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This Morning fans were left surprised as a couple opened up about welcoming their fourteenth child – and revealed the eye-watering cost of the supersized family.
Parents of 13 Natalie and Oliver Jackson appeared on today’s (April 14) edition of the ITV show.
Speaking to hosts Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley, the pair opened up about welcoming their children – including soon-to-be number 14, due in June.
Natalie fell pregnant with the couple’s first child, Elliott, in 2005 and has been pregnant nearly every year since.
However, it was far from a straightforward journey for Natalie and Oliver to start having children.
As Oliver explained: ‘Back in 2004, I was diagnosed with stage three testicular cancer.
Today’s (April 14) edition of This Morning featured Natalie and Oliver Jackson – who have 13 children and a 14th on the way
The family spoke to presenters Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley (pictured) about their remarkable story
‘Following the operation, chemotherapy, my fertility was assessed and I was assessed as subfertile.’
Ben and Cat expressed shock at this, as the latter remarked: ‘I beg to differ.’
Oliver continued: ‘We actually started looking into IVF, the process side of things because we thought that would be our only route to starting a family.
‘Then, Natalie called me one day at work and said you need to come home and presented me with a pregnancy test. We’ve kind of not stopped since.’
Describing their children as ‘miracles’, Natalie said: ‘I think that’s what people fail to realise.
‘We feel blessed, we don’t feel that it’s a chore, we don’t feel that it’s a negative. We just feel very, very lucky.’
The pair went on to reveal how Oliver actually had a vasectomy around the time of their 10th child.
He said: ‘Lo and behold, that obviously didn’t work. We’re now expecting our fourth [child] since the vasectomy.’
Regarding finances, Natalie said: ‘Thankfully, Oliver’s in a quite well paid job, so we just have to budget and stretch it to cover.’
She joked: ‘We don’t have a choice, you can’t send them back.’
And of the couple’s 13 children, daughter Seren is the only one to have a bedroom to herself.
Furthermore, it was also revealed that some of the children are attending a boarding school.
Natalie told The Mirror in 2023: ‘Our family is funded solely on Oliver’s wage.
‘We earn over the £60k child benefit threshold and pay 40% tax.
‘We get military accommodation, so we have a big enough house and our six eldest attend a military boarding school, which is very helpful.’
Taking to social media, This Morning viewers shared their stunned reactions to the family’s story.
One wrote on X: ‘Just because you can doesn’t mean you should #ThisMorning.’
Another added: ‘#ThisMorning two child benefit cap… have a vasectomy or use protection. Unless he’s earning thousands, how can they afford it?’
A third chimed in: ‘B****y ridiculous! Who the hell needs that many kids #thismorning.’
While a fourth remarked: ‘Vontrap family ain’t got a look in #thismorning.’
The conversation also saw Natalie and Oliver open up about their journey and the finances of having 13 children
A fifth said: ‘Imagine waiting behind them at the airport. #thismorning.’
A sixth commented: ‘what do they want? a series on channel 5 or something? #thismorning.’
A seventh shared: ‘Just why #thismorning.’
Last week on This Morning, a woman who has a severe allergy to sunlight opened up on how even a minute in any daylight can be seriously dangerous.
Sonal Keay joined Rochelle Humes and Joel Dommett as she opened up on the condition, Chronic Actinic Dermatitis, which causes painful allergic reactions on her skin to any light exposure.
Criminal barrister turned businesswoman Sonal, who has suffered with the extremely rare condition for most of her life, revealed how it means she is unable to hug her own children, and is forced to spend time confined to dark rooms.
She joined dermatology expert Professor Lesley Rhodes, who diagnosed Sonal back in 1997, to reveal how her home has to be modified to prevent her from a reaction, as even sunlight through a window can trigger the allergy.
Sonal told viewers: ‘As a child I had very severe eczema, and that did improve as I got older but suddenly everything took a turn for the worst after a holiday abroad.
‘I suffered a really severe and painful reaction, and it just didn’t clear up at all when we got back – every single time I was outside, every day I was in pain and discomfort.
‘I did learn that covering up seemed to help but I had no idea what was wrong, so until it was diagnosed, and even after that until I learned to adjust to it, the pain and discomfort, days of suffering, feeling so uncomfortable in my own skin.
‘I was 18 when I was diagnosed, and with that diagnoses I thought, “What am I going to do with my life? Is my life over?”. At the time, there was a lot of fear.
‘It was, literally, a very dark period of my life. I’ve really had to obsessively manage my own skin ever since and whilst I might look normal, it’s not the case.’
Sonal went on to detail the affects of the condition, saying: ‘I don’t have a normal life, I have to apply sun cream as automatically as we would pick up our keys or put on our shoes when I leave the house. It’s always in the back of my mind.
‘It’s every day, it’s not just sunlight, it’s daylight as well, so even on an overcast day, I will suffer a severe allergic reaction if I’m out for probably about a minute.
‘Even when it’s raining, when the sun is set completely, but I’ll burn through windows so we have at home UV proof film so I can live as normal a life as I can.
‘As much as I suffer from these physical symptoms, for me personally, the biggest issue has always been a psychological one.’
This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV1 and ITVX.