Octomom Nadya Suleman reveals her major ‘regret’ after having 14 children as she launches comeback

Nadya Suleman, who achieved notoriety as the ‘Octomom’ after giving birth to the world’s first surviving octuplets in 2009, has now revealed the major ‘regret’ she harbors about her past.

She was already a cash-strapped single mother of six when she had the eight more children, bringing her up to her current total of 14.

When she first shot to fame, she was instantly a controversial figure – as was her fertility doctor Dr. Michael Kamrava, who had helped with all her pregnancies.

It emerged that she conceived the octuplets after he implanted 12 embryos, even though he initially told her he only put in six and the recommended amount is just two.

The roiling scandal ended with the doctor’s medical license being revoked, and the Octomom eventually faded back into obscurity – until now, as she launches her comeback with a movie and a reality show out on Lifetime this month.

Now Nadya, real name Natalie, has revealed what she would change if she had to go through her journey to motherhood again, via People. 

Nadya Suleman, who achieved notoriety as the ‘Octomom’ after giving birth to the world’s first surviving octuplets in 2009, has now revealed the major ‘regret’ she harbors about her past

‘I don’t think I’d do too much differently. I do regret not suing the infertility doctor,’ the Octomom confessed in her new interview. 

‘I definitely regret that because his insurance would’ve been the one paying, and it would’ve been some millions, and it would’ve been helpful for my family.’

She was living with her parents at the time when she conceived the octuplets, and was under financial strain as she attempted to care for all her children.

‘I regret that I kind of threw myself under the bus to cover for him, and I shouldn’t have but I was grateful,’ she explained.

‘I wouldn’t have had any of my kids if it weren’t for his innovative technique. No one else in the world did this type of procedure so I didn’t have it in my heart to sue him.’

She did however pursue legal action against the hospital whose staff she accused of leaking her medical information and identity to the media.

The Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Bellflower, California was ultimately slapped with a fine of $250,000 after 25 employees were established to have accessed the Octomom’s medical records improperly, per the Yale School Of Medicine.

Looking back on her legal battle with the hospital, Nadya said the hospital ‘breached HIPAA’ and claimed they were ‘the reason why I ended up in the public eye.’

 She was already a cash-strapped single mother of six when she had the eight more children, bringing her up to her current total of 14; pictured with all her children and her daughter-in-law

It emerged that she conceived the octuplets after he implanted 12 embryos, even though he initially told her he only put in six; Nadya and the octuplets are pictured in 2011

Now Nadya, real name Natalie, has revealed what she would change if she had to go through her journey to motherhood again, via People

Self-deprecatingly, she joked that she ‘may have possibly overachieved with kids’ as she ‘didn’t intend on having this many,’ recalling that when she went in to have IVF for the pregnancy that resulted in octuplets, her goal was to have ‘just one more.’

As for why she wanted to build a large family in the first place, Nadya partially attributed her ambitions to her own childhood.

‘I wasn’t happy as an only child, and clearly I projected my dream onto my kids and wanting a big, well, not this big of a family, but I did want seven kids,’ she said.

‘But it’s not enough to say I wanted a big family because I was lonely. There is an amalgamation of factors. I wanted kids to create maybe a safe and predictable little world that I lacked growing up. So then of course, I projected onto my future family.’

She declared: ‘When I set my mind to achieving a goal, I am laser focused and then I hyper-focus, and then I work relentlessly to achieve the goal.’ 

Nadya announced this past September that she had become a grandmother when her 21-year-old son Joshua and his wife welcomed a baby daughter.

Her octuplets, who celebrated their 16th birthday last month, are called Noah, Josiah, Nariyah, Maliyah, Jonah, Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Makai. 

When she conceived them, Nadya was already mother to Elijah, 23, Amerah, 22, Joshua, 21, Aidan, 19, and twins Caleb and Calyssa, 18. 

Her biopic I Was Octomom will air on Lifetime this Saturday while her reality show Confessions Of Octomom is set to premiere next Monday.