What ‘Teen Mom’ Alums Have Said About the Franchise After Leaving
Teen Mom is a teenager itself, with MTV saying that the franchise is celebrating its “Sweet 16” with the all-new season of Teen Mom: The Next Chapter premiering Thursday (January 30) at 8/7c.
“The groundbreaking docuseries that has never shied away from authentic, unfiltered narratives will return for its milestone 16-year anniversary with Amber Portwood, Ashley Jones, Briana DeJesus, Catelynn Baltierra, Cheyenne Davis, Jade Cline, Leah Messer, Maci McKinney, and Mackenzie McKee,” MTV adds in a press release.
That lineup includes almost every cast member from the OG Teen Mom, a few from Teen Mom 2, and a couple from Teen Mom 3. But franchise alums who aren’t part of The Next Chapter have had plenty to say about their Teen Mom experiences, and not all of it would please MTV’s PR department. Check out their post-exit comments in the photo gallery below.
Teen Mom: The Next Chapter, Season Premiere, Thursday, January 30, 8/7c
Farrah Abraham
In an exit interview during a 2018 Teen Mom OG reunion, Abraham talked about leaving the franchise behind. “I’m happy that I didn’t let people break me from my core, which I felt this production was doing and many other people around me,” she said at the time, per PopCulture.com. “Not to say anything negative, but those are my feelings. … Hopefully, I get a better environment because of me choosing to live a different life.”
Chelsea DeBoer
In 2023, as she and husband Cole (pictured with her here) transitioned from MTV stardom to HGTV stardom, DeBoer told Entertainment Tonight that “the hugest weight” had been lifted off her shoulder, since worried constantly about revealing too much on Teen Mom.
“I think it was an important part of my life,” she reflected. “Obviously, I’m so grateful for it, and it got [us] this platform, and everything happens for a reason. [These are] all stepping stones that led us to where we are, and I truly, truly believe that, but also, I feel really good about when we left and how we left. And if I miss anything, it’s the people, because you become so close with the camera crew and your producer and stuff like that, and we still keep in touch.”
Jenelle Evans
Evans said on the Dumb Blonde podcast in 2020 that it had “been nice” not having MTV’s cameras following her. “I mean, I’ve been basically doing what I want, and for once making my own schedule and picking and choosing if I want to do something or if I don’t,” she said at the time, per People. “I’m not forced into anything or forced to talk about anything I don’t want to talk about.”
But Evans remained ambivalent about her Teen Mom experience. “I think it’s always back and forth because you can get opportunities from it, or you can get denied opportunities,” she explained. “It all depends on their opinion of you.”
Kailyn Lowry
On a 2024 episode of the Just Trish Podcast, Lowry that she left Teen Mom after becoming pregnant with her and now-fiancé Elijah Scott’s first child together, which was an unexpected development for the couple.
“And I think I was ready,” she added. “My podcast became super successful [and] I was making more money on the podcast than I was on Teen Mom, so I couldn’t justify the stress that I was going through for Teen Mom.”
Plus, Lowry said, she grew tired of the rehashing of old drama: “I felt like I would give them this laundry list of things that I wanted to film, but they only wanted to talk about the relationships that I had with their dads, my kids’ dads. That’s old and tired, right? I have other drama, I can give you drama, I’ll do whatever you want, but let’s talk about it.”
Alex Sekella
Sekella, seen here with now-husband Tim Peters in 2017, was one of the cast members of the short-lived Teen Mom 3, which MTV canceled after one season. Even so, she told
The Ashley in 2015 that she had a good experience on the show. “I definitely do not regret doing Teen Mom 3,” she said. “I met amazing people through the show, and it was a great experience.”
Katie Yeager
Yeager, meanwhile, told The Ashley she “wasn’t surprised” Teen Mom 3 got the axe. “I saw it coming. We just weren’t what the network was looking for,” the reality star, seen here in 2019, said at the time. “I feel like the audience has built more of a relationship with the past two seasons of girls, so it was much easier to keep going with more seasons of them than try to start something new.”
Heather Miinch
Miinch was one of the cast members of Teen Mom: Young Moms Club, a rebooted version of an earlier reality show called Pretty Little Mamas, which MTV canceled after only two episodes. (The reboot didn’t last much longer.)
“I filmed the show here in San Diego with a group of young moms,” Miinch said in a 2024 TikTok video. “Still talk to a few of the moms. A couple of the moms I don’t speak to anymore, but that’s OK.”
Miinch also said that she was part of the Pretty Little Mamas cast, too, but was excluded from the show. “Let’s ask MTV,” she said. “I did all the filming and all the work behind it but got left out.”
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