29 February 2024 , 14:37
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Dad of UK's biggest family Noel Radford spoke out about the first time Sue fell pregnant at 13.
The now 53-year-old, from Morecambe, said they "were both just kids" as he defended their four year age gap. Noel was 17 when he found out he was going to become a dad for the first time while Sue was below the age of consent.
Writing in their new joint book, The Radfords: Making Life Count, Noel said: "What happened back then has obviously been brought up again in recent years, after we became known by going on television.
"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."
Parents of UK's biggest family 'in agony' after son ends up in trouble at school
The dad said despite him being over the age of consent, while Sue was below it, he wasn't in any bother with the authorities. He claimed back then it was "down to your mums and dads".
Sue and Noel Radford met through her older brother (YouTube)"There was no knock on the door saying I was in big trouble," he said. "I think someone, somewhere may have had to report it, the doctor maybe, but there weren't any repercussions."
The couple raised eyebrows when their TV show revealed Sue had just turned 14 when she welcomed their first child, while Noel was 18 and a half.
Noel admitted: "Some of the comments from people were brutal that I should have been arrested and things like that. Even though I was just 17 still a kid, including in the eyes of the law. But it doesn't bother me. People will say what they like. I don't care what they say."
Sue, now 48, added the bad comments "affect the kids", particularly their eldest son Chris. In the book, the couple also revealed they were introduced because Noel was pals with Sue's older brother, first meeting when Noel was 11 and Sue was seven.
The family are the stars of 22 Kids and Counting (THERADFORDFAMILY/INSTAGRAM)They shared their first kiss in August 1988 after a first date "hanging around in Kendal", then Sue fell pregnant in September. The couple, who were both adopted as children, didn't want their baby to go through the same thing and were determined to raise him themselves.
Noel dropped out of catering college to get a job in a supermarket, while Sue started home schooling for a few months. She returned to school at the start of Year 10 and completed her GCSEs.
A year later, in 1992, the pair got married. Sue's dad had to get special permission from the vicar.
Now three decades on, the couple are parents to Chris, 34, Sophie, 30, Chloe, 28, Jack, 26, Daniel, 24, Luke, 23, Millie, 22, Katie, 21, James, 20, Ellie, 18, Aimee, 17, Josh, 16, Max, 15, Tillie, 13, Oscar, 12, Casper, 11, Hallie, eight, Phoebe, seven, Archie, six, Bonnie, five, and Heidie, three. They also had a son Alfie, who was stillborn in 2014.