I knew despised Octomum who had 14 kids on benefits before turning to porn… one confession over the births shocked me
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WHEN single mum Nadya Suleman giving birth to octuplets, in 2009, it made headlines across the world.
But 'Octomom' Nadya went from miracle-maker to villain when it was revealed that she already had six children, lived on benefits and had had IVF to conceive her multiple pregnancies.
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Nadya shocked the world when she gave birth to octuplets in 2009 - while already having six kids at home
Credit: Instagram/nataliesuleman
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She raised the kids alone - and has said that, though they all have the same father, he didn't want to be part of their lives
Credit: Instagram/nataliesuleman
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Sixteen years later, the whole family seem happier and more solid than ever
Credit: Instagram/nataliesuleman
Her life turned into a circus freak show as she was vilified for her actions and even received death threats.
Critics claimed she was an unfit mother, breeding 'a litter' of children to live off the state and some even called for her offspring to be adopted.
And she faced further backlash when it emerged she had turned to porn to make ends meet and had become addicted to prescription drugs.
Now 16 years on, a new documentary charts what happened to Octomom and her brood of 14.
TV physician Dr Drew Pinsky - himself a father of triplets - visited Nadya's home on several occasions and says his mind was blown by how she coped.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun, Dr Drew says: 'How good can you be when you have all of these kids? How do you create a firm attachment?
"There is so much there. To the extent that the circumstances were out of the ordinary, she did an extraordinary job. I was always on Team Nadya.
"I thought it was extraordinary what she was doing.'
Nadya Suleman's octuplets were born by caesarean section at 31 weeks in LA - and miraculously were all healthy.
News stations from across the world descended on the hospital, desperately trying to find out anything about the mum who wanted to stay anonymous.
Octomom Nadya Suleman who turned to porn to make ends meet reveals she's turned her life around for her 14 kids
TV reporter Dave Lopes from Channel 2 news popped into a cafe where a woman told him that Octomom already had six children at home.
Dave recalls: 'Holy Moses, I almost spat out my coffee, do you mean to tell me that this woman now has 14 kids?
"Once it was confirmed that she had six more at home, everybody was going 'wait a minute…..what is going on here?'
It wasn't long before journalists tracked down 33-year-old unemployed single mum Nadya, who was receiving disability allowances and lived with her parents in a cramped three bedroom house.
'Are we paying?'
LA-based British entertainment journalist Caroline Feraday recalls: 'The public suddenly thought, 'hang on a minute, are we paying for this?''
Nadya soon became a target of ridicule and hate, but came out fighting for her reputation.
Just ten days after giving birth she gave an interview to NBC where journalist Ann Curry quizzed her on allegations that she was irresponsible and selfish to bring the children into the world without a clear source of income and sufficient support to raise them.
But Nadya claimed she was finishing her education to provide for the kids and loved her children unconditionally.
Meanwhile other questions were being asked about where Nadya received fertility treatment that allowed her to conceive eight babies at once.
All her life, only child Nadya had dreamed of being a mum. She suffered from endometriosis but in 1997, she met fertility specialist Dr Michael Kamrava who would help her become pregnant through IVF.
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Nadya earned the moniker "Octomom" and was chastised online for being "reckless"
Credit: AP:Associated Press
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Despite the public outrage, she used her newfound fame to make ends meet by selling pictures to Radar Online
Credit: Handout
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She also sat down for a tell-all interview with NBC in 2009, to argue against claims she was 'irresponsible' and 'selfish' for having so many children
Credit: Handout
Her first child Elijah was born in 2001. She went back for treatment every year for the next five years giving birth to Amerah in 2002, Joshua in 2003, Aidan in 2005, followed by twins Calysah and Caleb in 2006.
By 2008, Nadya had six children but returned to Dr Kamrava for more IVF treatment. The doctor told her she had frozen eggs left. She did not want them destroyed.
In an unprecedented and reckless move, Dr Kamrava implanted 12 embryos into Nadya.
Crisis manager Wendy Feldman says: 'The doctor who did that for his own experiment. That's a monster. You have to look at her as the victim of first the doctor, and then public opinion.'
The doctor later claimed that he implanted the 12 embryos at Nadya's request, whereas she claimed she was unaware what was going on and was so sedated that she could not consent.
I always thought - like the rest of the world - that the eight embryos were her idea'
Dr Drew Pinsky
Dr Drew Pinsky said he was stunned by the revelation.
He told The Sun: 'I always thought - like the rest of the world - that the eight embryos was her idea. But she insisted that it was not, she was hoodwinked into that.
"She was unhappy with it, but she was not going to reduce. She was going to accept her lot and raise these kids. It is overwhelming when I think about it.'
But whether there was consent or not, the treatment raised huge ethical questions as there were too many embryos for the pregnancy to be considered safe.
Nadya's fertility expert, Dr Michael Kamrava, had his licence revoked in 2011 for negligence in relation to Nadya and two other patients.
And, in March, Nadya revealed her biggest regret was not suing him because she could have been awarded "millions" which "would have helped my family".
But she added: '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.
'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.'
TV fame
As Nadya prepared to bring her eight babies home, one burning question still remained unanswered - who is the daddy?
Nadya claimed that one man was the father of all 14 children - but was not in their lives.
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The octuplets celebrating their 12th birthday in 2021
Credit: Instagram
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Dr Drew Pinsky - who visited the family - has said he witnessed a happy and healthy upbringing
Credit: Instagram
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The octuplets all miraculously survived, after Nadya gave birth at 31 weeks
Credit: PA:Press Association
And when an emergency call made by Nadya a year previously, saying her son had gone missing, was released to the press, more and more people questioned her ability to look after her 14 kids.
