Inside Octomom Nadya Suleman's Family World as a Mom of 14 Kids

While she still includes "octoMOM" in her Instagram bio, her family photos boast all the hallmarks of normalcy—birthdays, Christmas, Mother's Day, first day of school, girls' night out, gym sessions, etc.—which is a striking contrast from her proverbial 15 minutes as a viral phenomenon. And with it, becoming the inevitable target of scorn and scrutiny.

While Oprah interviewed her remotely, the Oprah cameras captured a day in the life at home with her 14 kids and three daytime nannies.

She spent about $1,000 a week on groceries, Oprah noted in the 2010 segment, which showed Nadya's eight 12-month-olds eating at a special table with built-in high-chair seating. (In a "typical week," they were going through 21 dozen eggs and 20 gallons of milk.) 

"It's a huge family," Nadya acknowledged, adding with a laugh, "a ridiculously huge family."

She clearly didn't have much time for herself, but she told Oprah she kept it together by "taking deep breaths throughout the day and staying connected to my kids."

After relying on government assistance, she had a stint as an exotic dancer and made an adult film, Octomom Home Alone winning Best Celebrity Video at the 2012 AVN Awards. But she stuck by her vow to never star in a reality show with her children. "I fully exploited and dehumanized myself with the porn and the stripping," she told DailyMail.com in 2016, but that was to avoid putting her kids "in front of the camera."

Once the rapt fascination with her life choices tapered off, however, Nadya settled into not exactly obscurity, but at least into the routine 24/7 business of looking after 14 children.

Through it all, she "stayed strong" for the children, she continued: "My kids know what I did as Octomom, I tell them the truth. I've told them I've done some very bad and shameful things and they say, 'It's okay, Mom, we love you anyway and we'll always love you."

She added, "They know I did it for them. We don't have kid conversations, we have deep and intellectual conversations about all of this. They are so smart and so aware."

The Fullerton, Calif., native had a bachelor's degree in child development and she was working by then as a family counselor.

Her typical day started at 5 a.m. and there were four stops on her morning school run. Then she worked, did afternoon pickup, made dinner, bathed the younger kids in pairs and was in bed at around midnight. A two-hour nap once a week was her big indulgence.

She went vegan in 2016 and had her kids adopt the lifestyle as well, writing on Instagram that December that she chose to "raise them AWARE, and most of all compassionate toward all living, sentient beings." (She no longer recognizes it as Thanksgiving, but a look at her Native American Heritage Day dinner in 2023, courtesy of "head chefs Jonah, Nariyah, Noah, and Jeremiah," showed a meat-free table.)

More recently she shared that fitness had become a family affair.

"I've been asked for years how I stay physically strong and healthy (and mentally sane), in spite of my stressful, busy lifestyle with such a big family," she wrote on Instagram in June 2023. "Lifting weights has been my method of constructively channeling stress, consistently, for over 30 years.

To ease chronic back pain and other physical issues related to her pregnancies, she tried to strength train three to four days a week and do an hour of cardio on a stationary bike four to five days a week.

"Fortunately, my kids have adopted the same active lifestyle," she noted. "My oldest three weight train, far heavier than I, and more frequently."

Elijah quickly surpassed her in the gym, she added proudly, and had since encouraged her "to lift heavier, using proper technique, which has improved my strength and performance."

And for Caleb and Calyssa's 16th birthday in October 2022, she complimented her son on growing into "a loving, caring, highly intelligent, comedic, quick witted, perceptive, and devoted young man," while his twin sister was "a kind, loving, compassionate (towards all living things), intelligent, beautiful young lady," as well as a "talented writer and artist."

Meanwhile, in celebrating Joshua's 21st on Aug. 20, she gushed about him being "smart, funny, hard working, loyal, humble, and now a devoted husband and soon to be father."

And, she quipped, "Maybe one day you’ll allow me to actually share an updated picture."

But having 14 children has made for an endless slew of Kodak moments nonetheless, so keep reading to see more of their sweet family photos: