Ebony, Josh and the two girls left the base in 2012 and currently reside with Josh's family in New Mexico. Jocelyn began pre-school in January 2013. Josh has left the Air Force and now travels from state to state working as an auto detailer. And, in a twist of irony, Ebony recently completed a program to become a certified dog trainer.
“Whenever things get really hard, me and Josh get closer together,” she beams. “A lot of couples would fall apart in the situations we have been through. We have been through quite a lot in our five years. We don't just give up. It is easier to leave than to stay together. We are a really good couple. With our friends, we are the “old couple” in the group. We are three years married now. I think we are just really compatible with each other. We have our kids to keep us sane. Two kids can make you fall apart too, but even if we fight, we don't go to bed mad.”
JAMIE McKAY CHOOSES ABORTION
Jamie McKay had just about gotten her life back together. The pretty North Carolina teen - who shared the journey of her pregnancy with daughter Miah during season three - had graduated high school, bought a car and finally moved into a place of her own. Then, just days before beginning her first semester of college, Jamie found herself pregnant. Again.
Just 18, she knew it would be next to impossible to support two children while juggling classwork and working a minimum wage job as a sandwich artist at Subway. It was lack of money, after all, that she blames - in part - for the unwanted pregnancy. “I kept forgetting my Depo shot and couldn't afford to pay $30 for it,” she says. “So I was going to get the Implanon [contraceptive implant]. I got pregnant right after I missed my Depo appointment.”
So, like many other girls in her position, Jamie decided to end the pregnancy. It's what happened next that sent shockwaves through the Teen Mom universe. Just days before the presidential election, Jamie posted a sonogram of her aborted fetus on Twitter with a message that read: "Rest in peace little angel. September 17, 2012."
“A lot of people think I shouldn't have made that public but I felt like I was keeping a secret,” she says. “And I didn't have anyone to talk to. I felt so alone in my situation and I was so depressed. But afterwards people came to me with their stories and all this love and support. I felt so much better. I don't care about the hate because I don't feel so alone anymore and I can relate to others.”
Jamie insists she posted the photograph “to honor” the child. “I didn't want to hide it anymore,” she tells us. “But a lot of people were disgusted and thought it was sick. Even though I don't, I didn't want to offend anyone. So I took it down. Abortion is a touchy subject.”
Jamie says she and her longtime boyfriend Ryan McElrath, 20, were “seriously thinking” about adoption, but ultimately opted against it. “Ryan goes out of town for months at a time. He was gone and I would find myself passed out while Miah was playing. She saw me sick and knew something was wrong. I had to drop two classes because I was always sick. Then my dad heard [I was pregnant] through the grapevine and wouldn't answer my phone calls. I knew my mom would tell me to abort it. She wanted me to abort Miah. I felt it was best for my daughter and school to terminate the pregnancy and focus on getting into a better place.”
Ryan - who Jamie calls “an amazing father” - drove his longtime girlfriend to a clinic not far from her home, where the couple had to navigate past a small gathering of protestors.
Inside the waiting room, “some girls were crying,” she remembers. “Some were just sitting there. I talked to a few of them. They all had reasons for why they couldn't handle another child. Some were on their second abortion.” During the procedure, Jamie says she broke down in tears. “I cried. I screamed 'No!' - but I knew it was too late because I had already taken the medicine,” she remembers. “Afterwards I left as fast as I could and cried a lot.”
In a series of social media postings months later, Jamie - who now uses the Implanon contraceptive implant -- admitted that she sometimes regrets the decision to end her pregnancy. “I feel like I made a mistake and I can't take it back,” she wrote. “I have had this in my heart and it has been very hard on me. I was afraid to be judged by my family, my mother, even my dad. So I did it before they could find out. I should have looked into my options more but I didn't."
Now, Jamie says, all she can do is try to move forward. “I want to graduate college,” she says. “I am going to be a radiation therapist. It has taken me longer that I have thought, but I am not giving up. I want to own my own home. I want to be in a career where I can come home and help Miah with homework and make dinner and just be there for her. I always said I want to be a soccer mom.”
