Latest news with #IWasOctomom
South China Morning Post
18-03-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Who is ‘Octomom' Natalie Suleman's ex-husband Marcos Gutierrez? He's not the biological father to any of her 14 children, and their marriage was apparently ‘loveless', but he ‘wants her to be happy'
In 2009, Natalie 'Nadya' Suleman garnered major media attention when she gave birth to the world's first surviving octuplets. Dubbed 'Octomom', Suleman became a tabloid sensation and the subject of several documentaries. Natalie Suleman identifies as asexual. Photo: @nataliesuleman/Instagram Suleman, who's now 49 years old, was already a mum of six through IVF when she underwent another IVF procedure for her seventh and final child – she ended up giving birth to octuplets prematurely when her fertility doctor, Michael Kamrava implanted 12 embryos in her instead of six like he told her. Advertisement The mum of 14 went into hiding in 2012 after receiving an onslaught of criticism for turning to nude modelling and working as a stripper to provide for her family. At one point she was cruelly dubbed the 'most hated mum in America'. Marcos Gutierrez and Natalie Suleman married to appease her tradition family. Photo: People/CBS Thirteen years later, Suleman, who is now a grandmother of one, is back on our screens with a new Lifetime film, I Was Octomom, and six-part docuseries, Confessions of Octomom, that provide insight into her struggles and her children. In a March 6 interview with People, the single mum disclosed that she identifies as romantically asexual and has abstained from sex for the past 25 years. She was married once before to Marcos Gutierrez but they divorced after four years of marriage. Suleman claimed their relationship was 'loveless', per the Daily Mail. Here's everything to know about her ex-husband, Marcos Gutierrez. Suleman and Marcos Gutierrez didn't marry for love Natalie Suleman got married to placate her traditional Middle Eastern family. Photo: @nataliesuleman/Instagram In her interview with People, Suleman revealed that she'd only married Gutierrez to placate her 'very, very old-fashioned Middle Eastern family'.
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Octuplets Describe What It's Been Like Growing Up Without a Father (Exclusive)
In the new Lifetime docuseries Confessions of Octomom, the details of the paternity of Natalie "Nadya" Suleman's 14 kids, including her history-making octuplets, who were conceived via IVF with the sperm of an anonymous donor, are set to be revealed. That said, the now 16-year-old octuplets tell PEOPLE the topic of their father was never a very important one in their household. "I don't think we really thought about that," says Maliyah. Adds her brother Jeremiah, "Mom filled in as the father role, and then after that Elijah," he says of his older brother. Maliyah agrees, "I think Elijah filled that role. As we grew up." If you ask Nariyah, who her siblings call the leader of the pack, "I personally think that our mom, she takes over the father role and the mother role and she is fully capable of doing that," she says. "She's been an amazing mother and father figure for our whole lives." Still, Suleman's youngest children have had questions over the years. "I'm honest, I'm very transparent with everyone," she says. "I told them that they come from an anonymous frozen donor and I bought one, it was one dad. And I saw them actually, I saw the creation in the lab in the petri dish. And then they joke, "Oh, so we're test tube babies?" I'm like, "Yeah, but you're more than that." But we joke about it." She adds, "We delve into a lot of the details of the donors and how they feel and their experiences in the show." Related: Octomom Natalie 'Nadya' Suleman Opens Up About 'Profoundly Autistic' Son Aidan: 'I Knew When He Was Born' (Exclusive) When it comes to her older children, also conceived via IVF using the sperm of Suleman's platonic friend, they have long known who their donor is. "I was never hiding that," she says. "They can make a decision if they want in the future or now or whenever they want to to meet him. My oldest sons have absolutely no interest because they say it'd be like meeting a stranger. They may change their mind in 10 years." Related: Octomom Natalie 'Nadya' Suleman Shares 'Shocking' Experience of Discovering 'Hidden' Baby No. 8 During Delivery Even through media scrutiny, she's always kept his identity a secret from the world. "25 years ago or more, when I told the donor that I'm going to keep him private, I didn't have to say it twice. I said it once. I'm loyal," she says. "So there's no way I was going to disclose his name and let him be dragged through the mud. His whole life destroyed just for money? And I was offered money, quite a bit, to disclose his name." But Suleman teases that in the new docuseries, "we delve into a lot of the details of the donors and how they feel and their experiences." I Was Octomom premiered March 8, while Confessions of Octomom airs Mondays at 10 p.m. ET, both on Lifetime. Read the original article on People
