Octomom Natalie ‘Nadya’ Suleman Defends Decision to Homeschool Her Kids – ryan

Octomom Natalie ‘Nadya’ Suleman is defending her decision to homeschool her children.

On the latest episode of Confessions of Octomom, the single mom of 14 opened up about her reasoning for taking her octuplets out of public school when they were almost 12 years old. The children, who turned 16 years old in January, shared their experiences dealing with bullying and being influenced negatively by their peers.

Ultimately, Suleman, 49, and her octuplets decided to do virtual school, despite any outside opinions. The reality star has no regrets about taking her kids out of public school and said that she would do all she could to “support” and “nurture” her children.

“It’s ultimately their choice and they don’t want to go to the public school, so I tried to do what I could to help support them and nurture them to the best of my ability,” she explained in a confessional. “Whatever people’s opinions are on that doesn’t matter to me.”

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In 2009, Suleman was implanted with 12 embryos by Dr. Michael Kamrava, a Beverly Hills fertility specialist who oversaw her previous IVF treatments. Out of that dozen, Suleman became pregnant with eight babies and made history by giving birth to the first-ever surviving octuplets, earning her the nickname Octomom.

Suleman was already a mother of six children — Amerah, Calyssa, Elijah, Caleb, Joshua and Aidan — when she gave birth to her octuplets: Noah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Jonah, Josiah, Makai, Maliyah and Nariyah.

Now, after stepping away from the spotlight in 2013 to reset, heal and focus on her kids, she’s telling her side of the story in Lifetime’s biopic I Was Octomom and docuseries Confessions of Octomom.

“My family and I are taking our life back,” she told PEOPLE. Despite the show titles, “I’m not Octomom. I’m not this compartmentalized caricature. I’m a mom. (This is) a story of strength, survival and success despite all the odds against us.”

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Despite the initial public negativity surrounding her pregnancy, Suleman maintains a positive outlook. She considers motherhood her job, while her children are her life. In January 2025, she celebrated her octuplets turning 16 with a post on Instagramin which she shared a new photo of all of them together and wished them each a happy birthday by name.

The proud mom wrote, “You are loved, valued, and appreciated more than words can express!
I am so blessed to have you all in my life, and excited and grateful for the journey we are about to embark. God has loved and protected you all for the past 16 years, and has great plans for each and every one of you!”

I Was Octomom premiered on March 8, while Confessions of Octomom premiered on March 10, both on Lifetime.