NICOLE FOKOS: SAVED FROM LIFE OF ADDICTION
Nicole found her knight in shining armor just in the nick of time. The high school dropout featured during season two broke up with her boyfriend, Tyler Keller, not long after the birth of their daughter, Brooklyn, in January 2010. “I fell out of love with him,” she says. “I wasn't happy anymore. Things went downhill from there.” As the Florida teen tells it, her life quickly spun out of control. She began “partying every night” and abusing drugs and alcohol. “I made a lot of bad choices,” she admits. “I was always drunk or high...When you are on drugs, you don't care about anything and your mind is all messed up.”
Nicole says getting access to booze, pot and other substances was never a problem at gatherings in her Orlando-area neighborhood. “I never really paid for anything,” she says. “I would just go to parties where they had drugs. I am a girl, you know? But I never, ever slept with somebody for drugs. [When] you are a girl, you kind of have the upper hand. Go to a party where there are drugs and they will give it to you.”
In 2011, Nicole made the heartbreaking decision to place then one year-old Brooklyn in the day-to-day care of Tyler's grandmother, Nell. “There is no point in making Brooklyn suffer because I can't take care of her the way grandma does,” she says. The voluntary arrangement allowed her daughter to receive proper care while Nicole searched for a permanent place to live and a way to support herself.
That's when mutual friends introduced Nicole, 18, to Kenny, a 25 year-old contractor who would quickly turn her life around. “He doesn't even smoke cigarettes,” she reveals. “He told me, 'If you want to be my friend and hang out with me, you can't do that kind of stuff.' Now he is my boyfriend. I live with him and I have been clean for a year because of him.”
Kenny is Nicole's first “real relationship” since Tyler, who she is no longer in contact with. “I had a few boyfriends that would last a few months. But this is the first one that is serious -- where I would say 'I love you' and live with him and share money.” Kenny, she says, also helped convince her to walk away from a lucrative job serving cocktails at popular Orlando strip club.
Within a week of her employment at the Diamond Club, the shy teen mom was being recruited by her bosses to go topless for customers and provide exotic private dances. “I was like, 'No!' Every time they asked me,” she remembers. “They do that to all the girls though.” Most strip club dancers, she says, “are drug addicts and need to make their money to buy their drugs. Some of them have like three kids and they are young and they just need money to feed their kids.”
While quitting the job was a financial setback for Nicole, she decided to use the opportunity to work toward completing her G.E.D. In February 2013, Nicole obtained her high school G.E.D., as well as her C.P.R. and first aid certification. As of press time, she is currently working towards her Certified Nursing Assistant license. “It has been my dream for a while to be a nurse,” she says. “So I am going to go through with it. I plan to go to nursing school.”
Nicole also expects to regain custody of her daughter soon. “But in order for me to get her back, I wanna be back on my feet so I can be better able to take care of her,” she says. “Kenny really wants me to get her back. He just wants me to do the right thing. That is what makes me so happy about him.”
47 girls have been featured on 16 and Pregnant. We've
followed eight of them as they continued their journeys on Teen Mom and Teen Mom 2. (Teen Mom 3 - featuring Mackenzie, Alexandria, Briana and Katie - will premiere in 2013.) So what happened to everyone else?
Some have gotten arrested. Others have gotten married. And a few have tried to distance themselves from the shows altogether.
Here's what we've been able to dig up:
- SEASON ONE -
WHITNEY PURVIS
Rome, GA
(b. December 4, 1991)
Baby: Weston Owen Gosa Jr. (b. April 2, 2009)
Baby Daddy: Weston Gosa
Episode 105: July 9, 2009
At 18 months, Weston, Jr. was still receiving CAT scans and was unable to speak properly. Whitney completed her GED, got a job at a local pizza shop and enrolled in college, hoping to become a registered nurse. Meemaw (her grandmother) discovered she had breast cancer and began receiving chemotherapy. And though they once planned on getting married, Whitney and Weston -- who both suffered humiliating arrests in 2012 (see chapter 7) - decided to call it quits. “[He] was gone all the time,” Whitney told TMZ. “He wouldn't come home until 3 AM. I was home with the baby and he was nowhere to be found... He was just out with his friends all the time getting messed up. I don't want that around my kid.” They recently got back together and are now living together with their son. Whitney is currently working at a HoneyBaked ham store, while Weston is attending college.