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Octomom Natalie 'Nadya' Suleman Shares 'Shocking' Experience of Discovering 'Hidden' Baby No. 8 During Delivery
Octomom Natalie 'Nadya' Suleman is ready to tell her story. During the docuseries Confessions of Octomom, the mom of 14 opens up about everything, from her in vitro fertilization journey to harrowing moments in the delivery room. Despite being told that she was only carrying seven children at the time, Suleman said she knew there was an eighth child, calling it "mother's intuition." "Something in the back of my mind told me there's eight. It's mother's intuition," she said. "I kept asking. I keep reiterating over and over, 'Are you certain there's not an eighth?' and [the ultrasound technician] said, 'Absolutely not. I'm a very skilled ultrasound technician. If there were eight, I'd see them.' " "Not that he wasn't a skilled technician, but the more [children] there are — all the doctors were confirming — the less likely you are able to discern exactly how many there are," she continued. "So after [the seventh baby], a resident went in to examine the uterus to make sure everything's okay, and he felt a hand. So, there was a hidden baby H. He was one of the biggest. How did they miss a 3 1/2 pound baby? He was pretty big, so that was shocking." Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Related: No Meat, No Phones, No Social Media: Inside Octomom Natalie 'Nadya' Suleman's Strict Rules for Teen Octuplets (Exclusive) Suleman admits that her pregnancy with her octuplets "shockingly enough had zero complications," as she continued her life as usual. The proud mom said she was "extremely active" until one move landed her in the hospital. "I was making myself a lot of food in the kitchen, and I went back to the room to bed and laid down and I started eating my food," she explained. "I crunched on a cracker, and then I turned and I heard cracking." "My ribs were broken and I was in such excruciating pain, but I had to force myself to get to the phone to call 911, so I kind of flopped myself down on the ground from the bed, like a beached whale, and I pulled myself to the phone and I opened it, called 911, and I said, 'I need help.' " she continued. It's been 16 years since she first made headlines and history, giving birth to the world's first surviving octuplets, a feat that earned her the nickname Octomom and led to a chaotic life of infamy before she retreated from the spotlight in 2013. As she remerges with a push from her now 16-year-old octuplets, and with the help of a new Lifetime film I Was Octomom and subsequent docuseries Confessions of Octomom, Suleman is taking stock in her incredible, and at times harrowing, journey. Suleman was already a mother of six children — Amerah, Calyssa, Elijah, Caleb, Joshua and Aidan — when she gave birth to her octuplets, Noah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Jonah, Josiah, Makai, Maliyah and Nariyah. The docuseries will feature the octuplets and her six older children, who were all born via IVF. Ahead of it all, she opened up to PEOPLE exclusively, saying, "My family and I are taking our life back," as she works to own her complicated narrative. "I've been saying, I want to keep [her children] safe and protect my kids, and well, they're older now," she shared. "They're turning 16 and making the decision to really do this." I Was Octomom premiered on March 8, while Confessions of Octomom premiered on March 10, both on Lifetime. Read the original article on People
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Natalie Suleman Revealed the Surprising Way She Could Afford the IVF Treatments That Conceived Her Octuplets—'I'm Not Proud of It'
It's the return of Octomom. Natalie 'Nadya' Suleman and her family are finally telling their side of the story after she gave birth to octuplets. Suleman conceived her octuplets via IVF in 2009. She was already a mom to six children before she gave birth, making her total to a whopping 14 children. Suleman and her family garnered heavy media coverage shortly after since she her octuplets were the first to survive after birth. The family has since moved into the private life after the frenzy. 'I've never wanted fame,' she told People. 'That's a number one biggest misconception ever. I sued the hospital because they were the reason I ended up in the public eye.' More from StyleCaster How to Watch Hunting Housewives to See Denise Richards, NeNe Leakes, & More How to Watch Lifetime For Free to Enjoy All of Your Holiday Favorites'I did whatever I needed to do to make ends meet,' she recounted. '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.' Now the Sulemans are ready to show the world their family life with two Lifetime projects: I Was Octomom and Confessions of Octomom. Natalie Suleman's net worth is estimated to be around $300,000 according to Celebrity Net Worth. The single mother of 14 has been open about her financial struggles since she entered the spotlight. 