‘Teen Mom’: 30 of the Weirdest Facts About the MTV Series

You may think you know all about Teen Mom franchise stars like Farrah Abraham, Jenelle Evans, Maci Bookout, Kailyn Lowry and Amber Portwood, but we’ve dug up some factoids about the show, the cast and its production that are going to blow your mind. A spin-off of 16 and Pregnant, MTV’s Teen Mom has been around for more than a decade now, so trust us: There’s a lot of material. And we don’t mean the times Catelynn Lowell’s daughter got adopted, Amber Portwood went to jail and Leah Messer left for rehab. We’re talking about the stuff you didn’t see on camera.

We bet, for instance, you’ll never guess which cast member banned the Teen Mom production crew from using the bathroom in her house, or who really wants a cameo on Orange Is the New Black. You love the show because it’s relatable, but you probably didn’t realize that like some of its viewers, cast members deal with mental and physical health issues and they’ve become advocates for getting help. Being a reality star in the Teen Mom world really pays — and we think you’ll be shocked by how much the cast actually makes. However, being a reality star isn’t always glitz and glamour. Some cast members are wracking up debt.

Sure, you’ve seen the producers step into the frame, but did you know that one of them is the godparent to one of the mom’s babies? Or that one crew member met his future wife in the delivery room while a Teen Mom star was giving birth? Whether you’re obsessed with Kailyn Lowry’s ever-growing family, with Chelsea Houska and Cole DeBoer’s marriage, or Mackenzie Standifer Edwards’ love of fast food, we think you’re going to find something new here to fuel your Teen Mom mind. So, read on!

Sometimes the show’s a crying shame

An unidentified camera operator once quit the show during Season 3 after witnessing Teen Mom 2 star Leah Messer’s dubious housekeeping. Messer’s house allegedly had a “nasty carpet” strewn with cheese puffs; Lesser’s twin girls allegedly would crawl around on it, sucking up strays. The departure was revealed during a Reddit “Ask Me Anything” session.

Crew members are helpless …

If the cast of Teen Mom makes controversial parenting choices, such as drinking around their babies or spanking the young ones, the crew is not supposed to intervene, per a Teen Mom producer on a now archived Reddit thread. 

… But not always

However, according to the same Reddit thread, if a Teen Mom situation seems like child endangerment to crew members, then those workers are allowed to call child-welfare authorities on the parents. It’s not known if this has ever happened. 

Kailyn almost quit

Teen Mom 2 star Kailyn Lowry almost left the show after its first season because she felt she was portrayed as disloyal to boyfriend Jo Rivera. Luckily for viewers, she stayed and became one of the series’ most-loved stars.

These two have been together for more than half their lives

Teen Mom OG stars Catelynn Lowell and Tyler Baltierra began dating in 2005 — when they were both in the seventh grade. 

Farrah made a sex tape

Farrah Abraham was the star of the 2013 adult video, Farrah Superstar: Backdoor Teen Mom.

Even ‘Teen Mom’ stars have house rules

When the show began in 2009, under-age Teen Mom OG stars Catelynn Lowell and Tyler Baltierra had filming curfews imposed on them by their respective parents.

‘Teen Mom’ almost aged out of MTV

Teen Mom went on a break after 2012’s Season 4. MTV had planned to end the reality series once its original stars turned 20 — i.e., when the teen moms were no longer teens. But in 2015, the show was brought back as Teen Mom OG, as was the original gang.   

Amber was scouted for ’16 and Pregnant’ when her brother was starring on MTV

Amber Portwood’s brother, Shawn Portwood, was appearing in another MTV reality show, Underage and Engaged, when producers discovered that his sister Amber was a teen mom. She was cast on 16 and Pregnant and after that, Teen Mom. 

The stars make serious ka-ching… if they’re Bristol Palin

When Bristol Palin joined the cast of Teen Mom OG in 2018, a source told Us Weekly that Palin would be making $250,000 for the season, and up to $350,000 in all if she lasted three seasons. “None of the Teen Moms, even Farrah, made close to that when they first started or even now,” the insider said. However, Palin left the series after one season.

An adoption counselor helped cast the show

Catelynn Lowell made it onto the show after her adoption counselor received an email about a casting call for teen mothers. The counselor asked Lowell if she was interested in reaching out to producers — and the rest is history.

Jenelle’s husband killed the family dog

In 2019, David Eason, the husband of Teen Mom 2 star Jenelle Evans, fatally shot their French bulldog, Nugget, after it bit the couple’s 2-year-old daughter in the face. The incident prompted a welfare check, and Eason and Evans eventually losing custody of the three children in their blended family. 

