I Couldn't Turn Them Away

An impulse decision gave Jules Allen the most precious gift of all – a family.

- Megan Rowe

It’s rare to meet a woman who has played a vital role in raising 32 children. But Aussie supermum Jules Allen has done just that, raising her biological son Jay, 19, and fostering an astounding 31 children, three of whom have become a permanent part of her family.

The former MasterChef Australia contestant recalls being a vulnerable single mum who’d just escaped a volatile relationship and fled to Lennox Head, NSW, when she “fell into fostering” aged just 23.

“A good friend told me about a girl in foster care who was having a hard time. She asked me if I’d take her in, so I thought ‘why not?’, ”Jules recalls.

“The hilarious thing was she was 16, so there were only seven years between us. It was like the blind leading the blind.”

Little did Jules know her spontaneous decision would change her life forever. One foster child turned into two, and continued to multiply over the years, turning her once quiet two-bedroom unit into a bustling household full of fun and laughter.

Some children have stayed for six months, others a year – and a few have never left. But selfless social worker Jules, now 42, has always given each and every one of them the one thing they desperately craved – unconditional love.