Sixteen years ago, Nadya Suleman first made headline news after it was revealed that she had Octuplets, all conceived and born via IVF.
The birth of her children, which led to her being called ‘Octomum’, caused her to receive widespread hate after people discovered that she'd had six children beforehand, leading some to believe that she'd chosen to go up to 14 children.
The interest around her turned nasty at the time of her pregnancy, culminating in her needing a police escort when she brought her octuplets back from the hospital.
The 50-year-old then received further hate for participating in adult films and selling pictures to tabloids, as she struggled financially to provide for her huge family.
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Nadya eventually settled into a more private life, and a documentary which debuted on Channel 5 last night, Octomum: The World’s Most Hated Woman? features interviews with several people close to the incident, including people who have met Nadya and her kids.
Earlier this year, her eight children spoke out for the first time to reveal the reality of their family life.
This took place in a Lifetime documentary and series, titled I Was Octomum and Confessions of Octomum respectively.
As part of the documentary and series, her children made the decision to break their silence partially in support of their mother.
Joshua, 21, is her third son and spoke in Confessions of Octomum about what it was like living with his 13 siblings.
He stated that it was incredibly difficult to get your clothes washed because the machine was always running and that there were similar troubles regarding food.
He said it was ‘crazy’ and that it’s like a restaurant when it comes time to make food due to how busy it gets in the kitchen.
Twelve of her kids still live with her, with only two having moved out at the time of the documentary.
The Octuplets revealed that they had decided to do virtual schooling after saying that public school had been ‘awkward’ because they are so different to them.
They also revealed that they had been bullied at school and that some children had harassed them and thrown their food away, as well as asking invasive questions about their family.
Her kids are defensive of Nadya, however, with her daughter Nariyah saying she was ‘excited’ to tell their story in the documentary.
She went on to say: "Our mom 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."
One of the real shocks found by viewers of the documentary however is that all of the kids interviewed appear to be incredibly well adjusted and stable.
Dr Drew Pinsky, a medical expert and TV personality, said that it was a ‘resiliency story’, adding: “This happened to her and she rose up to the circumstances.”
Octomum: The World’s Most Hated Woman is available to watch on Channel 5 now
Topics: Channel 5, Parenting, Viral, TV and Film, TV, Documentaries
Michael Slavin