’16 and Pregnant’ Star Arrested in Georgia: Details on Whitney Purvis’ Case

16 & Pregnant alum Whitney Purvis was recently arrested and booked in a Georgia jail after she reportedly failed repeatedly to pay child support to her child’s father, Weston Gosa. The Ashley Roundup reports Purvis, who appeared in Season 1 of the MTV reality series, racked up a $20k bill. She shares two sons with Weston: Weston Jr. – whose birth was chronicled on the docuseries – and River. Both boys currently live with Weston and his wife. The issue was first brought to court in May 2023, stating that Purvis “willfully failed and refused to comply” with a 2018 court order for child support. 

The episode she appeared in aired in 2009 on the network. Purvis appeared in the first season with OG’s Maci Bookout, Amber Portwood, and Catelynn Lowell. The later three have appeared in subsequent spinoff series, while Purvis has remained out of the reality sphere.

Purvis is said to have been granted weekend visitation with her sons since 2018, while her ex has legal and physical custody. Whitney was given visitation every weekend. During her weekend visits, her grandparents must supervise via a court order. She was also allowed to see the boys on holidays, as long as she and her ex came to a mutual agreement.

In October 2023, her child support debut of $18k was initially submitted to the court. She came to an agreement to pay it back, but failed to do so. This is the third time she’s been found in contempt of court since the order was put in place. Each time previously, she avoided jail time.

She’s been ordered to pay back what she owes once more, and spent 48 hours in a county jail. Purvis is also the mother of a third son she had last year.

Her relationship with her ex has been turbulent. She’s had several run-ins with the law regarding their communication, including being arrested for making terroristic threats to her ex. He was granted a temporary restraining order against her in 2020.