Natalie 'Nadya' Suleman, also known as 'Octomom', has opened up about being asexual as she set the record straight on her personal life.
In 2009, the 49-year-old mum-of-14 gave birth to the world's first surviving octuplets but decided to step away from the spotlight in 2013.
However, over 10 years later, Suleman is sharing with the world her story once again in her brand-new film which came out last week (8 March), I Was Octomom, as well as a follow-up documentary titled Confessions of Octomom which will see the reality TV star open up about her journey and her 14 children, who were born via IVF.
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You can watch the trailer for the TV series, which airs Monday (10 March) below. Please note, this trailer discusses suicide.
Last week (6 March), Suleman opened up to People about the 'so many misconceptions [and] so many untruths' made about her following her life in the public eye with a media frenzy criticising the single mum for choosing to have the eight babies while struggling financially and living at her parent's home.
"I've always struggled with anxiety," she shared. "And since I was very little, I've always been a very painfully shy introvert. I really didn't even give eye contact to anyone all my life until college. And I forced myself to. I was always in my own world, and a loner."
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She explained that she always wanting a big family.
However, Suleman, who received her bachelor's degree in child and adolescent behavior from Cal State Fullerton, said she wanted one that didn't include a partner.
Speaking of an ex partner who appears in the docu-series, she revealed: "I've never really dated. I had one relationship and I was very up front with him and said, 'I'm really only interested in having a child'."
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"Wonderful guy, very nice, funny, great guy. And he had feelings, but I didn't really reciprocate them," she recalled. "But I was open with him. I was never hiding the fact that I just wanted a child and he tried to help me, but it didn't work out."
She was also previously married to Marcos Gutierrez, a man she separated from in 2000 and officially divorced in 2006, but maintains: "It wasn't a real marriage. It's not even worth talking about."
Before giving birth to the octuplets in 2009, Suleman already had six children.
She gave birth to her first son in 2001, Elijah, then, in 2002, she gave birth to her first daughter, Amerah.
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Suleman continued IVF treatments, which resulted in three further pregnancies, including two more sons, Joshua and Aidan, and one set of fraternal twins, Calyssa and Caleb, for a total of six children: four sons and two daughters.
According to Suleman, her first six children were conceived from a 'platonic friend donor' while her octuplets have a 'frozen anonymous donor'.
And as for her own personal life now?
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Well, Suleman has revealed she's been celibate for 25 years.
She continued: "That's actually something I'm really proud of. And for me, being a romantic asexual person, it just fits perfectly. I'm never going to change that. It's who I am as a person, down to the fabric of my soul."
Acknowledging the confusion some fans may have after she participated in an adult film, she carried on: "I knew I could not touch another human being physically. That's where I drew the line.
"I did whatever I needed to do to make ends meet. And that was shaming myself, sacrificing my integrity. For years. I knew my limits, though."
Around 16 years since her story first hit the headlines and Suleman is now taking her life 'back'.
"This is our time to take our life back," she resolved, "to take our truth back and to share it authentically and honestly."
Topics: Parenting, Pregnancy, Real Life, True Life, US News, Reality TV, TV And Film, Documentaries
Rhiannon Ingle