changed the landscape of reality television for its unabashed storytelling of teenage pregnancy, but it also helped re-define a network amid changes in the music industry. But not everyone who appeared on the show has proud moments. The series chronicled the struggles of teenagers weighed down with the realities of teenage parenthood. One participant who says they are completely removed from the experience is Nikkole Ledda (née Paulun).
The MTV star, now 30, took to Instagram recently with a video featuring throwback clips from her time on the show in a Reel she titled “Moments from 16 and Pregnant That Altered My Brain Chemistry,” set to Taylor Swift’s song “Cardigan.” In the episode, she found herself torn between her new life as a mom and coupled with her burgeoning life as a mom and partner to someone her circle didn’t approve of.
Videos by PopCulture.com
“Realizing how disappointed my mom was, having to choose between my friends and Josh, [being] so big I ripped a dress and Josh laughed at me, Josh promising he’d pick me up from the dance, him ditching me and having to try not to cry in front of the film crew,” she wrote, showing clips of each moment from the show.
She added: “My little brother playing Rock Band with me to cheer me up, this fight happening while I was in labor, getting an episiotomy and giving birth to an almost 9-lb. baby, having no idea how to care for the baby, being broken up with right in front of the film crew, being humiliated in front of a live audience.” She says she, “hardly recognizes that girl anymore. I look at her and hurt because I know all she wanted was to be loved.”
Her pregnancy was documented on the second episode of 16 and Pregnant season 2 alonsgide her then-boyfriend, Josh Drummonds. In the episode, Josh refused to co-parent, and they split.
She later welcomed a daughter Ellie Jade, with ex-boyfriend Ryan Rice in 2015. She married husband Kyle Ledda in 2020, and they welcomed son Bodhi in 2021. She has not appeared in any subsequent spinoffs.
