I met my ‘naughty boy’ Noel & had our first kiss at 13 – I got pregnant just a month later, says mum-of-22 Sue Radford

MUM-OF-22 Sue Radford has recalled the moment she met her husband Noel - as she shared details of their first kiss and first date.

But not only this - mother to Britain’s Biggest Family also shared details of her first pregnancy, as she admitted that the couple fell pregnant just a month after their first kiss, when Sue was just 13. 

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In Sue and Noel Radford’s book, The Radfords: Making Life Count, which is a number one best-seller on Amazon, the couple discussed the early days of their relationship.

But not only this, in the book, which took the second spot on the Sunday Times bestseller list, we saw the parents chat about the judgement they faced after finding out they were expecting their first child. 

Sue revealed: “Me and Noel ended up as near-neighbours once his family had moved to Kendal when he was seven, with Noel initially becoming best mates with my big brother.

“We first met when Noel was 11 and I was seven, but it would be a good few years before our lives would dramatically change. 

“Noel was 17 and I was 13 when we had our first kiss - though it does seem weird to revisit those days, and lives that were so incredibly different from the lives we lead today with our enormous family.

“We started going out with each other on August 4, 1988 - when I was 13 and Noel was 17.”

To this, Noel chimed in: “We lived in cul-de-sacs separated by a ginnel - which you might know as an alley depending on where you're from! 

“I used to play out in what was like a paddock area, but to get to it I had to go through the little street where Sue lived.”

Sue then added: “He was a very naughty boy!”

Following this, Noel explained: “Anyway, I knew of Sue and her older brother, Stephen, but I didn't really hang around with them initially - I had my own group of friends. 

“It was when we were older that me and Sue became friends, and that was really through Stephen. He was into motorbikes - off-road bikes - and so was I. So that's how I got to know Stephen. 

“So, it was Stephen I was friendly with first, not Sue. Sorry, Sue! I hung around with Stephen for quite a while before I got together with Sue. 

“I would have just sat in Stephen's room with him and some of our other friends, talking motorbikes - while at the same time Sue would have been in her room with some of her friends.

“I think we just ended up getting together in a pretty natural way. The first day we were officially boyfriend and girlfriend in our eyes - which we seem to have agreed on, but both of us had to think about it! - was August 4, 1988.”

Following this, Sue shared: “Because we were so young, just 13 and 17, we wouldn't have had a first date in a restaurant or anything like that. Though I do remember, when we were older, going to the restaurant in the Riverside Hotel in Kendal.”

Noel then expressed: “I think you must have been 16 when we went out for our first meal in a restaurant together. I'm guessing, I think that would have been the case.”

'It was such a big shock'

Sue wrote: “And it wasn't long after that - in September or October, 1988 - that I found out I was pregnant. I was just 13 and couldn't believe it. It was such a big shock.”

Noel was equally as shocked at the news, as he admitted: “For both of us, it was just ... 'Oh s**t!'”

It didn't matter that I was just 13 and at school and Noel was just 17 and at catering college

Sue Radford

Despite this, Sue revealed: “But from the word go - from the very moment I realised I was pregnant and told Noel - we knew we were going to keep our child. 

“It didn't matter that I was just 13 and at school and Noel was just 17 and at catering college. 

“We were going to keep the baby and stay together - however difficult that might be and however many obstacles might be in our way. It was as straightforward as that.

“We were just kids, but we were so determined. We were together and we were going to stay together, and have our baby. It really was a case of just getting on with it. 

“But despite that, there was obviously so much going on in our heads - like, 'Oh my God, how are we going to tell our parents?'”

'We were determined to fight our corner'

Noel explained that telling their parents was incredibly daunting, as he added: “That was definitely the worst thing about it - knowing that we had to go and tell our parents, and wondering what their reaction would be, especially Sue's mum and dad.”

When it came to telling Sue’s mum, Noel shared: “She was obviously upset, but I don't think it was as bad as we had feared. 

“She wasn't furious and it wasn't the reaction we perhaps thought it was going to be. Sue's dad was at work at the time. 

“We had talked about it together, before we told anybody and we said that no matter what, we're going to try our best to keep the baby and carry on seeing each other.

“We were determined to fight our corner, because we both wanted Sue to have the baby and we certainly didn't want him or her to be adopted - somehow, we wanted to find a way to bring up our child, in spite of everything. 

“But we were very fortunate because in the end - thanks to the response of Sue's mum and dad and my mum and dad - we didn't have to fight our corner.

“Even though we were very young, they knew we were serious - about each other and about our child - and they knew our minds were made up. In a way, it was as simple as that.”

Sue then explained: “Even though we were so young, we were so serious about each other. If I hadn't got pregnant at 13, we would have still ended up getting married and having kids together - only later than we actually started!

“I feel very lucky because we had so much support from family and friends - although some friends didn't bother with me after I got pregnant. 

“Other friends, though, stuck by me and I still see them today. And I think what we went through made me and Noel stronger as people - and as a couple. 

“We just thought, 'This is a shock, but it's something we've got to deal with together’. And we did. 

“If we didn't have that support, I think things would have been very different.”

'Some of my then friends turned their backs on me'

Sue explained that some of her friends turned their back on her after finding out about her pregnancy.

The mum-of-22 concluded: “It was very hurtful when some of my then friends turned their backs on me, because they were really nasty. 

It was just a case of friends deciding not to speak to me again

Sue Radford

“But it was funny years later when we started doing the TV programmes, because some of the people who had been nasty started coming out of the woodwork - and were wanting to know me again. 

“I wonder if they look back now and think, 'I was really quite nasty' - or do they not even realise how they behaved? I can't remember what was said now, but there was name-calling. 

“Mostly, though, it was just a case of friends deciding not to speak to me again.”

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