really proud of,” she said. “And for me, being a romantic asexual person, it just fits perfectly. I’m never going to change that. It’s who I am as a person, down to the fabric of my soul.”
When Suleman participated in an adult film, she was alone. “I knew I could not touch another human being physically,” she said. “That’s where I drew the line.”
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Her Death Threats
In the trailer for Suleman’s upcoming Lifetime series, one of her daughters claimed to the cameras that, “At the time my mom was getting a lot of death threats.”
One of Suleman’s sons also sat down with producers, sharing his experience of having people approach him to ask about his mom’s past. (Aside from her adult film, she previously worked as a stripper in men’s clubs.)
“When someone comes up to you at school and asks you, ‘Is your mom a stripper?’ You don’t know what to say,” the son said.
Suleman’s Lifetime film I Was Octomom and docuseries Confessions of Octomom premieres on Saturday, March 8, and Monday, March 10.
