‘Teen Mom 2’ is an American reality television series that first aired on MTV back in early 2011, becoming the second spin-off show following the inception of ‘16 and Pregnant’ in 2009. It will soon celebrate a decade of drama and intrigue which supplied many followers and fans with hours of entertainment, captured in 10 seasons and nearly 200 episodes.
The show follows the lives of eight young women, some of whom featured in the original shows, but unlike ‘16 and Pregnant’ and ‘Teen Mom: OG’, it documents their lives and struggles as parents beyond the initial teenage years. In ‘Teen Mom 2’, the cameras follow the families through their lives as they enter into the adult world, and face problems to which many viewers can relate.
Other parts of the show also focus on the young women’s changing relationships with family, friends, and, of course, romances, documenting the influence children and being a parent can have on these life factors. Aside from inspiring even more spin-offs, including ‘Teen Mom 3’ and ‘Teen Mom: Young and Pregnant’, the ‘Teen Mom’ series of shows supplied viewers with countless dramatic circumstances.
From custody battles to substance abuse problems, the shows have possibly covered everything, or so the viewers might believe. However, unsurprisingly, not every scandal that happened on the show received filming credit, as the producers and stars tried their best to hide many secrets from the public.
Even more, a few disturbing and peculiar facts came to light, some of which crew members leaked to the public hoping to find intervention, but aside from all the dark truths, the shows also have a few memorable moments. While MTV grew its popularity around controversial content, ‘Teen Mom’ is not exactly the kind of show people would want to have scandals, mostly because it involves the lives of several young children who could emerge as the victims.
Unfortunately, children get caught in the middle of the dramatic events captured on camera. The show cann’t be considered innocent in regards to some of the things the children are put through, or have to witness.
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Helpless Crew
One of the crew members, an anonymous cameraman, left the show during the filming of the third season, later revealing his reason on a Reddit post under ‘Ask Me Anything’. According to the revelations of the camera operator, ‘Teen Mom 2’ star Leah Messer’s poor housekeeping became the reason he decided that enough was enough.
Of course, the incident that convinced him to depart from the show never reached the viewers, since it wouldn’t have been good filming material. According to the camera operator, Messer’s home was a disgusting mess which contained a filthy carpet strewn with old and left-over sweets, lollies. Sometimes the crew would witness as Messer’s children crawled around on the carpet, picking at anything that seemed edible.
However, despite being reason enough to cause upset, it was not the whole reason why the operator quit his job. The stars of the show often made poor decisions and parenting errors, such as drinking in front of the babies and executing corporal punishment. Yet, sadly, legal restrictions in their contracts prevent crew members from intervening, making them nothing more than helpless witnesses.
However, if any of the crew members witness acts of child endangerment, they will be allowed to contact the correct authorities. Regardless, no record exists that suggests anything like this happened on the show.
Teen Mom Nearly Canned
In 2012, the original ‘Teen Mom’ series went on a short break, and during this time the corporate suits at MTV considered ending the show, considering that the show had simply reached its ending, since most of the cast members and ‘stars’ would soon be turning twenty.
With most of them embarking on early adulthood, and because they were no longer teens, the show lost its main point of interest. However, due to the show’s considerable popularity, the executives at MTV determined that they might lose too much money and interest if the show ended abruptly, prompting them to consider a follow-up series.
The new series changed its name to ‘Teen Mom: OG’, replacing the initial program. The continued success of the new show, which aired in 2015 and starred most of the first series’ teen moms, inspired MTV to produce two more shows in the on-going franchise.
Thus, ‘Teen Mom 2’ and ‘Teen Mom 3’ saw creation, much to the delight of fans, and of course the pockets of the producers and the channel. However, it’s safe to say that the suits are not the only ones getting rich because of the show.
Money Making Babies
One of the biggest concerns of becoming a teen mother in real life would be financial maintenance. In most cases, the baby’s father would not be in a position to provide the necessary financial support.
While the show initially displayed the truth about this, it soon became nothing more than an opportunity to make money. Unfortunately or perhaps fortunately – the stars of the show are in far better positions than most other teen moms out there. In fact, the show has made headlines in gossip columns because of the amount of money made by some of the stars, and one of the male stars featured on the show once admitted that the women make more money.
