Mum-of-22 Sue Radford says she'll NEVER meet her biological mother & she had ‘tension' with husband Noel when he met his

The Sun

18-07-2025

NOEL Radford may have finally met his birth mother, but now, his wife Sue has shared that she will 'never' look for hers.
After being given up for adoption at just ten days old, earlier this week, Noel, the 22 Kids & Counting star opened up about meeting his birth mother for the first time.
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Noel, now 54, was born on Christmas Eve in 1970 in Stockport, but less than two weeks later he was handed over to his new parents who, he stressed, he will always regard as his mum and dad.
But eager to get more answers about his childhood, in scenes that will be aired during the new series of the couple's hit Channel 5 reality series this Sunday, the father of Britain's biggest family enlisted the help of adoption expert Glesni Evans to help seek answers once and for all.
However, during the first episode of the latest series of the highly anticipated show, Noel's wife-of-32-years Sue, who turned 50 in March, revealed she has no desire to meet her real parents.
In dramatic and emotional scenes of 22 Kids & Counting: Noel's Long Lost Mum, after Noel established contact with his birth mother, old wounds opened for Sue about her own adoption.
And not only has it been challenging for the mum-of-22, but it's also caused 'disagreements' between the couple.
Sue, who had her first child at the age of 13, admitted: 'It has been quite difficult for me, it has caused a few disagreements between me and Noel.
'We have very different opinions about our birth parents.
'I can't put myself into my birth mother's position because I could never give a child up.
'As a mother, you have that child inside you for nine months, you grow that child and then you give birth to that child and for me, I could never, ever imagine handing that child over.'
Having said that, the family's matriarch confessed that her feelings did change slightly after their 17th child, Alfie, was stillborn on 6 July 2014.
Emotional moment Noel Radford learns his birth mother has been found - and he has a brother
Sue, who was adopted as a baby, continued: 'I didn't feel quite so strongly about not ever finding my birth parents until we did go through the loss of losing Alfie.
'When you do lose a child, you don't have that option, do you?
I could never want to find anything out about my birth parents. But that's just how I feel
Sue Radford
'You don't have the option to put that child up for adoption, that choice was taken away from you because that child is gone.
'For me, when we lost Alfie, it definitely changed my mindset on adoption.'
'It's difficult'
Despite this, Sue, who recently missed her 21-year-old daughter Katie give birth whilst she on holiday in Dubai, added: 'My mum and dad are my mum and dad and that's it.
'I could never want to find anything out about my birth parents. But that's just how I feel, obviously Noel doesn't feel like that.'
Meet the Radfords' 22 kids
Christopher, 36
The oldest Radford child, Chris works as a glazier and is married to Nicole Spencer. They have three children: Maise-Paige, eight, Jacob, five, and Oakland, three.
Sophie Rose, 31
Sophie has her own cleaning company, Time for Sparkle, and shares three children with husband Joseph Bradley: Daisy, 12, Ayprill, 10, and Leo, nine.
Chloe Anne, 29
Chloe's a make-up artist and is mum to daughter Milla, two, and son Bodhi, three months, with her boyfriend, Jake Wallace.
Jack Richard, 28
Publicity-shy Jack prefers to stay out of the limelight, and hasn't publicly shared his relationship status or career.
Daniel Leon, 26
After training to be in the RAF, Daniel had a near-fatal car crash in Bristol, which played out on his parents' TV show. He overcame his subsequent fear of driving in order to emigrate to Australia.
Luke James, 24
Luke came out to his parents as bisexual in 2021 - warming viewers' hearts after Sue and Noel attended a Pride festival with him that summer. He works for the family's pie business.
Millie Jo, 23
Millie is married to Harley Passmore and is mum to three children: Ophelia, four (from a previous relationship), and Chester, three, and Elodie, one (whom she shares with Harley).
Katie Louise, 22
Katie works at a nursery and shares one nine-month-old son, Ronnie, with her boyfriend Connor Carter.
James Edward, 21
James is busy working in the family's pie shop and hopes to run it someday.
Ellie May, 20
Ellie's training to be a hairdresser, and has also worked part-time in a hotel housekeeping job.
Aimee Elizabeth, 19