- SEASON TWO -
NIKKOLE PAULUN
Monroe, MI
(b. September 29, 1993)
Baby: Lyle Thomas Drummonds (b. November 5, 2009)
Baby Daddy: Josh Drummonds
Episode 202: February 23, 2010
Nikkole enrolled at the University of Toledo to study nurs¬ing while Josh rode it out for five months in jail on larceny charges. After his release, they reconciled (again) and Nikkole and Lyle briefly moved in with Josh. In 2011, Josh was sentenced to 12 more months in the slammer for forging checks from his own mother's bank account. When he got out in April 2012, the couple reconciled and moved in together with their son. Things were going so well that by October, Nikkole and Josh got engaged. The engagement was short-lived, however. Nikkole admitted to cheating on Josh later that month, and they split once again. In February 2013, Jenelle Evans announced that Nikkole was pregnant with her second child. Nikkole later backed up Jenelle's claim by posting photos of her baby bump on her Twitter and Instagram accounts. According to Jenelle, the father of Nikkole's baby is allegedly the guy that she cheated on Josh with back in November 2012.
VALERIE FAIRMAN
Oxford, PA
Baby: Nevaeh Lynn Fairman (b. September 14, 2009)
Baby Daddy: Matt (Last name unknown)
Episode 203: March 2, 2010
Valerie and her baby-daddy split in early 2011 after an on-and-off again relationship. In April of that year, 17-year-old Valerie was arrested and held at a Pennsylvania youth detention center for several days after she assaulted her adoptive mother, Janice. She was briefly sent to live at a residential home. As of late 2012, her baby's father was believed to be at a Pennsylvania rehab facility, battling addiction.
LORI WICKELHAUS
Fort Thomas, KY
(b. January 15, 1992)
Baby: Aidan Benson (b. December 16, 2009)
Baby Daddy: Cory Haskett
Episode 204: March 9, 2010
Lori is studying nursing at Eastern West Virginia Tech and working as a Certified Nursing Assistant at a nursing home in West Virginia. Her son, Aidan, who she placed for adoption, lives near her parents' home in Kentucky. She and her family are able to maintain a close relationship with him. She's single and is no longer in contact with her baby's father. Cory is working at an auto parts store and expecting a baby with his new girlfriend in 2013.
SAMANTHA HERNANDEZ
Rosenberg, TX
(b. August 22, 1992)
Baby: Jordynn Amelia Marie Salinas (b. December 22, 2009)
Baby Daddy: Eric Salinas
Episode 206: March 23, 2010
As of November 2012, Samantha and Eric were still living together with their daughter. Samantha graduated high school and has been working at a telecommunications company. She also finally got her driver's license - at age 20. Baby Jordynn continues to receive treatment for joint problems (discovered in early 2011) and has undergone multiple surgeries.
LIZZIE WALLER-SICKLES
Smitherfield, VA
(b. March 9, 1992)
Baby: Summer Jayde Sickles (b. January 30, 2010)
Baby Daddy: Skylar Sickles
Episode 209: April 13, 2010
After marrying Skylar in a small beach ceremony in June 2010, Lizzie went to school to become a dental assistant - but she ended up working at a sky diving facility in Virginia. Lizzie now holds a Type A skydiving license, which means she no longer has to jump with an instructor. Skylar and Lizzie have separated and are no longer living together, although both remain in their daughter's life. Lizzie is currently dating someone new.
