I’m 31 and have 8 kids - trolls say I’m a bad mum but they don’t know my story

“People will literally judge a woman for not having any kids or having ‘too many’.”

Alexandra Feiam

2 min read

June 28, 2023 - 1:18PM

Family Life

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Heather was just 19 when she first became a mum.

Dreaming of a huge family at a young age, it felt like her dream came true.

At 31 years old, she now has eight children, and lives with her current partner Justin.

Online, the family often get told they are contributing to the “world’s overpopulation problem.”

But there is much more to the story.

Mum-of-8 explains her unusual blended family story

A big, blended family of eight

Heather had three children when she first met her partner, Jordyn, Aila and Everly.

Justin entered the relationship with three of his own from a previous relationship, Addi, Hallie and Emery.

Together, they have welcomed two other children, Bellamy and Joey (Dash).

At the age of 19, Heather became a step-mum to three-year-old Jordyn, the biological daughter of her ex-partner.

Heather and Jordyn instantly became close, and she felt like a mother to the little girl.

As the years passed, Heather welcomed two children with her ex, but soon her relationship with Jordyn’s father became toxic and abusive, so she had to leave.

In a TikTok, the mum-of-eight explained that she had to move and take her kids with her.

At the same time, she felt she “couldn’t leave because that would mean leaving [Jordyn] in a terrible living situation and not protected.”

So she promised to return and get her when she was “back on [her] feet”, so that’s what she did.

Now she has full permanent guardianship and is in the process of adopting the now-15-year-old.

The blended family have gone viral online. Source: Instagram/forevaheathaa

“Women will get judged for not having kids or having ‘too many’”

The American mum has earned a reputation online for her large family, amassing nearly two million followers on TikTok.

Despite the wave of support from her fans, others are quick to judge the blended brood.

“Don’t you think you have spawned enough?” wrote an angry person. “Think about birth control.”

“We have an overpopulation problem in the world and you alone are making it worse,” wrote another.

But others weren’t so presumptuous about the size of the family.

“Y’all so quick to judge,” wrote another. “Might not be her daughter by blood, but she’s her daughter.”

“Anyone who judges doesn't know the full story,” read a comment. “People will literally judge a woman for not having any kids or having ‘too many’,” another chimed in.