I am a mother of 12 children after becoming pregnant at 14 and receive £1,000 a month in benefits
Life as a single parent can be tough at the best of times, but for mums of twelve Veronica Merritt the costs keep piling up.
Veronica, 38, is on ‘food stamps’ and the US version of the benefits, despite earning up to £5,500 a month posting videos on TikTok.
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As a self-employed art seller, Veronica’s income can vary greatly from month to month, but despite claiming some benefits, she says she doesn’t get everything she can.
“I’m not even getting everything we would qualify for,” explained the mother, who had her first child at age 14.
“I get $1,400 in food stamps a month and medical coverage.
“We would qualify for things like WIC and incompetence because my son was battling cancer, but we don’t get those extra things.”
The main goal for the mother is to have “food security,” which is partly why she started posting clips to TikTok.
But the income from it is not reliable enough to depend on it, she told Fabulous exclusively.
“My TikTok income really fluctuates.
“I had a month where I made over $7,000 from TikTok but the average was $2,700, but this last payout was only $300 because I barely posted anything,” she said.
Although two of her twelve children have now moved out, leaving a bit more space, there was a point where things were so tight that one of her children was living in the kitchen cupboard.
“When we bought this house we thought this was a kitchen cabinet.
“I use it for Halloween storage now, but it was also my eight-year-old’s bedroom, it’s just big enough that he could stand in it,” she previously explained.
Trolls have been cruel to the busy mum in the past, telling her she shouldn’t have so many children if she has to claim benefits to house and feed them.
“People judge me, of course, but the way I look at it, as long as they get to eat, I’m happy,” she said.
I had a doctor joke that I was made to make babies, and I think I let that go to my head.”
Veronica Merritt
Veronica said she usually cooks food for her large brood, but if she doesn’t have much energy She coughs up the money for a takeaway meal.
“When it’s dinner time I don’t want what I’ve prepared anymore otherwise I just feel lazy and order a pizza which costs about £90 to feed us all.
“As well as the extra cost of a takeaway it also means I’ve wasted the £25 on the food I bought because it will spoil,” she said.
But the mom-shamers haven’t stopped Veronica from doing the best she can with what little she has, nor does she plan to give up her right to benefits.
“I am a single mother with ten children who still live at home and no support from their father.
“So yes, I accept the food benefits. Life is expensive,” she said.
The mother previously admitted that she would like to have more children.
Already mother to Victoria, 23, mother of one, Andrew, 18, Marine in training, Adam, 17, Mara, 16, Dash, 14, Darla, 13, Marvelous, 10, Martalya, eight, Amelia, six, Delilah, five , Donovan, three, and Modi, one, Veronica said there’s room in her nine-bed home for more – especially now that Victoria and Andrew have flown the nest.
“I definitely want six more children, but if I can go higher,” she said.
“If I could get pregnant with 11 at a time and know they would all survive, I would do it in a heartbeat, I wouldn’t care what happened to my body.
“I had a doctor joke that I was made for babies and I think I let that go to my head.