Mother Of 8 Children On Welfare Says She Can’t Get A Job Because She’s Just Too Pretty
Single parents encounter challenges that many of us simply can't imagine. The work of caring for and providing for children—which is usually more than enough for two people as it is—ends up falling squarely on one person's shoulders. Many show incredible strength in these trying circumstances; others, not so much.
Take the case of England's Marie Buchan, for instance. She gained notoriety on a reality television show that documented the lives of the single mother and her eight children. But she soon became the focus of a nation's ire when she, according to the many following her story, went too far in securing assistance for her kids...
The United Kingdom was first introduced to Marie Buchan of Selly Oak in Birmingham on the reality television show Benefits Britain: Life On The Dole. The show documented her rather interesting lifestyle...
More specifically, Benefits Britain showed how Marie, a single mother, raised her eight—yes, eight—children while living off of welfare checks. She earned the nickname "Octomum"—and eventually, a lot of the nation's ire.
Marie received £2,000 (about $2,600) a month courtesy of government programs. With these monthly checks, Marie was able to feed and clothe her kids, who took up most of her time and energy. She didn't have a job.
So when the U.K. opted to cap her benefit payouts at £23,000 (instead of £26,000), she felt she was in serious trouble. "This benefits cap is getting out of control," she said. Still, officials informed her she had options.