Nadya Suleman says she is so determined to build a future for her 14 young children that she is now willing to act in a porn film.
“I wouldn’t even kiss somebody for money,” Suleman told HLN “Showbiz Tonight” correspondent Nischelle Turner.
Suleman invited Turner and a camera crew into her home on Friday to see firsthand how she’s dealing with financial and parenting pressures.
On Monday, Suleman filed for federal bankruptcy protection.
“I have had to make some very difficult decisions the year, and filing Chapter 7 was one of them,” Suleman said in a written statement Monday. “But I have to do what is best for my children and I need a fresh start.”
Friday’s interview was punctuated by frequent interruptions for potty training, discipline and cooking as Suleman, 36, single-handedly cared for her large family. “It’s nonstop,” she said.
“Everyone go pee-pee,” she told her children. “Stand in line to go pee.”
The Orange County, California, home she bought after she gave birth to octuplets three years ago is in foreclosure, but she says she has no fears of becoming homeless.
“God forbid that we lose the house, I have a very good friend and her husband — huge house, and they’re offering,” she said. But her goal is to raise enough cash to buy a new home outright, with no mortgage, she said.
Two years ago, Suleman said “No” when an adult film company offered to pay off her mortgage if she would sign a movie contract, but she’s open to another offer now, she said.
“If it’s a job, and it’s a well-paying job, and it’s going to allow me to get us out of here and into a very safe huge home that they deserve, then I’m going to do it,” she said.
Although she said previously that she would never pose nude for money, she recently earned $8,000 for posing topless for a British magazine.
“You know, if the opportunity comes up, I’ll be the first to admit I’m gonna eat my words, because all that matters is that I can take care of my family,” she said.
She criticized the negative media reports questioning how she’s raising her children.
“Look at what’s happened,” she said. “They’re over 3, not one broken bone, not one injury, not one child with a disability.”
Social workers visited her home recently to check on reports that it was filthy and unfit. But they found nothing wrong, she said.
Graffiti on the walls, put there by her oldest son as a way of venting his frustration, and holes punched by a son who is autistic, do not mean its not a safe, happy home, she said.
“I’m so done,” she said. “You people, you keep your business to yourself, and I’ll keep my business to myself. My kids are healthy, they’re happy, they’ve got food.”
The octuplets — 6 boys and 2 girls — are actually easier to care for than the 6 older children, she said.
“They’re so, so good because I started from day one implementing structure and discipline,” she said.
Her main disciplinary tool is a “time out rug,” she said. “It’s a very important spot because most of them don’t really need it anymore,” she said. “But at this point, all I have to do is just point to it.”
Her children eat up to 10 meals a day, she said.
“They eat all the time, every hour, two hours, they get a meal, and we’re talking meals that are vegetables, fruit, oatmeal,” she said.
She gets $2,000 a month in Food Stamp assistance to help feed them. Applying for the state aid was a low point for her, she said.
“I cried making that call, and you know what? I’d do it again,” she said. “But my goal, my goal is to get off this immediately.”
Nadya Suleman dreams of building a business “empire” that will pay for food, shelter and college educations for her 14 children.
She ultimately hopes to become a role model for other women facing major struggles, she said.
“In the future, and I’ve got to win the battle,” she said. “But right now, people don’t understand that.”