Despite having never met Nadya, celebrity psychiatrist Carole Lieberman wrote to Child Protective Services claiming Nadya was not stable enough psychologically to be a mother to six children, never mind 14.
But Nadya's dad was firmly in her corner and vowed to help her stop anyone taking the children away. With his help she bought a four bed house for her and her 14 children.
Such was the interest, when the babies were finally released from hospital, several weeks after their birth, Nadya needed a police escort to get them home.
But she also needed cash. Companies weren't flocking to give Nadya and her children brand deals or freebies because she was notorious and disliked.
So she agreed to give celebrity website Radar Online exclusive access to her home and her children.
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Dr Drew Pinskey with Nadya Suleman
Credit: YouTube
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The desperate mum turned to porn to make ends meet
Credit: Supplied
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Nadya snapped as she visited the babies in hospital
Credit: Alamy
Slammed by nannies
Charity Angels in Waiting, which provides free nannies and childcare, offered her their support.
But that didn't last as Nadya sacked the nannies, claiming they were spying on her.
The fired nannies hit back, claiming she was an unfit mother, the house was chaotic, with no bedtime routine, no homework routine, and that Nadya would rather go shopping than spend time with her children.
Dr Drew Pinsky and his TV show also made an incredible offer of help to Nadya - free childcare for a year and other services. But she declined.
I didn't understand how it was possible by herself
Dr Drew Pinsky
He believes that the backlash against Nadya and accusations that she had 14 children to sponge off the state made her determined not to accept any free help, but earn her own cash, however bizarre the means.
Dr Drew explains: 'I had triplets so I was sympathetic to this, the idea of eight kids when I was a multiple parent, is just so overwhelming.
"I know what multiples do to the mum in particular, in terms of how much they pull upon them, how much they need them, so I didn't understand how it was possible by herself.
'When I went over there, it was mind-boggling how she could deal with this and it didn't feel safe. It didn't make sense to me how this could be done safely.
"And she kind of managed to do it. I was kind of frustrated with her and her unwillingness to take the services we were trying to set up for her.
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Nadya with her eight babies in 2010
Credit: nataliesuleman - Instagram
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The proud mum celebrated her brood in 2022 as they entered 8th grade at school
Credit: Instagram
"I still don't understand that, other than kind of a wilfulness and a pride that she wouldn't take anything from anybody, and yet she ended up making some dumb choices to try to get money.
'I think more than anything, she was concerned about how she was perceived by the world, but not as much as wanting to be a good mum.
"That was her life. She was afraid that somebody would say that the system made it possible for her to survive, she didn't want to be seen as somebody taking from the system.
"We were offering her free stuff, not from the system, but from a television show. But she wouldn't take it.'
Determined Nadya decided to go it alone, with help from her parents and the church, and the cameras of Radar Online following her every move.
Nothing was off limits and it created a backlash.
Desperate means
But things were soon to spiral out of control. In November 2011 the deal with Radar Online came to an end - and Nadya was heavily in debt and about to lose her home.
She revealed her monthly outgoings were $10,000 and she was relying on food stamps and welfare to feed her 14 kids.
Nadya was doing everything she could to make money - she had a garage sale, she sold pictures of herself for $10 a pop, she promoted beer, and even tried to become a celebrity boxer.
She became increasingly desperate and eventually turned to porn - causing even more hate towards her.
It worked and Nadya regained financial security - but she ended up in rehab for exhaustion and prescription drug abuse.
Dr Drew says: 'The porn thing for me, I'm sure that was her rock bottom. I'm sure she didn't feel good about that, I am sure that was a bad choice.
"I have seen people get manipulated into these things with the promise of money and freedom, and so they do it. Not a great choice.'
Nadya disappeared from the public eye and concentrated on raising her children.
But she came back into the public eye in March this year for a six part documentary - Confessions of Octomom.
I saw kids that were well cared for, well fed, the structure was extraordinary
Dr Drew Finsky
The 16-year-old octuplets could finally speak for themselves - and were full of praise for their mum.
And Dr Drew is not surprised.
'But for the grace of God,' he says. 'It is not inconsistent with what I saw. I saw kids that were well cared for, well fed, the structure was extraordinary.
"It was necessary for safety and survival - eat at a certain time, move at a certain time, sleep at a certain time, change diapers at a certain time.
"The real concern I had, and I still have, is how do you get that secure attachment going with so many kids, and you are on your own?
"There is a grandad who is in and out, but no real main male figure. With all those peripheral concerns, the outcome speaks for itself. And the kids all speak highly of Nadya. It worked.'
Dr Drew is hoping to reconnect with Nadya one day, and says she proved the haters wrong.
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The mum-of-14 embraced her fame for a while, before completely shunning the spotlight
Credit: Getty - Contributor
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She now shares glimpses of her healthy lifestyle to Instagram
Credit: nataliesuleman - Instagram
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Aged 50, she's overcome addiction and mental health struggles and turned her life around
Credit: nataliesuleman - Instagram
'I would hug her,' he says. 'I would congratulate her for having survived this with everyone in one piece. I would like to know if she sees things differently than back then.
"And I would also ask why did she do some of the stuff she did. And she would have an explanation. She was trying to survive, I get it.
"And she was making decisions in an altered state - she was in survival mode for everyone.
'She is not how she has been portrayed.
"She is a distinctly good person who was in some extraordinary circumstances, allegedly not of her own making, and I will take her at her own word. She is not a liar.'
Octomum: The World's Most-Hated Woman? ITN Productions for 5, Sunday 20 July, 9pm
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