'Octomom' Natalie Suleman speaks out for 1st time in years
Natalie "Nadya" Suleman is speaking out for the first time after nearly a decade away from the spotlight.
Many first came to know of Suleman, a mom of 14, as "Octomom," a moniker given to her after she welcomed octuplets 16 years ago in 2009.
This March, Suleman is returning with a new movie, "I Was Octomom," which she co-executive produced, and "Confessions of Octomom," a six-part docuseries that features all 14 of her children.
"My whole family wants us to share our truth, to take our narrative back," Suleman told ABC News' Juju Chang in a new interview. "My young ones are 16 and they've been urging me, strongly encouraging me, you know, for years, to share my truth."
Suleman, a single mother from California, has faced withering criticism over the years for everything from not having a job and receiving government assistance to having multiple kids solo, including her octuplets, who were conceived through in vitro fertilization, or IVF.
"I'd known from the beginning why I was the target of misplaced hate. You know, I was well aware," Suleman said. "'Not married. Not enough money.' Basically, those are the primary components as to why I was the target of global scorn, condemnation and all that misplaced hate."
According to Suleman, she did want a "big family" early on but denied the claim that she was "addicted" to having babies and said she only wanted to have one more child after having six kids, but "never wanted eight."
"I believe it wasn't an addiction per se," said Suleman. "I was hyper-focused on children. I wanted a big family, not this big, but I wanted a big family."
Suleman stated previously, in a 2009 interview with NBC's "Dateline," that she had multiple embryos transferred during the procedure that resulted in her octuplets, telling the outlet she "wanted them all transferred."
"Those are my children," she said at the time. "And that's what was available. And I used 'em. So, I took a risk. It's a gamble. It always is."
Dr. Michael Kamrava, the Beverly Hills fertility doctor who assisted Suleman in the IVF process in 2008, testified before the Medical Board of California in 2010 that he had initially recommended transferring four embryos at the time, but claimed Suleman was adamant he transfer more, leading him to transfer a dozen embryos. He said then that "at the time I did it, I thought I did the right thing," adding that it was only with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight that he realized he was wrong.
"I had to go with the patient," he testified at the time.
The board also found that Kamrava had mismanaged two other fertility treatments, including implanting excessive embryos in another patient, in efforts to increase the likelihood of pregnancy. The board concluded that Kamrava failed to act in his patients' best interest by prioritizing success rates over safety of the mother and embryos.
Kamrava's medical license was revoked in July 2011. Subsequent attempts to reinstate his license were denied.
ABC News has reached out to Kamrava for comment.
Suleman -- whose representative told ABC News back in 2013 that she had sought "state assistance for a brief period of time" -- said she struggled to make ends meet and even made an adult film to support her children. She also said she spent time in rehab to get treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder after receiving so much public scrutiny, "thousands of death threats" and criticism, much of which she said others got wrong.
"There's so many," said Suleman. "But No. 1, I would say that 'I wanted fame' [was a misconception]. I am beyond introverted. I'm shy, painfully shy. … My goal in life was to earn my Ph.D. in psychology, never be in the public eye, let alone famous, infamous, even worse."
Today, Suleman said she's focused on her children.
"My kids are amazing. They're teenagers now," said Suleman. "Aside from all their fighting, their arguing, they are some of the most grounded, humble, kind, just genuine human beings I've ever met."
Both of Suleman's new projects will premiere on Lifetime. "I Was Octomom" premieres March 8, while "Confessions of Octomom" premieres March 10.
