The world's first surviving septuplets set to celebrate their 28th birthdays - where they are now

UK Daily Mail ^ | 11/16/2025 | JENSEN BIRD

[DFG]

The McCaughey septuplets were the equivalent of a viral sensation when they were born in 1997 as hysteria around the huge brood saw them thrown into the spotlight.

Bobbi and Kenny McCaughey welcomed Nathan, Kelsey, Brandon, Joel, Natalie, Alexis, and Kenny Jr on November 19, 1997, in Des Moines, Iowa. The babies became the first septuplets in the world to survive infancy.

They were born within six minutes of each other, nine weeks premature and only weighed between two and four pounds.

Mom Bobbi was born with a malfunctioning pituitary gland that struggled to produce hormones to stimulate ovulation.

She and Kenny were able to conceive their first child, a daughter called Mikayla, but were having difficulty getting pregnant again.

However an injection of a fertility drug called Metrodin proved more than successful and resulted in the miraculous septuple pregnancy.

Despite pleas from doctors, the couple declined selective reduction and said the pregnancy was 'in God's hands.'

'Any child is a gift from God, whether it's one at a time or seven at a time. It didn't take very long - just a few weeks - to get used to the idea that we're going to have a very big family,' Bobbi told NBC News at the time.

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TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: mccaughey; septuplets

[DFG]

They children are pictured with their spouses and their own kids in a family photo from 2024

[FatherofFive]

We had twins, 3rd and 4th. 3 in diapers for a while. It was overwhelming.

[DFG]

Kenny Jr : Married, child born in 2022, cabinet maker and carpenter

Alexis : Cerebral Palsy, college degree in liberal studies, works at day care

Natalie : Married, child born in 2024, master’s degree in athletic training, head athletic trainer at Hannibal-LaGrange University

Kelsey : Married, adopted a boy, college degree in Public Relations and Communications from Hannibal-LaGrange University, receptionist at a medical office in Missouri

Nathan : Cerebral Palsy, graduated from Hannibal-LaGrange University in 2021, works in tech support and lives independently in Des Moines

Brandon : Army Sgt, married, daughter and son

Joel : Works at the help desk at Emerson Electric

[tired&retired]

My wife was one of natural triplets and my daughter had twins. I understand that it tends to skip a generation.

[Robert A Cook PE]

Successful family!

[bigbob]

Restaurants must compete for their birthday dinners!

[Thank You Rush]

Wonderful- thank you for the pics. I remember when they were born and the publicity surrounding them. Didn’t someone come forward with a larger house for them? I don’t remember everything but it was a HUGE story!!!

[Mean Daddy]

CEO I worked for years ago had identical triplet boys. Often wonder what happened with them.