Speaking on the "So $crewed" podcast, hosted by Popping SG and Chicken Genius Singapore, on Oct. 30, Pearlyn revealed that she had seven children with four different partners, three of whom she married. She said she deliberately became pregnant at 17 because she had always loved children and wanted to be a mother.

Pearlyn met her first boyfriend through the social networking website Friendster and became pregnant four or five months into their relationship, according to 8days.

After they separated, their son, now 17, was raised primarily by his paternal grandmother.

At 20, she met her second partner while attending a private school. They married and had two children, but she left him three years later, citing alleged infidelity and drug use.

Pearlyn, 36, discusses raising seven children during an episode of the "So $crewed" podcast. Photo from YouTube/Popping SG

She subsequently worked in the nightlife industry, where she met her next husband. The couple had two children before divorcing amid disputes with his family and an incident in which he allegedly hit her son, who has attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Pearlyn later met her current husband, a former career soldier, at a pub. They married in 2022 and have two children, aged five and six, Singaporean news outlet Mothership reported.

The family now faces significant financial difficulties.

Her husband left the military at her request to spend more time with the children but struggled to secure steady employment. He was subsequently declared bankrupt after accumulating approximately SGD70,000 (US$54,600) in debt.

He currently earns between SGD300-700 a month through part-time jobs, while Pearlyn works 12-hour shifts as a private-hire driver, bringing home around SGD3,000 monthly after expenses.

The couple supports four children and estimates that they need about SGD4,000 a month to cover household expenses. They live in a one-bedroom rental apartment costing SGD50 monthly and receive SGD890 in government assistance.

Pearlyn acknowledged that her bank balance sometimes falls to just SGD50, forcing her to borrow money from friends.

Despite the hardship, she said she tries to remain positive rather than dwell on her problems. "Because this is life. No point dwelling on the sad things, right? Have to be positive," she said.

Asked to rate how difficult her life was on a scale of one to 10, she gave it a nine. After spending much of the past 17 years pregnant or raising young children, Pearlyn said she now wants a break from childcare responsibilities and has asked her children not to make her a grandmother too soon.

The podcast episode has attracted more than 752,000 views, generating mixed reactions online. Some viewers questioned her decisions and whether they matched her stated outlook on life, while others praised her optimism and expressed hope that her family's circumstances would improve.