In this past week’s episode of Teen mom Farrah Abraham invites her parents Debra Danielson and Michael Abraham along for a trip to Arizona where Farrah is thinking of moving to. The weekend visit was supposed to be about Farrah surveying the area and looking for potential apartments for her and Sophia, but it quickly turned into a mini-documentary of a dysfunctional family who can’t have a simple conversation without it turning into a full-blown, anger-filled argument.
Farrah talked about the dramatic (and utterly unproductive) trip in an after-show interview with SuChin Pak that we featured in our Wednesday post-show post. In the interview Farrah reminds us that her parents are actually divorced but still living together, and she believes this “separation without separation” was not only the main cause of the trio’s inability to get along, but also was a bad situation to put her daughter Sophia in.
Farrah’s Arizona trip has stirred up such a passionate debate among fans that we though we would isolate it and open it up for discussion all on its own. Here is just her interview with SuChin Pak followed by a transcript of their conversation. What do you think is the main cause of all the tension in this family? Is it the uncertainty of Debra and Michael’s relationship? Is it immaturity on Farrah’s part? Is it both? Is it neither? Sound off in the comments!
(Oh, by the way, I propose that we officially start referring to this episode as “Farrahzona.”)
SuChin Pak: You guys take a trip to Arizona that turns out to be disaster disaster so to speak, right?
Farrah: It was a disaster
What was really going on?
My parents wanted to rekindle their relationship instead of helping me, for Sophia and I to move on with our lives basically. And they were trying to act like everything is such a happy family, duh, duh, duh, and nothing is the same. So, you know, I’m trying to say, “Hey, let’s go look at houses, support me and Sophia in this way, just help me out,” and this, like, negativity – one thing after another. And it was just a mess. I don’t know, it was just something that didn’t even make sense to me. I just could not get it.
Do you think that they were so negative about all of the places that you were showing them because they were trying to discourage you from moving, or is it because they were genuinely concerned for your safety?
I think it was more discouraging me from moving there.
Yeah. Now you talk about the separation between your mother and your father, can you elaborate on that?
Um after… it was like the year when we were very much angry, still much tension in our house at home, they ended up getting a divorce. And, so they still live together, and they don’t, you know, it’s always a conversation – it’s always a topic, “Are we going to be together? Are we not going to be together?” Now I just like to be out of it, and I don’t want Sophia being wrapped in it. It’s like a divorce and I’ve – I don’t want to be a part of it, or my daughter.
Wait, so your parents are divorced, but they’re still living together?
Yes.
OK.
And we’re going on trips together, as you see. Yeah.
It’s an interesting thing you said, because you’re like, “Are they going to be together or are they not?” There’s this uncertainty.
But yet they want to be there so much for Sophia, and that’s what I have a hard time dealing with because I’m like, “Somebody’s going to move and not be there.” And that’s when I was like, “I’m just gonna start doing things for me and Sophia.” Because that’s when I kind of decided I need to break off and quit being, you know, sheltered and babied by my family because I don’t know what’s going on with them. They’re not letting their relationship go and move on, and so when we were in Arizona and I see them keep saying, “Oh we did this here, we did that here,” you know at that time in my life I was just like angry. I was really angry, like seeing people holding hands, kissing, like – I was a negative lady [laughs] at that point because I’m just kind of jealous I don’t have that, and, um, my parents were just making me crazy and I couldn’t handle it any more. So we were fighting a lot in Arizona, and like you saw, my mom walked out on dinner.
Mmmm hmmm.
And we’re sharing a hotel together, we’re sharing a car together. It’s like – it’s horrible.
How do you hope this situation with your parents resolves itself? How will you be able to move forward in that relationship with them?
I feel, because everybody wishes the best for me and is just like, “As long as you’re happy Farrah, that’s all that matters,” I feel like I know what will make my parents happy – moving forward in their own way. Whether it be meeting somebody else, or just being on their own, like whatever journey they have to take to be a happier person, that’s what I’m hoping they’ll do. And I don’t feel like they’re separating yet, and If they’re not going to get married again then just separate. It’s just really hard for me to watch it.
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In a recent interview with MomFinds.com Farrah talked about the fateful Arizona trip, this time with a bit more hindsight. (You have to remember the trip was almost a year ago and even the “after show” interviews were taped a long time ago.) Here are a few excerpts:
Why did you decide to invite your parents to visit Arizona with you?
I wanted to invite my parents because they met in Arizona and my dad lived there with my grandparents for years. I thought they would help me find a great place for Sophia and me.
Why did you get so frustrated with your parents while in Arizona?
I don’t know if anyone noticed, but my parents were taking me places that were not fit for me to live. Their comments were negative during the whole trip and it was very frustrating. I wanted this to be a positive trip, but instead I felt like my parents wanted to make it more about them.
Having seen the episode, do you have any regrets?
The only thing that would have made a difference is if I went to Arizona on my own. Other than that, I have no regrets. The fight with my parents in Arizona just confirmed to me that I can’t rely on them for helping me make choices for moving.
Do you wish you could take anything back?
I don’t take anything back. I’m open and real and true to my feelings. I have nothing to hide and my parents love me for that.
*** It should be noted that Farrah is reportedly on better terms with her parents now and they have come to visit her twice since she relocated to Florida to attend Culinary school.