Aimee's also qualified to be a hairstylist and has famously practised her skills on family members in video clips.
Josh Benjamin, 18
According to his parents, Josh was a 'nightmare' at school and he didn't commit to his studies - but that all changed when he found his passion as a sports coach.
Max Joseph, 16
Max was diagnosed with autism in 2021, and has since struggled with socialising. Working in the pie shop has apparently helped him.
Tillie May, 15
One of Tillie's legs stopped growing when she was just 18 months old, due to an infection. In 2019, she was fitted with a frame to help strengthen the limb, but - last year - it was revealed she'd need further treatment and potential surgery.
Oscar Will, 13
Oscar has been described as having 'incredible initiative' at school.
Casper Theo, 12
Casper always dreamt of being a footballer, but was gutted on his family's show when he didn't make it into a Premier League club's youth team.
Alfie Thomas
Alfie would have been the Radfords' 17th child, but he was tragically stillborn at three months. The Radfords refer to him as their 'missing heartbeat'.
Hallie Alphia Beau, 10
Hallie's middle name was given in tribute to her late brother, who died just a year before her birth.
Phoebe Willow, eight
Phoebe has been awarded prizes at school for her achievements, much to her parents' pride.
Archie Rowan, seven
As the 20th Radford baby, Archie was expected to be the last - marking 'a nice, even number' in Sue's words.
Bonnie Raye, six
Again, Bonnie was expected to 'finish' the brood, but plans changed.
Heidie Rose, five
The youngest Radford child, mum Sue has since insisted: 'No, that's it now!'
Moments later, Noel, who broke down in tears on the last series, confessed: 'It's tough, I totally get where Sue is coming from, she doesn't want to find her birth mum and I can understand why she doesn't.
'She might not understand why I do quite so much. It's difficult.'
In the following scenes, some of the older Radford kids gathered to discuss the growing 'tension' between Noel and Sue.
Chloe, 29, who recently became a mum-of-two following a 'brutal' birth with her second child, explained: 'When I first found out that dad was reaching out to his birth mum, I didn't really have any concerns or anything about how it would affect us.
'I was more concerned because mum and dad have very different views on meeting their birth parents, so what's gonna happen?'
Her younger brother James, 21, then added: 'I think there's tension in the sense that there's one person on one side and one on another.
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'I definitely understand why mum feels the way she does. Blood doesn't really matter to mum.
'Dad's quite vulnerable during the whole process…it's concerning. He struggles to process it. I think closure is what dad is looking for.
'I definitely see both sides. I'll support dad doing it and I'll support mum not doing it.'
The Radford Family's TV history
THE first ever episode of 22 Kids and Counting aired on Channel 5 on 22nd February, 2021.
After the first series - which had just four episodes in it - performed well, Channel 5 commissioned a 10-episode second season, which was broadcast in 2022.
They went on to commission a third series, which included a Christmas special aired in December 2023.
The fourth season began airing in January 2024, but fans were left disappointed when it stopped after six episodes.
Sue and Noel reassured viewers that they were just taking a little break, and the next episode will be airing on 21st July.
You can catch up on all previous episodes of 22 Kids and Counting on My 5, here.
'Growing tensions'
Later in the episode, Noel headed out for a walk by himself, as he admitted: 'There's not just me to think about. It's become difficult in the house now.'
Reflecting on recent events, he stressed: 'Me doing this has caused upset for Sue. We can't even talk about it anymore, which is upsetting.
'It's a massive thing. To upset Sue along the way is the last thing I want. But I've started this process now.
Not only have the couple been open about Noel's search to find his mother on their TV show, but in a recent interview with The Sun, Sue set the record straight and highlighted: 'As far as I am concerned I didn't and still don't want to find my birth mum.
"Noel is very different and it's always bothered him.
'It's been hard. We are both adopted and with our different views, we did clash at times.'
Following this, Noel reassured: 'There were no headlocks or anything.
'It was more of an emotional clash and I totally get why Sue doesn't want to meet her parents and that's fine.'
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