Dad-of-22 Noel Radford has defended getting his wife Sue Radford pregnant when she was 13 and he was 17 because they were ‘both youngsters.’
Lancashire’s largest family rose to prominence on 15 Kids and Counting and then landed their own Channel 5 docuseries, 22 Kids and Counting.
The pair originally met in the 1980s, when Noel was friends with Sue’s elder brother and they were 11 and seven years old, respectively.
Their connection became amorous not long after, with Sue expecting their first child, Chris, now 34, when she was still a preteen, and Noel in his late teens.
While Sue, now 48, was legally a minor and Noel, now 53, was older, he stated that he ‘didn’t get a knock on the door indicating he was in trouble’.
He explained back then rather than law enforcement, it was ‘all down to your mums and dads and what they thought’.
Noel stated that he is not ‘bothered’ that some believe he’should have been arrested’, but that the opinions ‘impact’ his children.
The Radfords’ new book, Making Life Count, details their pregnant experience.
Noel said, according to the Daily Mail: ‘What happened back then has obviously been brought up again in recent years, after we became known by going on television.’
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‘People have inevitably talked about the situation and it has been written about in the newspapers and discussed on social media.
‘There has been a lot of focus on it and, in a way, it was probably worse for us than when it actually happened. So many people have given their opinions.’
‘But we were both kids it was not as if I was 10 or 15 years older than Sue.
‘For a lot of people, though, things are just black and white and you are tarnished with the same brush as other people in totally different situations.
‘We were young and we were daft. But we wanted to continue as a couple.’
Sue stated that comments regarding her age throughout the pregnancy had a special impact on Christopher.
She explained: ‘When people talk today about me and Noel and what happened all those years ago, it now affects Chris as well – it’s not just about us anymore.
‘We were being dragged back to it, but for Chris it was the first time he had to face people talking about it.’
Last year, the Radfords were asked if they were planning to expand their brood.
‘Definitely not,’ Sue responded on their YouTube channel.
‘No more babies,’ Noel agreed.
Sue stated that comments regarding her age throughout the pregnancy had a special impact on Christopher.
The couple are parents to Chris, 34, Sophie, 29, Chloe, 28, Jack, 26, Daniel, 24, Luke, 23, Millie, 22, Katie, 21, James, 20, Ellie, 18, Aimee, 17, Josh, 16, Max, 14, Tillie, 13, Oscar, 12, Casper, 11, Hallie, eight, Phoebe, seven, Archie, six, Bonnie, five, and Heidi, three. Their 17th child Alfie was stillborn on July 6, 2014.
22 Kids and Counting airs on Channel 5.
Source My Celebrity Life.