In 2009, Octomum was the world's most famous mother. 16 years later, her kids are speaking out.

In 2009, Nadya Suleman was the most famous mum in the world.

After having six children via in vitro fertilisation (IVF), Suleman visited her doctor in the hopes of having just one more baby. But Suleman's doctor had other ideas.

Claiming that most of her embryos would fail to survive, Suleman's doctor encouraged her to implant her 12 remaining embryos.

In the end, she went through with the procedure and unbelievably, eight embryos survived. She later revealed she had agreed under the influence of "a cocktail of drugs" in preparation for the procedure and was not in a state to consent.

As her pregnancy successfully progressed, Suleman soon became famously known as 'Octomum', or 'Octomom' in American spelling, and in January 2009 she gave birth to eight children – six boys and two girls.

At the time of the octuplets' birth, there was outrage worldwide.

Watch: Nadya (now Natalie) Suleman, formerly 'Octomum', on raising 14 kids. Post continues below.

Octomum was single, jobless, and she was living with her mother rent-free. At one point, the backlash became so bad that there were calls for the octuplets to be placed into care.

But four years later in 2012, the backlash intensified even more. Struggling to make ends meet with 14 children to support, Suleman turned to jobs including porn, stripping and nude photo shoots. She did it all in a bid to make money to raise a family of her own.

Where is Octomum now?

Now, 16 years on from the birth of the octuplets, Suleman is ready to take her life back and tell her story in her own words.

"In the beginning it was complete pandemonium," she told PEOPLE of being in the public eye when her children were born.

"There was of course all of the details of the death threats and fearing for my family's life. And then on the other hand, I had to continue to sacrifice my integrity repeatedly to survive and provide for my family."

Suleman paid for nannies until her children were two, but then began struggling financially. To cope, she starred in an adult film and sometimes collaborated with tabloid media.

Along with their mum, the octuplets are retelling their story in an upcoming Lifetime movie and docuseries, titled I Was Octomom and Confessions of Octomom.

"I'm just very excited," Suleman's daughter Nariyah, 16, told PEOPLE. "Our mum would finally be able to say her side of the story, because I feel like it was very unfair how she was terrorised and hated for just being a mother. And she had to sacrifice so much just for her children."

Suleman, who recently became a grandmother, added: "I'm not this compartmentalised caricature," she says. "I am not Octomum, I'm a mum."

The interview comes five years after Suleman spoke about her journey to Sunday Night reporter Angela Cox, acknowledging the mistakes she made along the way.

"I think I was young, dumb, irresponsible, reckless," she said.

"Some of the things that I have done – of course that I'm ashamed of in the past – was just to put food on the table and just to take care of my family," Suleman admitted in a previous interview. "My kids get embarrassed because their friends sometimes will say 'My mum said your mum's a stripper'."

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A post shared by Nadya “octomom” Suleman (@nataliesuleman)

Suleman admitted that she decided to turn her life around when a stranger approached her at a strip club she was working at.

"I was in a strip club in Florida in February 2013, and this very tall man, this stranger came in," she told New Idea.

"He walked straight to me and looked straight into my eyes. He took my hand and grabbed my arm and said in a very gentle, but firm way: 'You don't have to do this.' He repeated it five times," she added.

"I knew I had to be my healthy self again. I didn't want my kids not to have a mum."

Suleman eventually returned to working as a counsellor, and also considers motherhood to be a full-time job.

"I went back and my kids had a healthy, happy life," she explained on The Doctors.

Although the years have passed since the birth of the octuplets, the physical and mental effects of their birth and the resulting backlash are still prominent.

"I have PTSD from all the reporters coming in over the years," she told The New York Times.

"My back is broken because of the last pregnancy. Four out of the five discs in my lumbar spine are ruptured, herniated fully. And I have irreparable sacral damage. And I have peripheral neuropathy. I haven't felt my toes on my foot on the right side for many years, and my fingers are numb all the time every day. The pregnancy caused it all."

Where are Octomum's children now?

Ranging in age from 16 to 23 years old, Suleman's children — Amerah, Calyssa, Elijah, Jonah, Joshua, Aidan, Isaiah, Noah, Josiah, Makai, Jeremiah, Maliah, Nariah, and Caleb — have certainly grown up since the controversial birth of 'the eight'.

In July 2024, Suleman celebrated her birthday and posted a photo of her and her children together.

Image: Instagram/@nataliesuleman

The photo was accompanied by a caption that said: "Thank you kids for making my birthday yesterday so special! I love you all."

She further mentioned her children in the comments saying "My oldest Elijah (23) was there, (with his beautiful girlfriend) in the background, both wishing me the happiest birthday; my second oldest child Amerah (22), was also there, refusing to allow Caleb (who was filming on my phone) to take any video of her lol; my third oldest Joshua (20), was there too, laughing at all of us for being so “corny;” and Caleb (one of the twins who is 17), was taking the video after I begged him 20 times; and Aidan (my severely disabled, total care, autistic son), was already in bed for the night.

"The only kids that are excited to be on camera (I’ve never even liked it as a painfully shy introvert), are the youngest 8! Look at Calyssa (17 year old twin), she did not want to be filmed either but I begged her lol. We are all a very close family, and always there for one another…in spite of the oldest kids having their own lives, as they should. Thank you for following my family."

In August 2019, Suleman opened up about the difficulties of raising her teen son Aidan, who has autism and needs care and assistance at all times.

"This is my adolescent infant Aidan. Aidan is severely autistic and [needs] total care. He requires complete assistance in meeting all needs in activities of daily living," she wrote on her Instagram.

"Aidan is non-verbal, requires feeding, changing (he is not potty trained), bathing, and one-to-one supervision, as he has no safety awareness and would walk aimlessly into traffic. I, his mother, am, and always have been, his ONLY care provider. This 'job' is my life (other than caring for 13 other children single-handedly). My children are my LIFE."

Suleman went on to share that after dropping 11 of her children off for their first day of school, she took Aidan to the park where he had a meltdown.

"He dropped to the ground, threw water bottles, took off shoes and propelled those at my head. As soon as we arrived home I bathed, changed and fed exhausted Aidan and held him until he fell asleep."

Despite suffering relentless pain from a broken back caused by her octuplet pregnancy, Suleman said she continues to "physically care for her son, and will never give up on him".

"I love him with all my heart, and will care for him until I die."

When her eldest child, Elijah, celebrated his 21st birthday. In a tribute post to her son, Suleman admitted her heart "broke" for him when she had her eight youngest children.

"My heart broke for you, as the life you once knew spiralled into a state of pandemonium; seemingly the weight of the world upon your tiny shoulders," she wrote.

"Not only was my heavy heart saddened by the sudden change in your life, but my parenting deeply driven by guilt."

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In 2022, Suleman shared a photo of eight of her 14 children on their first day of eighth grade.

"First day of 8th grade. Be proud of yourselves kids for being kind, respectful, and helpful to all your fellow peers, teachers and staff. You are exceptional role models to the 6th and 7th graders," she wrote.

She added that her eldest children did not "want me" to a post a picture of them. "I respect their choice, so should you".

Speaking in an interview with The New York Times in 2018, Suleman's eldest son opened up about what it was like having so many siblings.

"Some of my friends don't have any siblings, so they want to know what it's like. It's nice to have someone to play with, but it can be overwhelming at times," he said.

This article was originally published on January 9, 2020, and has since been updated with new information.

Feature Image: Instagram/@nataliesuleman.