'At the time, I was not unemployed. I was on disability,' she told People. 'I did not use taxpayers' money,' she affirmed about how she could afford IVF treatments. 'I'd saved so much money working as a psychiatric technician at a state psych hospital. 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 also opened up about her financial insecurity in the early 2010s and how the media painted her to be mooching off the government. According to court papers, she filed for bankruptcy after owing money to Sylvan Learning Center, childcare center Lad N. Lassie and private elementary school Whittier Christian School—debts that combine with others to amount to between $500,000 and $1 million. 'We were always struggling financially but in 2013 that was more than ever. I went right back to my old profession as a therapist working 40 hours a week,' she says. 'I used my education. For years I was typecast as the welfare recipient, unemployed mother, all of which is wrong.' She left her job in 2018 to take care of her son Aidan who has autism. 'I've always been his only provider, but I never got paid,' she revealed. '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.' The happy family of 14 are currently living comfortably in Orange County, Calif, after they found security and community. She noted that one couple 'offered us to live here half the rent just because they're good Christian people,' she says. 'People at church have made a positive difference.' Best of StyleCaster The 26 Best Romantic Comedies to Watch if You Want to Know What Love Feels Like These 'Bachelor' Secrets & Rules Prove What Happens Behind the Scenes Is So Much Juicier BTS's 7 Members Were Discovered in the Most Unconventional Ways
USA Today
09-03-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
'Octomom' Nadya Suleman says 'I definitely regret' not suing her fertility doctor
'Octomom' Nadya Suleman says 'I definitely regret' not suing her fertility doctor Show Caption Hide Caption Gypsy Rose Blanchard pregnant. Here's who father is Gypsy Rose Blanchard was previously engaged to Ken Urker while completing her eight-year prison sentence. Now the couple is having a baby. Natalie "Nadya" Suleman, the woman who became known as "Octomom," is telling her story over 15 years after she became the subject of intense media backlash surrounding the birth of her 16-year-old octuplets. Suleman is opening up in a People magazine interview published on Thursday about being coined "Octomom" following the 2009 controversy involving her IVF doctor. Suleman is reentering the cultural conversation, after leaving the spotlight in 2013, ahead of a new Lifetime biopic "I Was Octomom" and companion docuseries "Confessions of Octomom," which premiere respectively on Friday and Monday. "I don't think I'd do too much differently," Suleman revealed to People. "I do regret not suing the infertility doctor," Dr. Michael Kamrava, who implanted her with more embryos than typical for in vitro fertilization treatments. "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," the mom of 14 said. Suleman and Kamrava, who implanted her with six times the normal amount of two embryos, received harsh media backlash after reports surfaced after Suleman gave birth in 2009 to the first-ever surviving octuplets amid a strained financial situation. She is also mom to six older children. 'Octomom' Nadya Suleman is a grandmother after son, daughter-in-law welcome baby girl After lying about the number of embryos he implanted in Suleman, Kamrava was stripped of his medical license. "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," Suleman added. Suleman told People that she wanted "just one more" baby, but Kamrava implanted her with 12 embryos after originally telling her told her he'd only implanted six embryos. "But I did sue the hospital because they breached HIPAA," Suleman says of hospital workers who allegedly leaked her name and medical information to the media. "They're the reason why I ended up in the public eye." The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, also known as HIPAA, protects patients' health care information from being released by healthcare providers like doctors without permission and consent. 'Octomom' Nadya Suleman opens up about motherhood Suleman stressed during a People video interview that she chose to do a docuseries instead of a reality TV show due to the developmental effects of reality television on children. But she's describing herself as "grateful." "Natalie Suleman is just a mom of many and she is very, very, very grateful," Suleman described herself to People. "We are a loving family and we're there for each other. All of my kids are just very humble, grounded, kind people with good hearts." Suleman admitted to the outlet that she chose to have so many children out of fear of loneliness. "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," she added. "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."
