‘Teen Mom: Young and Pregnant’ Newcomer Rachel Beaver Hopes Her Story Can Spread Hope to Other Teenage Moms (Exclusive)

Teen Mom: Young and Pregnant has a new mom stepping up to share her story and inspire hope in other young girls who find themselves in a similar position. Rachel Beaver, a 17-year-old mother of 8-month-old daughter Hazelee, will make her debut on the MTV reality show during Tuesday’s season premiere, opening up ahead of the new season to PopCulture.com about what joining the Teen Mom family means to her.

“It was really exciting,” Beaver said of being asked to join Teen Mom: Young and Pregnant after Jade Cline moved to the Teen Mom 2 cast. “It was a really great opportunity, not just for myself, but for my daughter to share my story with other young moms and everyone.”

Starring alongside Brianna Jaramillo, Kayla Sessler, Ashley Jones and Kiaya Elliott, Beaver said she did get some encouragement from her Young and Pregnant co-stars after being brought on, including texts welcoming her to the family.

Although Hazelee’s father is not in the picture, Beaver has plenty of support from her older sister Malorie, also a young mother. Although the two are teased as butting heads over Malorie’s partying in the upcoming season, Beaver brushed off their fights as “a normal sister bond.”

“It’s really great, because before I had Hazelee, I was looking up to Malorie and seeing she had a kid too,” she told PopCulture. “It’s really nice to get advice from somebody who’s my older sister. … I love having somebody so close to me that can relate to me.”

Becoming pregnant at 16, Beaver has been through a lot as a teen and as a mom, but tells PopCulture it was all worth it to have her “best friend” Hazelee as a daughter.

“At first I was really nervous about being a mom, but once I finally became a mom, all the weight on my shoulders was completely lifted,” she recalled. “It was a lot harder than I thought, but I also never knew I could love someone this much.”

Watching her journey back on Young and Pregnant, Beaver has mixed emotions, but hopes that people can gain some insight into her life from everything that goes on.

“There’s a lot of things I regret, but there’s a lot of things I’m looking forward to seeing,” she teased. “I’m very excited, because I think people seeing my story will show people that no matter what situation you’re in, you can get through it. You’re not alone.”

Teen Mom: Young and Pregnant returns with a double season premiere on Tuesday, Oct. 22 at 9 p.m. ET on MTV.

Photo credit: MTV