{"id":130601,"date":"2023-09-20T12:29:43","date_gmt":"2023-09-20T12:29:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/?p=130601"},"modified":"2023-09-20T12:29:43","modified_gmt":"2023-09-20T12:29:43","slug":"from-young-lovers-to-britains-biggest-family-why-sue-noel-radford-didnt-stop-having-kids-how-they-stay-romantic-the-sun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/beauty-and-fashion\/from-young-lovers-to-britains-biggest-family-why-sue-noel-radford-didnt-stop-having-kids-how-they-stay-romantic-the-sun\/","title":{"rendered":"From young lovers to Britain\u2019s biggest family \u2013 why Sue & Noel Radford didn\u2019t stop having kids & how they stay romantic | The Sun"},"content":{"rendered":"
KEEPING the romance alive after 30 years of marriage is no easy feat – especially when you\u2019ve also got 22 kids to look after.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But Sue and Noel Radford, the proud parents to Britain\u2019s largest brood, still manage to carve out \u2018us-time\u2019 to ensure they keep their relationship strong.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Sue, 48, often shares the sweet ways 52-year-old Noel spoils her – from sweet date nights to lavish gifts – with their half a million Instagram followers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sue recently shared a candid snap<\/span> of the pair enjoying posh cocktails at the Midland Hotel, joking that \u201cwe are out out\u201d, while another showed them tucking into a \u201cdate night\u201d burger and chips.\u00a0<\/p>\n If they struggle to get out of the house, the pair often kick back in their garden hot tub, with Sue telling fans: \u201cThe kids are asleep so chill time for us.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Special occasions such as Valentine\u2019s and Mother\u2019s Day are marked with big bouquets of flowers for Sue, slap-up meals out and lavish trips, with the family jetting to Florida and the Maldives.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Noel pushed the boat out for Sue\u2019s birthday a couple of years ago by treating her to a slick black \u00a330,000 Range Rover, while other presents have included a \u00a3570 Tissot watch and a box of designer clothes from Ralph Lauren.\u00a0<\/p>\n Sue gushed about Noel online, writing: \u201cI\u2019m so incredibly lucky to have such an amazing hubby who works so hard for us all. I love you @noelradford.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The pair, who live in a 10-bed house in Morecambe, Lancashire, which they bought for \u00a3240,000 in 2004, were childhood sweethearts and first met when Sue was aged just seven.\u00a0<\/p>\n Sue fell pregnant with her first child Chris when she was 14 in 1989 – with the couple marrying in 1992.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/picture>CANDID KATE<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/picture>NAME GAME<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/picture>BOUT IT OUT <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/picture>ROYAL SLUR <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n They went on to have another 21 children, with Sue admitting she\u2019s spent around 16-and-a-half years being pregnant.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI suppose in a way you could say we are addicted to having children. We just love everything about it,\u201d she previously admitted.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cYou can't get a better feeling than meeting a new little person. Love it. It's probably why we have done it so many times.\u201d<\/p>\n Both Sue and Noel, who also have 13 grandchildren, were adopted as children and she believes this may have been a driving<\/span> force for wanting such a large family.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI can never really say for sure whether it is because we are adopted that has got something to do with us having so many children,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt must have been a very lonely time for my birth mum. But part of living in such a big family you've always got somebody… I don't think they will ever be lonely.\u201d<\/p>\n Sue and Noel are parents to Chris, Sophie, Chloe<\/span>, Jack, Daniel, Luke, Millie, Katie, James, Ellie, Aimee, Josh, Max, Tillie, Oscar<\/span>, Casper, Hallie, Phoebe, Archie, Bonnie, and Heidie.<\/p>\n They tragically lost their 17th child Alfie in July 2014.<\/p>\n Noel had a vasectomy during his wife's ninth pregnancy but had it reversed when they decided to have more children.<\/p>\n The most recent addition to their super-sized brood was Heidie, born in April 2020.<\/p>\n Sue\u2019s daughter Sophie joked that she \u201ccan\u2019t remember her not being pregnant\u201d, adding: \u201cIt's like her own personal drug, having babies, honestly it is.'<\/p>\n Sue has sworn she won\u2019t have any more kids but admitted it felt \u201cweird\u201d removing the baby cot from her home.\u00a0<\/p>\n Without a newborn to care for Sue and Noel should have a (tiny) bit more time for one another.\u00a0<\/p>\n But it hasn\u2019t all been plain sailing for the loved-up pair. Sue previously revealed she nearly considered divorcing Noel, after a \u201cnightmare\u201d situation in the early 2000s.\u00a0<\/p>\n In an episode of the family\u2019s TV series, Channel 5's 22 Kids & Counting, the pair visited their old wedding venue and other landmarks significant to their relationship.\u00a0<\/p>\n At one point, they stopped by a mobile shop at a high street in Kendal, Cumbria – a site which the pair once leased to try and expand their family pie business<\/span>.<\/p>\n They had invested in the then-prime location for their bakery in 2001 after seeing another shop flourish when they opened up a second site.<\/p>\n They explained at the time, they were \u201dso proud\u201d to have their own business in Heysham, Lancashire and \u201cwanted to expand\u201d.<\/p>\n So much so, they took out a \u201chuge\u201d loan to invest in their thriving dream – only to be slammed with national disaster.\u00a0<\/p>\n Noel explained: \u201cTo start with it did really well. It was doing good – and then not long here – foot-and-mouth hits the country and to be honest I think Cumbria was one of the worst affected areas.\u201d<\/p>\n He added: \u201cIt just killed the tourism\u201d, as Sue chimed in: \u201cI can't even describe it, it just caused so much stress.<\/p>\n \u201cYou used to go to bed thinking about the debt, you'd wake up thinking about the debt, you'd wake up during the night thinking about the debt…<\/p>\n \u201cIf anything was going to have caused us to get a divorce, it was this.\u201d<\/p>\n She added: \u201cLooking back now, it was a time where I genuinely thought our marriage<\/span> was not gonna pull through that.\u201d<\/p>\n But despite the blip, the couple revealed their secrets for a long-lasting partnership.<\/p>\n Sue said: \u201cTips for a really healthy marriage are, never go to bed on an argument, ever. Always support each other.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Whilst Noel added: \u201cI think the main thing is communication. And say yes to your wife to everything and it makes life so much easier.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sue then gushed: \u201cI could never, ever, ever imagine myself with anyone but Noel. We\u2019re just soulmates.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Fabulous will pay for your exclusive stories. Just email: fabulousdigital@the-sun.co.uk and pop EXCLUSIVE in the subject line<\/strong>.<\/p>\nRead more on the Radfords<\/span><\/h2>\n
Mum-of-22 Sue Radford reveals major setback whilst on 18th holiday in 20 months<\/h3>\n
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