MTV series 16 And Pregnant had viewers gripped with tales of teen maternity journeys and the variety of challenges the young moms faced when their tots arrived.
While many of the show’s stars later featured on Teen Mom spin-offs, others took a different route. Here we explore what happened to the programme’s main moms.
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JENELLE EVANS
Controversial mom Jenelle favored partying over parenting in the series, which she joined in 2009.
Episodes showed her attempting to postpone a jail sentence to go to a music gig while giving custody of firstborn Jace to her mom.
Jenelle, now 29, went on to star in Teen Mom 2 and now has three children.
Yet her husband David Eason, with whom she has battled through marriage struggles, was booted off the series in 2018 after he posted a series of homophobic Tweets.
Janelle has spent the coronavirus pandemic filling her TikTok page with racy and twerking videos – many of which have been slammed by her followers.
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MACKENZIE MCKEE
Mackenzie Douthit – the 16 and Pregnant cheerleader – changed her name to Mackenzie McKee when she married husband Josh, and the pair now share three children.
They faced a tricky time on the series when Josh was involved in a rodeo accident which left him in a neck brace shortly before he was due to give birth.
Since her time on the show she has starred in Teen Mom OG and Teen Mom 3.
It hasn’t been smooth sailing for the lovebirds, with Josh plagued by “cheating” allegations last year, and the loss of Mackenzie’s beloved mom Angie in 2019 to brain cancer.
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CATELYNN LOWELL
Catelynn Lowell – now Baltierra – and show boyfriend Tyler Baltierra are going strong after becoming childhood sweethearts on the show.
16 And Pregnant detailed the couple’s tough decision to place their daughter, Carly, into open adoption.
Catelynn stars in Teen Mom OG and recently welcomed her fourth child, daughter Rya.
The rainbow baby came after she suffered a tragic miscarriage in 2000.
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LEAH MESSER
Fans will know Leah Messer for giving birth to twins Ali and Aleeah with husband Corey Simms, but the pair split shortly after.
She then welcomed a third daughter, Addalynn, after marrying Jeremy Calvert.
Now divorced from them both, she shares 50/50 custody of her twins.
Leah, who stars on Teen Mom 2, has been candid in re-visiting her tough battles with drug addiction.
She detailed the dark times in her recent memoir Hope Grace & Faith.
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KAILYN LOWRY
Leah’s pal Kailyn’s 16 and Pregnant episode detailed her first pregnancy with then-boyfriend Jo Rivera, and the lack of support she received from her own family.
The now mom of four went on to star in Teen Mom 2 and is currently building her dream family home in Delaware after her TV successes.
She has sparked rumors she has reunited with Javi Marroquin – the father to her son Lincoln – after he was spotted checking out the development this summer.
Kail has also moved into the world of podcasts, and hosts her own Coffee and Convos show.
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FARRAH ABRAHAM
Cheerleader and aspiring model Farrah discovered she was pregnant aged 16 on the show.
The father to her child, Derek Underwood, sadly died before their daughter Sophia was born.
Farrah, now 30, then went on to dabble in the world of music releasing a studio album that was heavily criticised.
In 2018 she was fired from Teen Mom OG and since, yet went on to star in MTV’s sister show Ex On The Beach a year later.
Farrah’s fans repeatedly call her out for her surgery and changing appearance, while some slammed her this summer for partying with her daughter, now 12.
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AMBER PORTWOOD
Amber Portwood’s rollercoaster maternity journey saw her give birth to daughter Leah during her relationship with Gary Shirley.
Yet after she became concerned about the tot’s breathing, due to the swelling of her voicebox, she was rushed to a consultant.
Gary then proposed but the pair split in 2011.
In 2019, Amber was arrested in Indianapolis and later pleaded guilty to two felony charges of domestic battery and intimidation.
After her arrest she made bail the following day posting a bond of $2,000, and was released from jail.
It wasn’t her first brush with the law, after she was released from prison in 2013 after serving two years of a five year sentence.
She is now turning her life around studying at home for a Purdue University qualification.
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MACI BOOKOUT
Maci was seen giving birth to her first of three children, son Bentley, with ex Ryan Edwards on the MTV series in 2009.
She married husband Taylor McKinney in 2016 and they share children Maverick and Jayde together.
Yet things have turned messy between Maci and ex Ryan, with Ryan exclusively claiming his ex has “poisoned” his now 12-year-old son against him.
Maci has retaliated by saying Ryan isn’t “comfortable” with his father and “doesn’t spend that much time” with him.
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CHELSEA HOUSKA
Chelsea Houska, now Chelsea DeBoer, dropped out of school when she became pregnant with her first child with Adam Lind.
The Teen Mom 2 star returned to education afterwards but split with her baby daddy.
She began dating Cole DeBoer in 2014 and the pair married in 2016.
Mom of four Chelsea, 30, quit Teen Mom 2 in November with her final episode airing in December 2020.
The Sun then exclusively revealed ratings plummeted ever since Chelsea left.
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NIKKOLE PAULUN
Nikkole was 15 when she became pregnant and 16 when she gave birth to son Lyle, with then boyfriend Joshua Drummonds.
Josh spend time in and out of jail and in 2017, she filed an order of protection against him.
She is now a parent of three but suffered a tragic miscarriage last year.
Nikkole is now battling Covid and has been drinking her own breast milk in an attempt to boost her natural antibodies to fight the virus.
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