Nadya Suleman, who’s better known by the nickname “Octomom,” just shared a photo of her famous octuplets heading off to their first day of eighth grade.
The mom of 14 made headlines in January 2009 for giving birth to eight babies at once, making them the world’s first surviving octuplets. Now those kids are 13 and heading to eighth grade, Suleman shared to Instagram in a rare photo update.
“First day of 8th grade. Be proud of yourselves kids for being kind, respectful, and helpful to all your fellow peers, teachers and staff,” the 47-year-old wrote in the caption. “You are exceptional role models to the 6th and 7th graders. I love you. (Side note to critics: their older siblings did not want me to post a picture on their first day. I respect their choice, so should you).”
Octomom Nadya Suleman, 47, shares photo of her eight youngest children, 13, on their first day of school as they head off to 8th grade: 'I love you'
via https://t.co/Yansv4EDot #Octomom #NadyaSuleman https://t.co/k5zeOjeZwV— Svetlana Loves Reality TV (@LoveReality9) August 18, 2022
The octuplets are named Nariyah, Isaiah, Maliyah, Jeremiah, Noah, Josiah, Jonah, and Makai. They were conceived via in vitro fertilization in 2008, Fox News reported, and Suleman has faced criticism and challenges ever since.
Suleman was a single mom of six when the eight babies were born. Fox reported that her rocky journey included a bankruptcy filing, misdemeanor welfare fraud claims, and going into rehab for Xanax addiction. The mom of 14 also worked as a stripper and made pornographic films at various points.
She expanded on these decisions during an interview in 2019.
After explaining how it cost $5,000 per month to run her household and that she received $1,500 worth of food stamps from the government, Suleman said she felt forced to become a porn star in 2012 as it was the “only industry” that would accept her.
“I couldn’t provide any more,” she said in an interview with the Australian show “Sunday Night,” Fox News reported. “The interviews weren’t coming as much and I couldn’t work full time. I had too many little kids.”
“I didn’t want to do any porn. I’d been celibate for – I can’t even count how many years – so it was a cheap self-pleasure video which is still porn,” she continued. “I hit rock bottom.”
“I sold my soul to the devil — temporarily,” Suleman said, claiming her earnings for the X-rated film totaled $8,000.
She also told Fox that she quit after finding her 10-year-old daughter playing with her stripper heels.
“I picked the heel up and I threw it,” Suleman said during the interview. “It actually stuck in the screen. All of what I had suppressed — the anger, the resentment towards myself, the resentment towards the world, towards other people, towards women, and the shame I towards myself it bubbled and boiled up into rage.”