Denis Beaudoin told ABC`s "Good Morning America" he dated Suleman from 1997 to 1999 and made at least three sperm donations to help her get pregnant.
"She really wanted to have kids," he said. "She asked me to donate sperm. I thought it was kind of out of the ordinary, but I cared about her so much, and we were in love."
Beaudoin said Suleman told him she had ovarian cancer and wanted to get pregnant right away.
"She came out and told me if she wants to have kids, she has to have them now," he said.
He thought the donations would be part of "starting a family" together. But after they broke up, he had no idea whether Suleman, now 33, had gone through with in vitro fertilization until he called her three or four years ago.
"I heard kids crying in the background," he said. "And I go, `Who`s that?` She said, `Those are my babies.`"
Suleman ended the conversation before Beaudoin could ask if he was the father, and he said she hasn`t responded to his calls since she gave birth to octuplets Jan. 23.
She denied to ABC that he was the dad, saying all 14 kids were fathered by a platonic friend she has already notified.