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“Octomom” Nadya Suleman experienced “complete pandemonium” after welcoming her octuplets — and not just in her home.
The 49-year-old opened up to People in a rare interview Friday, saying she “received death threats” and feared for her “family’s life” at the time.
Suleman welcomed Noah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Jonah, Josiah, Makai, Maliyah and Nariyah in January 2009. They turn 16 later this week.
The 49-year-old “feared” for her kids’ safety at the time. Instagram/@nataliesuleman Suleman was already a mother of six when she gave birth to octuplets in 2009. Instagram/@nataliesulemanThe octuplets joined older siblings Elijah, 23, Amerah, 22, Joshua, 21, Aidan, 19, and twins Caleb and Calyssa, 16.
“It wasn’t until [the octuplets] were maybe about 4 years old, I finally was able to escape all of that, the attack it felt from the world … and all that global scorn and condemnation,” Suleman said of “being the target of misplaced hate.”
“I could escape and finally go back to the life I had once known before,” she continued.
She told People it took four years to “escape” public hatred. Instagram/@nataliesuleman At that point, Suleman went “back to the life” she knew before. NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty ImagesWant more celebrity and pop culture news?
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Suleman noted that she “had to continue to sacrifice [her] integrity repeatedly to survive and provide for [her] family,” referencing the adult film she acted in.
Since the former psychiatric technician “paid for nannies until they were 2,” she “really struggl[ed] financially.”
She recalled, “Eventually I just had to lean in really to my faith, my very strong faith in God. And it wasn’t until I did that, everything fell into place beautifully.”
Suleman hired a nanny until the little ones were 2. Instagram/@nataliesuleman She “sacrificed [her] integrity” to support her big brood. Getty Images for Spike TVShe spoke out ahead of her respective movie and docuseries on Lifetime, “I Was Octomom” and “Confessions of Octomom,” which will air in March.
“The main reasons for me in sharing my true story, my perspective is to help people, to help women in particular who are struggling with one child or none, to maybe inspire them to pull out the strengths inside that they didn’t know they had to progress forward, to keep progressing in their life,” she told the magazine.
Suleman teased that her “kids are going to share [their stories] for the first time,” including her older children.
Suleman is sharing her story in a Lifetime movie and docuseries in March. Instagram/@nataliesuleman She hopes to help other “struggling” moms “progress forward.” Getty ImagesNariyah specifically is “excited” for her mom to speak out in the doc, telling People, “I feel like it was very unfair how she was terrorized and hated for just being a mother. And she had to sacrifice so much just for her children.”
Suleman has given rare updates on her brood’s lives over the years, announcing via Instagram in September 2024 that she is now a grandmother.
“Thank you my son and my lovely daughter in law for giving us this beautiful gift!” she wrote without divulging further details.