Relationships
‘Octomom’ Nadya Suleman Makes Rare Comment About Her First & Only Marriage
“Octomom” Natalie ‘Nadya’ Suleman is a single mother of 14 children, all of whom were conceived via sperm donors. What many don’t know, though, is that she was once married.
Suleman was married for four years before separating from her husband, Marcos Gutierrez, in 2000. They officially divorced in 2006, and she spoke about the relationship in a new interview.
“It wasn’t a real marriage. It’s not even worth talking about,” Suleman told PEOPLE. “I was married, but on paper. He was just a donor and I only tried to pacify my very, very old-fashioned Middle Eastern family on my dad’s side, where some of the marriages are still pre-arranged.”
Suleman said she decided to tie the knot for her dad’s sake after he asked her to do things the “normal” way. “It certainly didn’t work,” she admitted. “So then I had to talk to my dad and say, ‘This isn’t who I am. I’m different.’ And he eventually accepted it.”
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In 2009, Suleman gave birth to the first surviving octuplets. At the time, she was already a single mother of six children, and has been open about the fact that having children was always more important to her than being in a relationship. Her first six children were conceived with a “platonic friend donor,” while the octuplets are from a “frozen anonymous donor.”
“I’ve never really dated,” Suleman explained to PEOPLE. “I had one relationship and I was very up front with him and said, ‘I’m really only interested in having a child.’ Wonderful guy, very nice, funny, great guy. And he had feelings, but I didn’t really reciprocate them. 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.”
Today, Suleman is 25 years celibate. “That’s actually something I’m really proud of,” she added. “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.” Suleman previously worked in the adult film industry to help make ends meet but always participated solo.
Following the octuplets’ 16th birthday, Suleman is putting herself back in the public eye to share her story in the upcoming docuseries Confessions of Octomom.
I Was Octomom, Saturday, March 8, 8/7c, Lifetime
Confessions of Octomom, Premiere, Monday, March 10, 10/9c, Lifetime
