OHMYGOSSIP — ‘Octomum’ Mandy Allwood has died aged 56.
Mandy – who made headlines across the world when she announced that she was expecting eight babies with her then partner Paul Hudson in 1996 – passed away after a battle with cancer.
Tragically, the six boys and two girls – who were born at 24 weeks over the course of three days and three nights – did not survive.
Mandy struggled to cope with the grief despite later having triplets and turned to alcohol.
She was arrested in 2007 for drink-driving with the three children in the car and subsequently lost custody of the kids. Mandy also ended up becoming estranged from her family.
According to reports, Allwood will be laid to rest on Friday (04.02.22) in a service funded by her local council with no mourners present.
Mandy’s friend Mark Beard said: “She has been struggling with cancer for a while and had an operation before Christmas but told us recently that it had come back. I don’t know what sort of cancer it was.”
Mark, the landlord of the Yard of Ale pub in Stratford-upon-Avon, revealed that Mandy was a regular visitor and occasionally discussed her tragic babies.
He explained: “She blended in really well and was always up for a chat. She was a bit eccentric and nutty but that’s why we loved her.
“She sometimes spoke about what happened to her, with the eight babies. People would often ask her about it.
“When we first met she told us who she was and she said she had been in magazines in the past but that was it.”
Mandy recalled how Princess Diana got in touch just weeks after the deaths of the babies and arranged a private meeting.
Speaking in 2018, Allwood said: “She gave me a hug, showed me lots of support.
“When we first met she said to me, ‘Thank you for keeping me off the front pages for a change.’
“We talked about her depression and my panic attacks and she told me she had been there, too.
“We spoke about her family and she talked a lot about Charles and Camilla.”
Source: VacationHunter.Online