Teen Mom: Young & Pregnant‘s new mom is making her debut on the MTV show. Ahead of Kayla Jones’ first appearance on Tuesday’s all-new episode, PopCulture has an exclusive sneak peek into her life with best friend Makel and their 2-year-old daughter Mecca. Kayla and Makel first met when they were in high school and have been through a lot together, from Makel transitioning to learning how to co-parent after their devastating breakup.ย
“When I met Makel, Makel was still female, and then in then in the midst of us dating, Makel transitioned to a male,” Kayla explains. Makel shares that growing up, he never liked what he saw looking in the mirror. “I didn’t just wake up and want to transition or anything, I have always felt in my life like I have been trapped,” he said.
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After two years of spending every day together, Makel and Kayla turned 18 and decided to get engaged. Even though they were young, the pair knew they wanted to have a baby, so they went to a sperm bank and Kayla gave birth just nine months later. “But having a baby so young was harder than we expected, and Makel soon decided he wanted to start dating other people,” Kayla reveals.ย
While she was “crushed” at the breakup, both she and Makel wanted to work on their relationship for Mecca, living together on and off for almost two years before Makel just recently moved back to Philadelphia. “I do love Makel very strongly – very, very strongly,” Kayla says, telling the camera she simply wants to raise their family together and be happy.
Makel is still struggling with the wounds he has from growing up in an unsupportive household, however. He shares that not only was his mother not supportive of him coming out as gay, his transition was also difficult with only Kayla standing beside him. “I felt really alone my whole life, and I don’t want a child to go through that, let alone my own kid,” he tells Kayla. “I wasn’t raised with [nuturing] parents.” Will Kayla and Makel be able to work things out for their family?ย Teen Mom: Young & Pregnant airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on MTV.
