SEX CONFESSION
I have 16-year-old octuplets but I’ve been celibate for 25 years – I just used men as sperm donors, says Octomum
She also admitted her one marriage "wasn't real" and existed solely "on paper"
A MUM-OF-14, known as 'Octomum' thanks to having octuplets, has revealed she's actually been celibate for 25 years.
Natalie Suleman, previously known as Nadya, has had her headline-grabbing life documented in a new series for Lifetime, and has opened up to about her sexuality ahead of the premiere.
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She explained that her first six children were conceived via a "platonic friend donor", while she used a "frozen anonymous donor"; for the octuplets.
And when it comes to her intimate life, Natalie considers herself to be "asexual".
"I've been celibate 25 years," she told People.
"That's actually something I'm really proud of."
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Natalie added that she's "never going to change" her identity as a "romantic asexual person", as she explained: "It's who I am as a person, down to the fabric of my soul".
Her sexual preferences have also affected her relationships over the years.
In the series, she refers to one ex-boyfriend who she was "very up front" with, telling him: "I'm really only interested in having a child".
Calling him a "very nice, funny, wonderful guy", Natalie said he "had feelings" but she didn't reciprocate.
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"But I was open with him," she insisted.
"I was never hiding the fact that I just wanted a child and he tried to help me, but it didn't work out."
Nadya ‘Octomom’ Suleman quizzes her kids on biology while walking in the park
She has also been married - to a man called Marcos Gutierrez, from whom she separate in 2000, and divorced in 2006.
But referring to her marriage, Natalie insisted it "wasn't real".
"It's not even worth talking about," she sighed.
"I was married, but on paper. He was just a donor."
She also admitted she only agreed to the marriage in a bid to placate her "very old-fashioned Middle Eastern family".
But when the marriage didn't work, she had to tell her dad it wasn't who she was, and she was "different".
How to become a sperm donor
COUPLES struggling to have a baby of their own, or same sex families, may need the help of a sperm donation.
A sperm donor needs to undergo some tests before donating.
According to , centres may require donors to:
- Be aged between 18 and 41
- Agree to be screened for medical conditions
- Be free from any serious medical disability or any sexually transmitted diseases
- Be healthy and fit
- Know and provide information about the medical history of their family (parents, grand-parents, siblings and children)
- Have no inherited disorders within their family
- Not use any drugs
- Agree that their ID can be released if requested by any person conceived as a result of their donations once said person reaches the age of 18
- Provide a proof of ID (copy of their passport or driving licence)
- Be willing to commit their time to the sperm donation process
- Have high sperm quality (motility, count, and shape).
"And he eventually accepted it," she said.
Natalie's asexuality also came into play when she made the decision to "make ends meet" by participating in an adult film.
Her one condition - that she would have to go solo.
"I knew I could not touch another human being physically," she said.
"That's where I drew the line.
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"I knew my limits".
I Was Octomom, and the follow-up Confessions of Octomom, premiere on Lifetime on March 8 and 10 respectively.
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