Nadya ‘Octomom’ Suleman Recalls People Wanting Her and Babies Dead in First Look at Lifetime Biopic

Nadya “Octomom” Suleman is sharing her story with the world in a new way. The mother of 14 recalled death threats against her and her children in the first look at her upcoming Lifetime biopic, I Was Octomom: The Natalie Suleman Story.

“Remember me? I am Natalie Suleman. At one point, I was one of the most hated people in America,” Nadya, 49, said in a teaser for the biopic, shared by Good Morning America on Wednesday, February 12. “I was ‘Octomom.’”

The clip cut to a scene of Natalie getting chased by the paparazzi, where someone can be heard telling her, “Octomom had eight babies just to be famous.”

“These are all lies!” Natalie could be heard replying back.

In another scene, Natalie looked worried as she realized that people “wanted her dead.” “You and the babies,” someone grimly replied in response.

The California native rose to fame in 2009 after the news of her controversial pregnancy went viral. She was implanted with 12 embryos by Dr. Michael Kamrava, despite medical guidelines advising no more than two embryos be implanted at once. As a result, the California Medical Board revoked his license in 2011. The octuplets remain the longest-surviving octuplets in medical history.

Natalie was already the mother of six children — Elijah, Amerah, Joshua, Aidan and twins Caleb and Calyssa — before giving birth to her octuplets: Noah, Maliyah, Isaiah, Nariyah, Makai, Josiah, Jeremiah and Jonah in January 2009. All 14 of her children were conceived via in vitro fertilization, and she has never revealed any details surrounding the paternity of the children.

Nadya has faced major public backlash over the years for her large family, with many questioning her intentions since she was already struggling to support her six children before giving birth to the octuplets.

Along with the biopic, Lifetime is also set to release Confession of Octomom, a docuseries where her children are speaking out for the “first time” about the “unfair” treatment their mother received over the years.

“I’m just very excited,” Nadya’s daughter Nariyah told People in an interview published on January 24. “Our mom would finally be able to say her side of the story because 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.”

As for Natalie, she felt her children were old enough to be able to speak on their experiences. “I’ve been saying, I want to keep them safe and protect my kids, and well, they’re older now,” she told the outlet. “They’re turning 16 and making the decision to really do this.”

Nadya called her early struggles “complete pandemonium” and said she was forced into situations where she “sacrificed” her “integrity,” highlighting examples like her participation in adult films to care for her large family.

“The movie follows my journey, starting with my decision to have one more IVF procedure to try to complete my family of six,” she explained. “I wanted only one more, to becoming a single mom of 14 and all the trials and tribulations, the challenges and struggles, what I had to do to continue to fight for my family.”