In 2018, ‘Teen Mom: OG’ announced the arrival of a new star, Bristol Palin who, according to a US Weekly source, would receive $250,000 per season.
The source also stated that if she lasted more than three seasons, her salary could increase to $350,000 a season. Although Palin did not last further than her first season, she would have nonetheless made more money than any of the other stars if these statements are true.
However, two years earlier in 2016, Chelsea Houska’s ex-boyfriend, Adam Lind, took to Instagram to shame the show. Among his accusations, Lind complained that Chelsea’s contract would earn her more than $300,000 for the latest seasons. Although he agreed that he would be receiving similar compensation, his payment dwarfed in comparison. He claimed it was not worth it, and stated that he wanted to get away from all the fake drama.
Profitable Fame
Aside from making money through their appearances on the show, some of the ‘Teen Mom’ stars use their influence and fame to make money off-camera.
#TeenMom2's said goodbye to the "most important" home she's ever owned while rocking cute spandex leggings. https://t.co/EzeeWvn4lu
— HollywoodLife (@HollywoodLife) February 6, 2021
Since few of the stars have day jobs, they source their main income from the show and other affiliated appearances, but for a couple of them, it doesn’t seem to be enough, as their ambition drove these moms to find better sources of wealth.
Inspired by JK Rowling’s story, who, as many might know, also struggled as a single mother, ‘Teen Mom 2’ star, Kailyn Lowry took to writing as a means of finding independence. She is the author of the best-selling children’s book ‘Love Is Bubblegum’, and has also written two adult fiction novels, namely ‘Pride Over Pity’ and ‘A Letter of Love’.
Two of the stars from ‘Teen Mom: OG’, Maci Bookout and Taylor McKinney, also pursued careers outside of television, jointly owning a clothing line. They design and model the products that their clothing line, Things That Matter, sell, which includes shirts, baby clothes, shorts, sweats and a variety of other fashion accessories.
Another prominent figure of the original ‘Teen Mom’ cast, Farrah Abraham, wrote a confessional memoir by the name ‘My Teenage Dream Ended’. In her book, she reveals some of the hidden truths that never went to air, which included that she lied about attending Derek Underwood’s funeral. Derek was the father of her child, and in an attempt to keep the funeral private, she stated on the show that she would not attend the service.
Farrah’s Dirty Little Secret
In 2013, Farrah, one of the earliest stars of the ‘Teen Mom’ franchise, caused a major scandal and upset after a raunchy adult film she made attracted public attention. The creation of the film eventually caused Farrah to lose her role on the popular MTV series, but not before fans of the show voiced their concern about the possibility that her 10-year-old daughter could have been present during filming.
Of course, Farrah denied the accusations, but her social media ranting could not save her reality TV career. While it might be disturbing to think that her daughter could have been close-by or even present when she made the hour-long film, ‘Farrah Superstar: Backdoor Teen Mom’, what was most strange about it was Farrah’s motivations for making an adult film.
Fans of the show might be aware of Farrah’s obsession with reality television star, Kim Kardashian, and as such, Farrah modelled her life on her biggest and favourite influencer. Since the ‘leaked’ Kardashian tape made it onto the internet, Farrah naturally felt it necessary to copy her role model.
However, when things went south for the ‘Teen Mom’ star, Farrah claimed that the tape was leaked and even went so far as to accuse her adult co-star, James Deen, of sexually assaulting her.
Deen immediately took to social media to correct the misinformation, stating that Farrah hired him and the production team to complete the film.
Strangely, though, Farrah’s supposed leaked tape outperformed her role model’s film, gaining more views than the Kardashian scandal ever did.
Family Tragedy
In 2019, sad news about the ‘Teen Mom 2’ star, Jenelle Evans, reached fans and the public, following a sad tragedy that struck the young family, which, thankfully, never made it onto film. In 2015, Jenelle met David Eason on Tinder, and shortly after their first couple of dates, she moved in with the then 26-year-old artisan.
David had two children from a previous relationship, a daughter Maryssa Rose and a son Kaden David, while Jenelle had two children of her own. At the time, Jenelle shared custody of her second-born Kaiser and visitation rights to see her first-born son Jace, who remains in her mother’s custody.