BROOKE SMITHERMAN-TARRANT
Mansfield, TX
(b. March 26, 1992)
Baby: Brody Ryan Tarrant (b. January 28, 2010)
Baby Daddy: Cody Tarrant
Episode 211: October 26, 2010
Brooke and Cody have been married for more than three years and continue to live in the Mansfield, Texas barn house featured on 16 and Pregnant. In December 2012, Brooke gave birth to her second child, daughter Ryley Jean. Brooke is employed at a daycare center and Cody works at a machine shop.
FELICIA COOKE
Lewisville, TX
(b. December 16, 1992)
Baby: Genesis Alexa Gutierrez (b. February 25, 2010)
Baby Daddy: Mauricio “Alex” Gutierrez
Episode 212: November 2, 2010
After becoming the first (and only) person from her family to graduate from high school, Felicia broke up with Alex. As of December 2012, she was in a new relationship. Alex had another child with the girl he began seeing after Felicia. They both still live in Texas.
EMILY MCKENZIE
Hayden, AL
(b. August 3, 1993)
Baby: Liam Allen Peterson (b. February 17, 2010)
Baby Daddy: Daniel Peterson
Episode 213: November 9, 2010
Emily and Daniel married shortly after filming their episode - but the relationship never stood a chance. “After having Liam, we just got to that comfortable stage, and being in love didn't seem to matter anymore,” she told RadarOnline in November 2010. “We got out of the honeymoon stage before even getting married. And it sucks.” During the “Where Are They Now?” special, Emily said that she and Daniel were pressured into marriage by their families, and that she was unhappy from the start. Soon after, Emily and Liam moved to Emily's mother's house and the couple separated. In October 2011, her father, Stacey, died suddenly from a heart attack, leaving Emily and her family stunned. In July 2012, Emily and Daniel made their divorce official.
MARKAI DURHAM
Riverview, FL
(b. December 2, 1991)
Baby: Za'Karia Sanari Worsham (b. October 12, 2009)
Baby Daddy: James Worsham
Episode 214: November 16, 2010
Markai was publically ridiculed when she chose to end her second pregnancy on the controversial “No Easy Decision” abortion special in 2010. Soon after, she and James ended their relationship, but they remain friends for the sake of their daughter. Markai now lives in Tampa and works at a cable company. She's currently in school and hopes to become a dental hygienist. According to posts on her Twitter account, she plans to get butt implants in 2013. In February 2012, Markai was arrested in Florida for driving on a suspended license and later released on a $250 bond. James, who is still sporting his trademark dreadlocks, graduated from trade school in 2010 and is very much involved in his daughter's life.
AUBREY WOLTERS
Prescott Valley, AZ
(b. Jul
y 1, 1992)
Baby: Austin Carter Akerill (b. February 6, 2010)
Baby Daddy: Brandon Akerill
Episode 215: November 23, 2010
Aubrey and Brandon moved to Washington to live with Brandon's father but divorced in February 2011, just before their first anniversary. Video footage from a “Where Are They Now?” special in 2011, showed an underage Aubrey drinking in a nightclub, dancing on a pool table, and talking about becoming a stripper. She told MTV that she was “taking a semester off” from school, but in reality, she had dropped out of college. A few days after the special aired, she took to her Facebook fan page to defend her actions: “I'm with my son all week minus a few hours on Thursdays and that's all I focus on,” she wrote. “I party on the weekends. Also I've never been drunk when my child is present or even home. I'm not putting him in jeopardy. I don't drink that regularly anyhow.” In July 2011, Aubrey revealed that she had a massive tumor in her throat that left her in constant pain and unable to eat or sleep. She lost a great deal of weight, causing fans of the show to speculate that she was abusing drugs. The tumor turned out to be non-cancerous but Aubrey didn't have it removed until late 2011 because she didn't have health insurance. Aubrey now resides in Washington with her son and is on good terms with Brandon, who lives nearby and works as a bouncer at a bar.
Teen Mom Confidential: Secrets & Scandals From MTV's Most Controversial Shows Page 16
