Why did Leah Calvert leave Teen Mom 2?

Leah Calvert dropped a bombshell Friday when she revealed that she will not be returning for Teen Mom 2 Season 6. The 22-year-old mother of three apologized to fans and to her cast mates, but did not reveal her specific reasons for leaving the popular show. As you might expect, this led to much speculation among fans and media outlets.

Radar Online has a source reporting that it was Leah’s custody battle with ex Corey Simms over twin daughters Ali and Aleeah that was the main reason for departing, with Leah being concerned that how she is portrayed on the show (including her problems with prescription pills featured in Season 5) might damage her case. “Leah’s final court date is coming up, and her behavior on the show made her look really bad to the judge,” the source said.

Sources for The Ashley’s Reality Roundup say that Leah was severely scarred after her cheating on ex Corey was featured on the show and she doesn’t want to go through that again with the latest cheating and drug problem rumors.

While lots of fans (and media outlets) want to know specific reasons, I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that there is no single, specific reason. I’m guessing The Ashley is right (as usual) and Radar Online is probably right in part as well, and that’s because the reason Leah is leaving is because she simply does not want to deal with, or perhaps even cannot handle, being on a reality show any more.

Teen Mom 2 detractors are obsessed with pointing out anything negative about the cast members that is not shown on MTV, but even they would have to admit that the show does show a LOT of the good AND the bad. Leah will be the first to admit (and she has) that she has made mistakes, and MTV has been unflinching in featuring most all of them. I really cannot imagine what it would be like to have millions tuned in to all of my bad decisions.

Of course, this is what you sign on for when you do a reality show, and Leah knows this. But, “signing up” for something means you can also sign off — and I know Leah and her family thought long and hard about this (not just for Season 6, but prior seasons as well) and decided the negative attention and impact on their lives just is not worth it any more.

Leah is going through a VERY difficult time in her life right now (and yes, most of it is because of decisions she has made and things she has done), and although I truly believe that continuing to share her journey will benefit hundreds of thousands, I also know that the inevitable tidal wave of negativity when it airs (and even before it airs, like right now) will be vicious, unrelenting and devastating. Leah has always seemed more sensitive to the criticisms than her Teen Mom 2 co-stars, and given all that is going on right now, I reluctantly have to say I think she made the right decision.

We’ve been writing about Leah for almost five years now, and we feel very connected to her, her family, and her Teen Mom 2 co-stars. It is sad news that she is leaving the show, but even sadder that her situation is such that it seems to clearly be the right decision. Although it will not be nearly as comprehensive as seeing her every week on MTV, I’m sure Leah will brave the tsunami of ill will and continue to update fans via social media on how she and her daughters are doing.

We wish her and her family (and Corey and Jeremy and everyone else involved) all the best. Watching Teen Mom 2 simply will not be the same without you.