Exclusive | Yes, Josiah Stewart has 18 siblings. But the viral story isnt what you think

Josiah Stewart has social media, too.The Rams edge rusher saw a tweet on X that said he had 18 siblings and that they all grew up together in a house overflowing with brothers and sisters, playing basketball and tag with his enormous family before emerging from the chaos to become a national champion at Michigan and eventually making it to the NFL.Sounds like a great story, right?With 18 siblings, you could almost field your own 11-on-11 family football game.There’s just one problem.It’s not entirely true.

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By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.Never miss a story “There’s some misconception on there,” Stewart told the California Post in an exclusive interview of the information about his family that’s currently circulating on social media.

“So, I do have 18 siblings.I didn’t grow up with all of them.

That would be, like, a crazy full house.”Welcome to the internet, where a kernel of truth can turn into a full-blown origin story before the person actually living it gets a chance to reveal the truth.Here’s the true story, straight from Stewart’s mouth.Stewart does indeed have 18 siblings that are split between his mother’s and father’s sides of the family.But the mental image of 19 children growing up under one roof isn’t reality.Stewart was born in the Bronx.

His father, Andrew Stewart, had several children from a previous marriage.Many of those siblings are considerably older.

He moved to Massachusetts around the age of 10, where his mother and sisters raised him.He was one of the youngest children in a household of six: his mother, Carmen, five sisters, and Josiah.As he remembers it, he was essentially the only boy in the house and spent a lot of time playing with his second-youngest sister.That environment helped shape a future NFL pass rusher in ways ...