Octomom 2016 Update: Nadya Suleman Ditching Nickname, Admits History Has 'Haunted' Family [VIDEO]
Nadya Suleman, a.k.a. Octomom, has resurfaced and is now taking responsibility for her past actions.
Suleman, who now refers to herself as "Natalie", made an appearance on The Doctors this week where she discussed her children and the various choices she has made thus far in her life. After having octuplets in 2009, she was dubbed the "Octomom" and quickly became tabloid fodder, especially when she began dabbling in adult entertainment to support her kids.
"My history was haunting us," Suleman admitted on The Doctors. "I left Octomom. I went back to my life as a counselor. My kids had a happy, healthy life. The problem is this: it's followed us, because people never knew what I did. They never knew the true story."
Strangers will still come up to Suleman in her everyday life to get pictures with the famous Octomom, but she has moved past this point in her life.
"I say, 'I no longer go by [Octomom] anymore. Thank you so much, but I'm just a mom. I don't do that anymore,'" she said. The 41-year-old also admitted that she is "very protective" of her children and how her reputation in the past affects their lives.
With 14 children, including the octuplets, Suleman receives partial governmental assistance and has some regrets about having her doctor implant 12 embryos before she had the octuplets.
"I take accountability for being dumb and irresponsible. It really was," Suleman said. "I would like to address that absolutely I don't want to be a burden on any taxpayers and that's the goal -- to move forward and not to be a burden on anyone in society. And I own and take responsibility for my poor choices, but it certainly doesn't take away from how extraordinary these kids ended up turning out to be."
