This Morning viewers were left squirming during what many branded a “hard to watch” interview, as the visibly exhausted parents of so-called miracle quadruplets appeared on the ITV daytime show to share their astonishing story.
Jodie Keeley, 33, and her partner Lyde Darien, 31, from Northampton, joined hosts Dermot O’Leary and Josie Gibson to discuss their first Christmas as a reunited family — after finally bringing their four babies home from hospital.
The couple welcomed three daughters — Xyliana, Xyla and Xylia — and a son, Xyri, back in May. But their journey to parenthood was anything but straightforward.
All four babies were born extremely prematurely at just 25 weeks, with the smallest, Xyla, weighing only 490g at birth. Since then, the infants had been cared for in a neonatal intensive care unit, remaining in hospital for several months.
In an emotional milestone for the family, the babies were finally discharged in November — just in time to be home together for Christmas. Jodie and Lyde, who also share two older daughters from Lyde’s previous relationship, admitted the reality of caring for six children has been overwhelming.
Opening up about how the quadruplets were conceived, Jodie revealed the shock she felt when doctors first broke the news.
“When we found out, I was just incredibly shocked — I couldn’t talk,” she said.
Initially, the couple believed they were expecting triplets.
“We found out at seven weeks it was triplets,” Jodie explained. “Dad was speechless and I was laughing because I didn’t know what to do.”
But weeks later, the news became even more astonishing.
“When we found out at 12 weeks that it was actually four, we just switched roles,” she continued. “I thought, ‘How on earth do you cope with four babies?’ It was a massive shock.”
Medical experts believe Jodie initially conceived triplets — before the smallest baby, Xyla, was conceived later during the same pregnancy, a phenomenon known as superfetation.
Superfetation occurs when a second egg is fertilised and implanted in the womb days or even weeks after an initial conception. It is exceptionally rare, with only a handful of documented cases worldwide, including in the UK, Italy and Canada.
Doctors explained that Xyla’s significantly smaller size suggests she may have been conceived later than her siblings — a scenario that can increase the risk of complications, including premature birth.
Naturally conceived quadruplets are themselves incredibly uncommon, with odds estimated at around one in 700,000 pregnancies.
“Xyla was smaller and that’s what the consultants think — that she was conceived a bit later,” Jodie said, visibly shocking both Dermot, 52, and Josie, 40.
When asked how they are coping now the babies are home, Lyde replied bluntly:
“We’ve just got to get on with it.”
The parents revealed they get through an average of 30 nappies a day, while sleep has become a rare luxury.
“A bad night is when they’re all waking up separately,” Jodie admitted. “I’m literally up all the time. A really good night is when they all wake at the same time and go back to sleep — but that doesn’t happen often.”
Although the babies are now home, viewers watching from home were quick to notice how drained the couple appeared during the interview — sparking a flood of comments online.
“This couple look shell-shocked,” one viewer wrote.
Another questioned: “Why are they on? They look exhausted — this whole interview feels hard work.”
“The poor dad looks totally out of it,” a third added, while another asked: “Is the dad OK?”
Others joked darkly about the reality of life with four newborns, with one viewer writing: “Got their hands full!” and another adding: “Exhausted, man of few words or already checked out — that interview was hard work even to watch.”
The babies were cared for at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, where they received specialist neonatal treatment before finally being discharged.
The interview comes amid wider fascination with extremely rare multiple births. Earlier this year, a woman who herself was born as a quadruplet gave birth to five babies in a one-in-60-million pregnancy in the United States.
This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV1 and ITVX.
