Sue Radford vowed never to have more children after the “horrendous” ordeal of giving birth to her first child at the age of 13, she’s candidly admitted.
The 22 Kids and Counting star, 49, in fact went on to have the largest family in Britain alongside husband Noel, 53.
Radford believed after her first birth that she would remain a mother-of-one as she detailed the harrowing experience in her book, The Radfords: Making Life Count.
The couple’s first child Christopher, who’s now 34, was born in 1989, and the birth was an agonising experience for Sue.
Sue recalled how she needed to be cut, but that the midwife hadn’t numbed her enough so she could feel the immense pain.
“I needed stitches and could feel the needle going in and the thread coming out. I can still hear the noises associated with it all. It was absolutely terrible,” she penned in the book.
Sue and Noel Radford went on to have 22 children, with their lives explored in 22 Kids and Counting
Noel went on to share a gruesome memory of the incident, adding [via Mirror]: “If anyone has ever cut through bacon rind with an old pair of scissors, it was like that – the noise. It was just awful.”
The mother-of-22 was adamant she wouldn’t fall pregnant again but famously went on to have 21 more children, with the family now in the public eye since the launch of their Channel 5 docuseries, 22 Kids and Counting.
“At that moment, I just thought, ‘Right, that’s it. I NEVER want to have any more children. I can’t go through all this again,'” Sue shared.
The couple, who were childhood sweethearts, are still raising young children, with their youngest – daughter Heidi – having recently turned four. They’ve previously made clear they have no plans for any more children though.
The 22 Kids and Counting couple are currently starring in the newest series of the Channel 5 docuseries
A new series of the show aired on Sunday, and fans witnessed the family facing a tough setback, with both parents close to tears after a dream of theirs was crushed.
The family had expressed excitement after their offer on a new home in the countryside was accepted.
However, Noel later received a call to say the sellers had to take the house off the market, which devastated both parents.
“I’m not feeling like I want to talk about it,” Sue told the cameras after her husband broke the news to her.
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Noel went on to reflect: “It’s taken the wind out of her sails. She feels really down and fed up.”
Later opening up about the news, Sue shared: “We were really gutted we’re not going to get that country life. It has been quite difficult.”
Thankfully, daughter Chloe was later on hand to cheer her mum up as she reiterated she had enjoyed “the perfect childhood” in their Morecambe home.