Being parents to 22 children is no small feat, and for Sue and Noel Radford, it’s akin to a full-time occupation.
Managing a lively household, starring in their popular Channel 5 show 22 Kids and Counting, and maintaining a vast online fan base leaves little room for personal time for the couple.
The Radfords reside in a 10-bedroom house in Morecambe, Lancashire, and have been public figures for over ten years. Their public exposure has had its ups and downs, such as when they faced legal action over a $70,000 Disney trip and were fined over $1,000 for taking their children out of school during the term.
The family first came into the spotlight in 2012, capturing the nation’s heart with their hectic but affectionate family life.
Sue, now 50, had her first child, Chris, at the age of 13, and her youngest was born in 2020, marking a span of 31 years between her first and last childbirth.
With responsibilities including school runs, preparing meals for many, and occasional TV appearances, spare moments are rare.
In fact, the family’s hectic calendar is so demanding that Sue and Noel recently provided fans with an honest look into how challenging it can be to find private time, which included a somewhat awkward admission.
While filming their latest series, Sue began working on her memoir detailing the family’s journey. During one scene, their ghostwriter Paddy posed a slightly cheeky question: “Is your sex life today the same as it ever was?”
Without hesitation, Sue laughed and confessed: “I think we prefer sleep now, don’t we?” Noel agreed, responding simply with ‘Yeah’. Paddy jokingly replied: “That’s a great story right there.”
Despite the continuous demands of their large family, Sue and Noel manage to keep their sense of humor about the realities of married life after three decades and 22 children.
The Radfords continue to navigate the daily chaos of parenting.
In a recent episode of 22 Kids and Counting, Noel shared his strategy for keeping things organized during school holidays. He said: “To get the kids to help, I just come up with a little plan…make it a game, and they all jump in.”
In one scene, he challenged the children to see who could load the dishwasher the quickest. Five-year-old Heidie proudly claimed she’d collected ‘seven million’ items, leading Noel to chuckle and declare: “Looks like Heidie’s our clear winner!”