MILLIE Radford is left shaken when husband Harley Passmore is rushed to hospital with a suspected stroke in this week’s episode of 22 Kids and Counting.
The mum-of-three, who wed Harley in a £9k ceremony last year, reveals how they had been going through a stressful patch over whether or not he should adopt Ophelia.
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Harley started dating Millie when she was pregnant with Ophelia, and has raised her as his own ever since, with the biological dad not on the scene.
In the show, Harley is desperate to legally adopt the four-year-old girl, who he helps raise along his and Millie’s kids, Chester, three, and Elodie, one.
He says: “Obviously Millie did have Ophelia when we first met.
“I have been in Ophelia’s life since she was six months old.
“Obviously, she’s not my biological daughter, but I do treat Ophelia like she’s my own.
“I do want people to look at me and Ophelia like ‘oh they’re father and daughter.’
“Ophelia doesn’t have the same name – Millie, does, Chester does, Elodie does.
“Felt like, well, we can’t leave Ophelia there out, and when she gets a bit older, she’ll start understanding, like, why is my name different to Chester and Elodie’s and mummy’s and daddy’s?”
But raising the idea of adopting Ophelia has caused friction with Millie.
The 23-year-old says: “I’ve been worried for Ophelia.
“I’m worried just because we haven’t told Ophelia that Harley isn’t actually her biological dad. “Ophelia is only four, and it’s a lot to handle and cope with at such a young age.”
Later in the show she adds that she also has another big concern about it.
She explains: “I think the worry was that it can turn a lot of hatred towards Harley from Ophelia when she finds out that Harley isn’t actually her biological dad and she has another dad.”
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HOSPITAL VISIT
Disagreements come to a head when Millie and Harley have a blazing row, followed by him being rushed to hospital in an ambulance in the morning.
A panicked Millie could be heard phoning mum-of-22 Sue Radford, saying: “I’m in an ambulance with Harley.
“One half of his face has all gone lopsided.
“It looks like he’s had a stroke. He’s slurring his words.
“He’s really panicking, I’m panicking.”
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Sue and Noel bring the three kids to their 10-bedroom Morecambe house, while Millie keeps Harley company in the stroke ward in hospital, admitting she is in “shock” from the “scary” ordeal.
She adds: “I felt guilty straight away wondering if it was arguing that had caused it.
“If something happened to him how would I feel then?
“I’ve pretty much done my whole motherhood with Harley, I can’t imagine him not there.”
After a nail-biting night on the ward waiting for results, Harley is told he hasn’t had a stroke, but has got Bell’s Palsy.
Bell’s Palsy is a neurological disorder that causes paralysis or weakness on one side of the face.
He says: “They came in with my results, my MRI results were totally fine which means I didn’t have a stroke.”
ADOPTION DECISION
Following Harley’s stressful stint in hospital, a “relieved” Millie decides to rethink Harley adopting her daughter.
She says: “When I thought Harley was having a stroke, it was really scary.
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“He was worried as well, and I was worried because of the paralysis side of it.
“What if he would never have been able to cope with the three kids again after that, or handle his life before that?
“I’m filling in the forms for the process of Harley adopting Ophelia.
“It’s made me change my mind, because if anything was to happen to Harley, I know that Ophelia would have loved Harley to be her dad, so that is what I’m going to make happen.”
FAMILY CONCERNS
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However, after some research, the process proves to be trickier than they had first anticipated.
This is despite the biological father’s name not being on Ophelia’s birth certificate as he “wasn’t interested” in being a dad.
Speaking of their adoption hurdles, Harley says: “It’s a lot harder work than we thought it would”.
Millie adds: “If we went down the adoption route we’d have to get in touch with Ophelia’s biological dad.”
Harley shared: “He could just say no, ‘I don’t want you to adopt her.’”
Millie also confesses that if they got in touch with the dad, he may want to be in Ophelia’s life now which would be “a lot” for the young girl.”
In the end, they decide to go down the route of Harley applying for step parental responsibility agreement, which means he would have the same rights in terms of decision making.
How many people are in the Radford family?
Sue and Noel Radford have 22 children and 11 grandchildren.
- Noel – Born December 24, 1970
- Sue – Born March 22, 1975
- Chris – Born May 7, 1989 – married to Nicole Spencer and have three children: Maisie (June 3, 2017), Jacob (July 31, 2019), and Oaklyn, September 21, 2021). He is a stepdad to Nicole’s four kids
- Sophie – Born December 13, 1993– married to Joe Broadley and have three children: Daisy (August 27, 2012), Ayprill (October 13, 2014) and Leo, (December 24, 2015)
- Chloe – Born July 31, 1995– dating Jake Wallace and have one child: Mila (July 23, 2022), and due to have baby number two in 2025
- Jack – Born April 9, 1997
- Daniel – Born March 3, 1999
- Luke – Born October 1, 2000
- Millie – Born August 29, 2001 – married to Harley Passmore and have three children: Ophelia (September 12, 2020), Chester (February 20, 2022), and Elodie (September 19, 2023)
- Katie – Born November 14, 2002 – dating Connor Carter and have baby Ronnie (October 8, 2024)
- James – Born October 17, 2003
- Ellie – Born May 6, 2005
- Aimee – Born April 21, 2006
- Josh – Born July 3, 2007
- Max – Born December 11, 2008
- Tillie – Born May 2, 2010
- Oscar – Born October 22, 2011
- Casper – Born October 3, 2012
- Alfie – Stillborn July 6, 2014
- Hallie – Born June 3, 2015
- Phoebe – Born July 24, 2016
- Archie – Born September 18, 2017
- Bonnie – Born November 6, 2018
- Heidie – Born April 3, 2020
This would mean he would have input regarding Ophelia’s surname, what school she goes to and consent during operations.
Harley initially seems overjoyed, celebrating with Noel, Sue and the family on the beach with some drinks and some fish and chips.
However, at the end, he hints that he is still keen to adopt Ophelia, and even texts the young girl’s biological father behind Millie’s back.
He says: “Even though I have the rights, I do want it on Ophelia’s birth certificate to say I’m her father.
“I’ve just messaged Ophelia’s biological father.
“I can’t help the way that I feel, I’ve put four years into Ophelia’s life.”
The Radfords are Britain’s biggest family and star in Channel 5’s 22 Kids and Counting, which airs on Sunday night at 8pm.
Millie Radford’s relationship timeline
Millie is the seventh child and third daughter of parents-of-22 Sue and Noel Radford.
She shot to fame when the family landed their own Channel 5 show, 22 Kids and Counting, in 2018.
Millie got pregnant for the first time aged 18, and welcomed daughter Ophelia into the world in September 2020.
Millie is no longer with Ophelia’s father, whose identity remains a secret, as they broke up not long after she got pregnant.
The reality star opened up about her relationship with him and said: “He just wasn’t happy to step up and be a dad so he’s never been named.”
On February 20, 2022, she welcomed her second child, a son called Chester.
Millie kept her pregnancy secret until her due date and in March 2022, she opened up about Chester’s birth in a question time “catch up” on her Instagram stories.
She also identified Chester’s dad for the first time, revealing he was her secret boyfriend Harley Passmore.
In May 2023, Millie revealed she was expecting another child with her partner.
Her baby, a daughter named Elodie Jade, was born in September 2023.
In April 2024, Millie excitedly told fans Harley had asked her to marry him during a trip to Disneyland in Florida.
