Known to many by the nickname ‘Octomom,’ Natalie 'Nadya' Suleman has lived a very unique, yet tumultuous life, after birthing the first surviving octuplets in history in 2009.
Now that a handful of years have passed, it seems that the 49-year-old is finally living a peaceful life with her family.
“My family’s life literally revolves around God, food and fitness,” she shared in an Instagram post in 2022. “In that exact order.”
Highlights
- Natalie Suleman was the first person to welcome surviving octuplets back in 2009.
- For a while, she lost her identity in an effort to provide income to her family of 15.
- Now, Suleman has found herself again after letting go of the nickname 'Octomom' and spending time with her loved ones.
Natalie Suleman was the first woman to welcome surviving octuplets
Image credits: Tiffany Rose / Getty
In an exclusive interview with People, Suleman revealed that most of her time now is spent at home with her children, who help around the house by cooking and doing chores, while the determined mother puts in a little extra time to care for her disabled son, Aidan.
She also looks to hit the weights often, lifting three to four times per week — along with four to five days of cardio workout — in order to help alleviate her stress and chronic pain.
Image credits: nataliesuleman
During the last few months of 2024, Suleman additionally made the heartwarming announcement that she had welcomed her first grandchild — a baby girl who they were “blessed” to meet.
Living in Orange County, California, in a three-bedroom townhouse with two cats named Penelope and Mimi and working a “low-key” job as a full-time counsellor, this is all Suleman hoped to achieve. After all, she’s “never felt so free and so happy” in her life.
Suleman's life now is everything she hoped for — but there were many challenges getting here
Image credits: NBC / Getty
But it wasn’t always like this. The Internet personality struggled for countless years before things started to look up for her.
Suleman was already a mother to six kids — Amerah, Calyssa, Elijah, Caleb, Joshua, and Aidan — when she welcomed her octuplets Noah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Jonah, Makai, Maliyah, and Nariyah.
As a single, unemployed parent to 14 kids, the then-33-year-old knew she needed to find a source of income, and fast. She worked as a stripper and appeared in Celebrity Boxing, which was an X-rated video, as well as a nude photoshoot.
She additionally participated in a $5,000 PETA ad that supported the spaying and neutering of animals.
Image credits: nataliesuleman
These were things that never felt authentic for Suleman, and it was clear that she viewed these sacrifices as a necessity.
“I was pretending to be a fake, a caricature, which is something I’m not, and I was doing it out of desperation and scarcity so I could provide for my family. I’ve been hiding from the real world all my life,” she told The New York Times back in 2018.
The mother-of-14 did everything she could to support her family, even if it felt unlike herself
Image credits: nataliesuleman
Suleman additionally had “PTSD” after being consistently nagged and surrounded by reporters but again, she saw media coverage as something she needed to participate in to care for her family.
She also revealed, “I was spiraling down a dark hole. There were no healthy opportunities for ‘Octomom.’ I was doing what I was told to do and saying what I was told to say. When you’re pretending to be something you’re not, at least for me, you end up falling on your face.”
Image credits: nataliesuleman
But as things started to shift with her own children, Suleman saw the change as a wake-up call: was money really worth everything she was refusing herself and her kids?
The mother-of-14 became worried when she saw her eldest daughter Amerah, who was about 10 at the time, “integrating” many of Suleman’s “traits and behaviors.”
“After I had observed my daughter beginning to emulate me, I saw her going down that same potentially destructive path, and I realized at that moment I’d rather be homeless in my van with all 14 kids than continuing down this path.
“It was not what I wanted for my children.”
Suleman described the "catalyst" moment of seeing her own daughter mirror herself
Image credits: nataliesuleman
She abandoned the name of ‘Octomom’ and all that it stood for, and officially stepped away from the spotlight in 2013 — something she’d been wanting to do ever since she became famous.
While it isn’t publicly known who the biological father of Suleman’s children is, the Californian native found herself in this impossible situation due to Dr. Michael Kamrava.
As per The New York Times, Suleman said she was implanted with octuplets unknowingly but her doctor claims it was something she had “pushed for.”
Image credits: The Tribe
“She alleged that Kamrava ‘misled’ her and told her while she was on narcotics and on a gurney that they lost the first six of her embryos he’d implanted and that he needed to implant another six. A friend of Kamrava denied the allegations and said Kamrava was merely complying with Suleman’s wishes,” according to People.
It reportedly took 46 doctors and nurses to perform a C-section on Suleman after she went into labor while only 31 weeks pregnant. The babies were underweight, but they all miraculously survived.
In June of 2011, Kamrava’s license was revoked. The California state medical board accused him of “gross negligence,” with Suleman, as well as two other patients.
The name 'Octomom' highlighted Suleman in a light she wasn't comfortable with
Image credits: nataliesuleman
Now that Suleman’s story is finally being told in a way that feels true to her, her teenage daughter Nariyah has nothing but good things to say about her mother.
“My mom had to sacrifice, sacrifice her life, her friends, herself and her dignity, just so that she can take care of us,” she shared. “If any opportunity came that she’d finally be able to tell the truth, of course, I’d want to help my mom as much as I can because she helped us so many years.”
While Suleman is “very strict and disciplined,” Nariyah says it’s a quality she’s grateful for, especially given the close bond she has with all her other siblings.
Image credits: nataliesuleman
“I always have someone to talk to, and I’m just never alone, which is a good a bad thing,” she stated. “But it’s very fun and it’s very lively, and I’m just happy. I have a big variety of people and different perspectives.”
Suleman and her family are set to feature in a movie and docuseries titled I Was Octomom and Confessions of Octomom, premiering in March 2025, as they hope to debunk misconceptions and further share their unforgettable story.
Media coverage had shown her to be an inauthentic persontup
