WHEN it comes to chaotic reality shows, few come close to MTV’s Teen Mom.
For nine seasons fans were gripped by its controversies on and off the screen, from toxic relationships to drug allegations and physical altercations.
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Last week shocking news emerged that Teen Mom 2 star Taylor Lewis had been found dead at 29 in a suspected homicide.
Taylor, who leaves behind daughter Jordan, was best friends with Jenelle Evans on the show, before they fell out.
She was reportedly found by a housekeeper in an Eden hotel room on January 5, and the cause of death is currently unknown.
According to her sister, Haylee, police are reviewing footage of two men in the room with Taylor before she died.
As tributes pour in for tragic Taylor, we take a look back at the controversy and scandal that has dogged Teen Mom stars throughout its history.
Abusive boyfriend
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Teen Mom UK star Mia Boardman, 26, told The Sun she was afraid she’d never see her daughter Marliya again after her abusive boyfriend attacked her in a frenzy in June 2020.
Vile Christopher Brooks squeezed her neck so hard that his finger imprints were left on the mum-of-one’s neck after she refused to have sex with him.
She revealed the horrifying ordeal followed 10 months of manipulation and abuse at the hands of her ex, who she met on a dating app in 2019.
Mia said Brooks tried to control her from the start of their relationship and even forced her to get a tattoo of his initials.
He was sentenced to a year in prison, but Mia – who opened up about the ordeal in a documentary – admitted she’s struggled to move on.
Dog killer
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Jenelle Evans, 31, is one of the show’s more controversial figures – provoking outrage last year when she went on holiday without her kids again.
But fans were incandescent with rage in April 2019 when her husband at the time, David Eason, 34, shot her French bulldog Nugget.
The pair claimed the reason he killed the pooch in front of their children was that it had attacked their two-year-old daughter Ensley.
Afterwards the couple lost custody of their kids for a month.
In an interview with People, David said he was remorseful for his actions, but insisted the dog would have been euthanised anyway.
As a result of the public backlash, Jenelle was sacked from the show. Her husband’s contract had been withdrawn a year earlier due to homophobic comments he posted online.
Gun threat
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Jenelle exhibited some pretty alarming behaviour on the show, from physical altercations to screaming matches.
But one of the most shocking incidents came in 2018 when she was driving with her son Jace, then eight, in the car.
She became livid after a truck driver cut her up and decided to follow him all the way to his house.
When she got there, she brandished a handgun at him and even left the weapon unattended with Jace.
But the real backlash came when she accused Jace of lying after he told his grandmother Barbara Evans what happened.
Fans slammed Jenelle for lying and gaslighting her son and also criticised her for putting his life in danger with the gun.
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Jenelle addressed the incident several months later, telling Dr Drew: “Ever since then I’ve been having PTSD, I’ve been having nightmares.”
Drunk driving
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The finale of Teen Mom season six in 2017 featured horrifying scenes of Ryan Edwards, 35, driving under the influence and falling asleep behind the wheel.
He was with his now-wife Mackenzie Standifer, 26, on their way to their wedding.
When Mackenzie saw what was happening she turned off the camera and got Ryan to pull over.
Due to the amount of backlash they received for their reckless actions, Ryan, who had been battling drug addiction, entered rehab.
Prison stint
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Although reality shows are littered with toxic relationships, Amber Portwood, 32, and her ex Gary Shirley’s rank as one of the worst.
The pair often had blazing rows in front of their daughter Leah, which infuriated fans of the show.
In 2010, however, Amber went too far when she was filmed physically assaulting Gary, 36.
The disturbing clip saw her hit, kick and even choke her partner at the time, prompting hundreds of viewers to raise the alarm with Child Protective Services.
Amber was eventually arrested for domestic battery and drug possession the following year in 2011, and was given probation on the grounds that she would enter rehab and stay sober.
She ended up being sentenced to five years in prison in 2012 after failing a number of drug tests.
In 2019 she was once again arrested for domestic battery – this time against ex-boyfriend Andrew Glennon, 38.
Infidelity shame
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During the second season of Teen Mom, fans were in awe of Leah Messer, 30, and Corey Simms’ relationship, with some claiming they were made for each other.
They married in October 2010, but dramatically announced their divorce months later in June 2011.
Viewers later learned Leah had cheated on Corey, 33, with her ex just two weeks before their wedding.
The couple, who share twins Aliannah and Aleeah, now 12, have now moved on – Corey is married to wife Miranda, who he shares a daughter with.
Leah married Jeremy Calvert but they divorced three years later.
And in October last year, it was announced she and fiance Jaylan Mobley had called off their engagement after two months.
Fired over sex tapes
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After viewers initially empathised with Farrah Abraham on 16 And Pregnant, and she was cast in its spin-off series, the first season of Teen Mom, in 2009.
A month before her daughter Sophia was born, her dad Derek Underwood died in a car accident in 2008.
But her increasingly erratic behaviour began to raise eyebrows, and she was dubbed difficult to work with by her castmates.
Farrah was eventually sacked by MTV after she starred in a sex tape in 2013 and refused to ditch the adult entertainment industry.
She’s also appeared in a number of adult webcam shows.
Later. when asked about why she chose to do porn, Farrah, who is now totally unrecognisable, told Perez Hilton it was to empower women and fight against sex shaming.
In 2021, Farrah accused MTV of discrimination after Teen Mom star Briana DeJesus was found to be on OnlyFans.
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