MTV has confirmed they will be expanding their popular Teen Mom franchise with Teen Mom New Jersey! The big news came as part of a rapid-fire video montage of upcoming MTV shows, which was followed by an announcement on the official Teen Mom and Teen Mom NJ Facebook pages.
Here’s the video and announcement:
“The Teen Mom family is getting bigger! ? Get ready for the premiere of Teen Mom NJ this fall on MTV!
We first reported on a potential new Garden State themed Teen Mom back in July after photos and eyewitness accounts of MTV filming young pregnant girls in and around Millville surfaced online. It wasn’t clear early on whether or not the new show would be a new version of Teen Mom, a new season of 16 and Pregnant, or an entirely new show altogether. MTV had issued casting calls for all three, which only made it that much harder to figure out.
One of the sources of those early reports is now a full-fledged website called IMGossipGranny, and they have announced the teen moms they believe will be featured on the show. Their cast list includes Kaycie Flores and Devin McFaull of Millville; Sunshine (Wallace) Jones and Kaitlyn Marcacci of Bridgeton; and Angelica Garcia of Port Norris. (We received tips early on that included most of the names listed.)
I will start with the mom that we feel completely confident is indeed a member of the Teen Mom 4 cast, and that is Sunshine Jones. In addition to her face clearly matching up with the photo from the trailer video, the tattoos on her arms are also the same. Oh, and she posted about the show on Instagram. 😉
Sunshine Wallace turned 19 in December, the same month that she became engaged to Doug Jones after the two were together for less than a year. Sunshine gave birth to their son Deklan Austin Jones on July 24. He was born at 12:17 PM, measured 21 inches long, and weighed 8 lbs, 4oz.
Here are Deklan and mom Sunshine together:
Sunshine and Doug’s relationship timeline might seem a bit rushed, which fans of all three Teen Mom shows know is not usually a good recipe for long-lasting happiness, but the two seem to be doing very well. They actually got married just last week! And I have to say, these two make for some damn nice wedding photos.
A couple of interesting tidbits about Sunshine is that she appears to often go by the name Sunny, and she was not always blonde. Here’s a photo of Sunny with darker locks, which you will be able to tell was taken relatively recently:
The second name that we feel very confident about is Kaycie Flores. We think that is her in the salon scene shown for about a tenth of a second in the video. Here’s a screen cap:
Even if that isn’t her, she was definitely spotted filming for MTV with her daughter’s father, Francis Jimenez!
Here is a photo of Kaycie and Francis for comparison — you will notice that Francis has the same distinctively long hair in braids, and is otherwise absolutely the guy in the video:
Kaycie was a junior in high school in 2015, so I am guessing she is roughly 18. She and Francis became Facebook Official back in August of last year, and Kaycie gave birth to their daughter Azalea Rose on May 18. Kaycie and Francis appear to still be together, and I am pretty sure that is an engagement ring on her finger in this family photo from July:
Next on the list is Devin McFaull. Though perhaps a step lower than the two moms above as far as confidence level, we’re still pretty sure Devin will be featured on Teen Mom NJ. She interacts on social media with the other ladies, and she CERTAINLY looks like the mom on the right in the main photo from the promo video! Here are side-by-side photos in which you can also see they have the same glasses:
That’s Devin’s significant other Rugga (pronounced Roo-guh) Dump and their daughter Karina Jade Lopez, who was born on June 2. I can’t really get much of a read on the couple’s relationship based on public social media posts, although there certainly doesn’t appear to be any animosity between the two.
One amazing thing I did find out, though, is Rugga is lucky to be alive after being shot in the neck last August! I don’t know any other details.
I see Angelica Garcia interacting with the other moms in a few places on social media. Here they are on Facebook commenting on a photo of Sunshine’s son Deklan:
Angelica is also grouped with the others as far as following the new Teen Mom NJ social media accounts that have sprung up over the last week. All of that being said, I don’t really have anything definitive enough to feel confident about saying she will be on the show. She gave birth back in November and lists her current location as Philadelphia. If she is on the show, then I’m guessing she won’t have as close of a bond as some of the other moms who still live near Millville and who gave birth within a few months of each other. (Millville is about 45 minutes from Philadelphia.)
Kaitlyn Marcacci is a name that has been rumored since the very beginning, but I can’t find ANYTHING recently to back that up. That doesn’t mean she won’t be on the show, however.
As we mentioned previously, having all of the moms living close together really changes up the Teen Mom format dramatically. I would assume that MTV really likes the drama when the Teen Mom OG and Teen Mom 2 moms get together for Reunions and after show tapings, and they want to recreate that throughout the season. Going with a state theme already gives the show a Real Housewives vibe, and I’m guessing the format will reflect that as well — except instead of women in their 30s, 40s, and 50s that appear to be successful, this will be teenage mothers who are more than likely struggling to get by.
I am super excited to see the new show, but I really believe a HUGE part of the Teen Mom franchise’s success is having four (now five for Teen Mom 2) independent story lines. Being able to go from Jenelle to Chelsea to Leah, or from Amber to Maci to Farrah provides a lot of variety and creates a great contrast. To be honest, I’m not all that big a fan of the moments that the moms get together and there’s a bunch of drama over something someone tweeted or whatever. (Of course, the Farrah/Amber brawl is an exception!)
MTV has not released a premiere date for Teen Mom NJ, but their announcement does say that it is coming this fall. I am guessing we will see the first Teen Mom NJ episodes airing the same nights as the Teen Mom 2 Reunion episodes at the end of the current season. Stay tuned, because we should be getting a full Teen Mom NJ preview trailer and premiere date soon!
