Nadya Suleman Says Octuplets Had Nannies Until They Were 2, Then She ‘Struggled Financially’

Nadya “Octomom” Suleman gave a rare glimpse into how she raised her 14 kids and revealed that she had the support of nannies shortly after welcoming her octuplets in 2009.

“I paid for nannies until they were 2 and then we were really struggling financially,” Nadya, 49, told People in a story published on Friday, January 24. “Eventually, I just had to lean in really to my faith, my very strong faith in God. And it wasn’t until I did that, everything fell into place beautifully.”

In a separate part of the interview, Nadya announced that she and her history-making octuplets will be the subject of the upcoming Lifetime film I Was Octomom and a docuseries titled Confessions of Octomom. I Was Octomom premieres on Saturday, March 8, and the docuseries will follow two days later.

“I’ve been saying, I want to keep them safe and protect my kids, and well, they’re older now. They’re turning 16 and making the decision to really do this,” Nadya later continued to the outlet.

Nadya unintentionally made headlines when she welcomed her octuplets, Noah, Maliyah, Isaiah, Nariyah, Jeremiah, Jonah, Makai and Josiah, in January 2009 via IVF. At the time of their birth, Nadya was already raising kids Elijah, Amerah, Joshua, Aidan and twins Caleb and Calyssa on her own. They were also welcomed through IVF treatments.

Before getting pregnant with the octuplets, the California native was implanted with 12 embryos in hopes of having only one more child. However, Nadya soon got pregnant and gave birth to her youngest eight children.

During Nadya’s interview with People, she revealed that the movie will highlight her entire journey to give fans the full picture of her life.

“The movie follows my journey, starting with my decision to have one more IVF procedure to try to complete my family of six,” she explains. “I wanted only one more, to become 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.”

Nadya worked untraditional jobs to provide for her family before she entered her career as a counselor. In 2012, Nadya starred in an adult film titled Octomom Home Alone. She opened up about her decision to briefly work in the adult film industry in 2019.

“I think I was young, dumb, irresponsible, selfish [and] reckless,” Nadya told an Australian outlet at the time.

When Nadya isn’t working, she usually spends her time in the gym with the octuplets. Not to mention, Nadya upgraded her “mom” title to “grandma” in August 2024 after her son Joshua and his wife welcomed their first child together.

“We are so grateful she is a new addition to our family! Baby girl you are so very loved and we can’t wait to watch you grow!! 8/30/24,” Nadya captioned the post.

In December 2024, Nadya gushed that she and her kids were “thriving.”

“Healthy, fit family, staying strong and thriving together,” Nadya captioned the December 15, 2024, Instagram post.

In the photos, her kids displayed their gym knowledge by displaying impeccable form.