Amber says she was always high on ‘Teen Mom’

“I was completely lost back then,” Portwood told Dr. Phil in 2014 when she was a guest on his show. “I had this money. I had these pills. I had this crazy life. I was fighting with Gary all the time. That was my way of getting my emotions out,” she said. “Every time you see me on that show, I was high, except for when I was on 16 and Pregnant.”

Farrah has a sad secret

In her book My Teenage Dream Ended, Farrah Abraham revealed that because she didn’t want cameras following her to baby daddy Derek Underwood’s funeral, she lied and said she wasn’t going. However, she did attend.

‘Teen Mom’ cars are under surveillance, sorta

It would be pretty hard to fit a whole camera crew in a cast member’s car. Instead, the show’s production team equips the stars’ cars with GoPro cameras — the better to capture all their antics behind the wheel.

Amber parties with the paps

This Teen Mom OG star is so used to being trailed by photographers, she’s made friends with them. “I used to get really freaked out when the paparazzi would sit out in front of my house — they’d be there for, like, four days straight,” she told Cosmopolitan. “But I just ended up started partying with them. I did! I partied with every single one of them.”

MTV wants the moms to thrive

When stars of the Teen Mom franchise have battled addiction, such as Teen Mom 2 star Jenelle Evans, the production team has stepped up with assistance, including sending them to rehab.

Kailyn’s a regular J. K. Rowling

Kailyn Lowry penned the best-selling children’s book Love is Bubblegum. The Teen Mom 2 reality star has also written books for adults, including Pride Over Pityand A Letter of Love.

Amber wants to go to TV jail

Amber Portwood once revealed to Cosmopolitanthat she thinks she would “kill it” in a walk-on role on the Netflix series Orange Is the New Black. She has experience: She served more than a year behind bars for a drug-related probation violation. 

Maci has a health challenge

Maci Bookout has been open about her struggle with polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS. The Teen Mom OG reality star even spoke at PCOS Advocacy Day. The disorder can cause many health problems, including infertility. 

The moms make more than the dads

When Teen Mom 2‘s Adam Lind tried to drag his ex, Chelsea Houska, in an Instagram rant in 2016, all he did was allege that MTV pays its dads less than its moms. “Last year was 250k for lil princess,” Lind wrote. “Chelsea’s contract will be up to 300k plus for new seasons.” Lind said that his salary was close, but not the same — and not worth it. “I just want away from this fake ass s— and drama,” he wrote.

But the good life doesn’t last forever for SOME ‘Teen Mom’ stars…

In a 2018 episode of Teen Mom 2, Chelsea Houska said that Adam Lind was not doing well financially post-Teen Mom.  “He has no bank account because that got closed,” she can be seen telling a friend. “He has no vehicle; people are driving him around. He has his house, which he paid for in full.”

A ‘Teen Mom’ birth led to love

Morgan J. Freeman, an executive producer on the show, met his now-wife in the delivery room where Maci Bookout was giving birth to her son, Bentley. Freeman’s future wife was the media liaison for the hospital chain where Bookout’s son was born.

Cast + crew + godparents = OK!

In 2015, Caitlynn Lowell asked Teen Mom producer Kiki Malone to be the godmother of Novalee, Lowell’s daughter with Tyler Baltierra.

MTV’s cameras don’t always make the guest list

When Teen Mom 2 star Chelsea Houska wed Cole DeBoer in 2017, the ceremony was off-limits to the show. Houska wanted to keep the event private and separate from the chaos of the reality series.

Most of the stars don’t have other jobs

Even if all the cast members don’t get Bristol Palin money, they get by, with most finding that it’s plenty of work to be a mom AND a reality TV star.

But sometimes they moonlight

Teen Mom OG stars Maci Bookout and Taylor McKinney jointly run a clothing line called Things That Matter. They sell shirts, shorts, sweats, and baby clothes. The couple even model for the site! 

Kailyn once challenged Farrah to a boxing match

In 2018, Farrah Abraham backed out of “Boom Cups Celebrity Boxing Showdown.” Kailyn Lowry took her place in the charity boxing match but requested that Abraham return as her competitor. Abraham did not comply. 

Amber once beat up a girl inside an IHOP

Pancakes with a side of knuckle sandwich? The Teen Mom OG star told Us Weekly that not only did she once beat up a girl inside an International House of Pancakes, she has also been kicked out of a Walmart for being too drunk and disorderly.  

‘Teen Mom’ is influential

During a 2018 Instagram story, Jenelle Evans told fans that Farrah Abraham’s episode of 16 and Pregnant gave her the courage to go to an MTV casting call for the series.