I was America’s most hated mom so donned a disguise and spent 13 years in hiding

Octomom has been offering glimpses into the lives of her and her 14 children after spending 13 years in ‘hiding’ from the public eye.

Natalie ‘Nadya’ Suleman was once the most hated mom in America and started wearing a disguise in public so she would not be recognized.

‘Remember me? I’m Natalie Suleman. At one point, I was one of the most hated people in America. I was Octomom,’ the 49-year-old from California said in the trailer for her upcoming Lifetime docuseries out today and Monday.

Already a mother of six via IVF treatment, Suleman made headlines when she gave birth to octuplets on January 26, 2009.

She became pregnant with the world’s first surviving octuplets when Beverly Hills fertility doctor Dr Michael Kamrava controversially implanted 12 embryos instead of the recommended two.

Her octuplets are Noah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Jonah, Josiah, Makai, Maliyah and Nariyah are now all 16. Suleman’s older children are Elijah, 23, Amerah, 22, Joshua, 21, Aidan, 19, and twins Caleb and Calyssa, 16.

Once the world caught wind of her one of a kind story, Suleman claims she lost control of her own life’s narrative.

In an attempt to provide for her family, Suleman tried her hand in the adult film industry – a decision she deeply regrets – but this only added fuel to the fire of hate closing in on her.

While the mother – and as of recently, a grandmother to one – has expressed regret with her decision to work as a stripper and a nude model, the documentary’s trailer hints that her children will also be sharing their perspective on her brief adult content career.

‘When someone comes up to you at school and asks you ‘is your mom a stripper?’ You don’t know what to say,’ one of her older sons said in the trailer.

‘I did whatever I needed to do to make ends meet. And that was shaming myself, sacrificing my integrity,’ she said.

‘I had just given birth to eight, I could not financially afford them. I was struggling,’ Suleman added in the trailer. ‘I was really desperate to make any money.’

She had previously described the life she was ‘leading was not only destructive’ but also very ‘dark.’

‘It was the antithesis of who I am as a person,’ she said.

In 2012, she made the drastic decision to put an end to what she saw as chaos and check herself into rehab, shielding herself and her children from the public eye out of safety concerns.

‘I knew that was the time to kill Octomom,’ she asserted in the trailer.

In 2013, Suleman stepped out of the spotlight to find peace as she returned to her ‘old profession as a therapist working 40 hours a week’.

The Lifetime trailer also features Suleman behind the wheel, driving around Los Angeles while dressed in a face covering, sunglasses and a hat to remain unrecognizable.

The protective barrier ‘helps with her social anxiety’ she explained to People.

‘Nobody knows – they look and they look away,’ she said. ‘It doesn’t draw any attention because people don’t want to look and stare.’

In an interview with People ahead of the docuseries release, Suleman shared that becoming famous – or infamous – was never a part of her plan.

She described herself as a ‘socially awkward, painfully shy introvert’ – the opposite of what one would expect given her life’s trajectory.

Suleman sued the hospital she gave birth at for violating HIPPA, accusing them of leaking her information and launching her into the spotlight to begin with.

‘I did sue the hospital because they breached HIPAA,’ she told PEOPLE. ‘I never wanted fame.’

Suleman had been married once and claimed it was essentially loveless. She recently disclosed to People that she is romantically asexual and has abstained from sex for 25 years.

Her desire for a big family stemmed from her own childhood and growing up as an only child. She has always known she wanted at least seven kids of her own.

‘But it’s not enough to say I wanted a big family because I was lonely,’ she explained to PEOPLE.

‘There is an amalgamation of factors. I wanted kids to create maybe a safe and predictable little world that I lacked growing up. So then of course, I projected onto my future family.’

When the time came to explain her octuplets’ conception, Suleman said she was completely ‘transparent,’ telling them that they came from an anonymous frozen donor that she had purchased, the mother disclosed to People.

The mother-of-14 also shut down rumors that she had received and used government assistance to undergo IVF.

‘That was a lie,’ Suleman insisted. ‘I did not use taxpayers’ money. I’d saved so much money working as a psychiatric technician at a state psych hospital. I saved well over a hundred thousand dollars.’

Her daughter Nariyah told People how difficult it has been for her mother to face everything their family has gone through.

‘It’s obviously a lot more difficult for our mom, I don’t know how hard it’s been for her all these years.

‘She’s incredibly strong and incredibly disciplined. If it wasn’t for her than none of us would be here.’

In addition to hearing from Octomom and her 14 kids, the docuseries promises to finally unveil the identity of her sperm donor on camera.

Suleman’s Lifetime biopic I Was Octomom and the partnering docuseries Confessions of Octomom will debut on March 8 and March 10 respectively.

The family hope their family will be viewed in a new light after they air.

‘I’ve been waiting a very very longtime to tell my true story and I believe the world is ready to hear it,’ Suleman said in the trailer.