At first things between them seemed good, especially after the couple married in September 2017, but in 2019 things took a turn for the worst. In April a report surfaced which suggested that Eason beat and later fatally shot Evans’ French Bulldog, Nugget.
Considering a few domestic disturbances in the past because of Eason’s drinking, fans believe the incident may have been of a malicious nature. However, Eason defended himself, claiming that the dog bit their two-year-old daughter. Whichever the case, the incident nonetheless led to the termination of Jenelle’s contract, and firing from the show.
Odd Scouting
A few of the show’s stars made it onto the ‘Teen Mom’ franchise through odd scouting methods. Catelynn Lowell, who would later become a star of ‘Teen Mom 2’, was recommended to the show by an adoption counsellor.
Congrats!!!! https://t.co/IVoKWIW9Xx #ChelseaHouska #TeenMom2
— Perez (@ThePerezHilton) February 4, 2021
After searching for a potential guardian for Lowell’s yet to be born child, the counsellor discovered casting calls for the show and immediately asked Catelynn if she would be interested. As they say, the rest became history, and soon Catelynn appeared on the show.
Another star of the franchise, Amber Portwood, who would initially appear on ‘16 and Pregnant’ and then later on ‘Teen Mom: OG’, caught the attention of the show’s scouts after her brother, Shawn appeared on another MTV reality show, ‘Underage and Engaged’.
When they learned that Amber expected while being only sixteen, the producers sought her out to appear on their latest show. Since then, Amber made a name for herself as one of the wildest cast members.
Amber’s Antics
In 2014, Amber appeared on the ‘Dr Phil’ show, on which she openly admitted to having a prescription drug problem. She stated that she possessed money, and constantly sought to relieve her emotional troubles, which stemmed from the stress of teen parenthood and romantic squabbling, by taking prescription pills.
She even went as far as to say that she was permanently high on these drugs while filming ‘Teen Mom’, but thanks to the aid of the show’s producers, Amber could find the help she needed. However, this was not the only controversial behaviour Amber kept secret, and since the cameras could not film everything, some of her antics remained long kept mysteries.
The ‘Teen Mom’ star confessed to US Weekly that she once got into a physical altercation with a girl in International House of Pancakes, but didn’t state for what reason.
She also admitted to being banned from a local Walmart, after security removed her for being drunk and disorderly, even by Walmart standards.
In another interview with Cosmopolitan, Amber stated that she hoped to one day make an appearance on ‘Orange Is The New Black’. She believes she would fit in quite well in a walk-on role, because of her previous experience with serving time, which was a year in prison following her arrest for violating drug-related probation conditions.
Love in the Waiting Room
One of the most heart-warming stories that happened off-camera during the ‘Teen Mom’ franchise’s filming was the romance between executive producer Morgan J Freeman and his wife, but specifically how they met.
When Maci Bookout went into delivery, naturally the cameras, along with the production crew, were there to capture the intrigue on camera.
Little did they know that the gift of new life would spark a romance for Freeman. At the time, Freeman’s future wife worked as the hospital’s media liaison. Evidently, the two would stay in contact, as Freeman’s soon-to-be wife had to ensure that the show kept their portrayal of the hospital’s image clean. Then, lo and behold, they fell in love.
Amber Parties With the Paparazzi
Suppose having people trying to spy on you twenty-four-seven, constantly searching for every embarrassing picture they can find, can be disconcerting, to say the least. Although as a reality television star one should expect this to happen, for Amber, however, she found a rather unique way to solve her problem.
At first, Amber found it strange and uncomfortable, especially because some paparazzi members would camp outside her house for days. In her interview with Cosmopolitan, Amber stated that before long, she approached the photographers and even started partying with them. She also stated that some of them became good friends, but undoubtedly it still wouldn’t keep them from publishing embarrassing photos of her.
With these odd facts, and a few scandals out in the open, ‘Teen Mom’ across the whole of MTV’s franchise may not seem the same, but that is the general theme of the show, isn’t it?
Life as we know it can change in an instant, as many teen moms learn the hard way, but despite everything uncovered here, we hope you keep tuned in to the latest episodes of ‘Teen Mom: OG’, ‘Teen Mom 2’, or ‘Teen Mom 3’, maybe with eyes wide open!
