I Was Octomom: The Natalie Suleman Story Movie Review (2025)

It is completely fair to say that I Was Octomom is the epitome of a Lifetime movie, but the story is so compelling that it’s still worth the watch.

I remember when the Octomom story exploded onto the scene. It was about 16 years ago and shows like Jon & Kate Plus 8 were on television. Suddenly, and on all of the news channels, there was the story of a woman who had just given birth to eight children. It wasn’t a family of eight in total, she had just delivered eight babies at once.

I Was Octomom: The Natalie Suleman Story is the story that wasn’t in the media, but told by Natalie herself (who we knew as Nadya in the press. Natalie is her birth name). In 2008, Natalie became pregnant through a wonky IVF procedure during which her doctor told her that she had expelled the six embryos that he had implanted and asked her to sign off on implanting six more. In turn, she became pregnant and carried eight babies to term. While she was in the hospital delivering and after, the hospital personnel and media had a field day with her story (since she already had six kids at home), which she ultimately cashed in on to provide for her family of fourteen. All of this was while fielding death threats, difficult parents, and DCFS visits.

Right off the bat, I have to say that the acting here is bad. It is wooden and odd, and although the actress who plays Natalie resembles her and has her high-pitched voice down, she continually has duck lips that are very distracting. Natalie is known for her full lips, but this feels… extra.

The dialogue is also strange, with characters like the mother saying things like, “Do what you will.” It rarely feels as if the conversations are authentic and scenes often feel extremely cliche.

I also got a laugh out of the scene where Natalie is delivering her children by C-section and the doctor is asking for a name for each child. I don’t know about you, but from my own experience, DURING delivery is not typically when you have to sign off on a name for your child, much less eight of them.

BUT, this is a Lifetime movie. Like, it’s actually a Lifetime movie, not just a movie that resembles one. These movies are known for exactly this – wooden acting, strange interactions, doctors who look like they should be twisting a mustache to exemplify their evil intentions, etc.

All of this said, the scenes with Natalie (in real life) telling her own story are very compelling. She is honest, awkward, genuine, and, with hindsight and sleep, can see and own the mistakes that she’s made. She also weighs in on all of the happenings that the public never knew about. She talks about how the implantation doctor tricked her and ultimately lost his license. She discusses the media advisors who took advantage of her and the hospital staff who sold her out. It’s all very interesting.

This is not great film by any means, but I did find it incredibly interesting. So if you can get a laugh out of some of the sillier moments and just float along with the story, it’s pretty enjoyable.

Runtime: 97 minutes

Motion Picture Rating: PG

Languages Spoken In The Film: English

Should You Watch It? Yes, but only if you’re intrigued by the story. The acting is pretty bad.

Did I Cry? Nope

My Rating: 2.75/5 Stars

Available: To rent on Prime Video or may be available for free on other streaming platforms