The hugely successful second installment of MTV’s Teen Mom franchise wrapped up last week and the families gathered together in Los Angeles for the Teen Mom 2 Finale Special with Dr. Drew which aired last night. Leah, Jenelle, Kailyn and Chelsea let Dr. Drew and audience members catch up with what has been happening in their lives since the show stopped filming and talked with him about their futures.
We’ll start things off with the full episode:
Here’s breakdown of how each of the girls’ segments went with whichever family members were also in attendance:
LEAH MESSER SIMMS and COREY SIMMS
Leah and Corey came a long way this season, beginning the show broken up and wrapping things up in the season finale with an emotional wedding. But, the couple’s happily ever after wasn’t without some bumps in the road and even a lack of trust stemming form relationships both had during the time they weren’t together.
Leah talked about her lack of trust in Corey in the beginning and talked about how she wasn’t confident that he would stick around. Dr. Drew linked her abandonment issues to her father, who was apparently a pretty bad guy and an emotional soft spot for Leah, who began weeping when talking about how he was never there for her. She even admitted that she used to think all men were unreliable and unworthy of trust and that every guy she would ever be with would be mean to her.
Dr. Drew also asked about Leah’s obvious reluctance and ambivalence about the wedding, to which Leah once again said she had trust issues when it came to Corey. Not only was it the other girl(s) he had been with while they were separated but his lack of parenting skills that left her worried that he would not be able to take care of the twins by himself. She later admitted that Corey was a lot better and that her mistrust issues were once again linked to her relationship with her father.
Wanting to know more about her father Dr. Drew asked Leah about her mother’s lukewarm reaction to the news that she and Corey were getting married, and Leah said her mom was worried because she had witnessed how Corey had hurt Leah by being with other girls.
Corey was then brought out and he was quick to point out that he wasn’t the only one who had been with another person during the time they were split up, but his defensiveness soon dissipated when Dr. Drew began asking about his relationship with Leah now and why he got so emotional during the wedding ceremony. (If you missed it, Corey got really teary eyed in a wonderful moment as Leah made her way down the aisle.)
Corey said that he cried while watching Leah walk down the aisle because he was happy. That may sound like an easy answer, but when you realize how sincere Corey was when he said it, you realize what a potent thing that is!
The two also talked about their twin daughters, Alianna and Aleeah. They said that Ali’s MRI resultson her spine and brain had shown no indication of anything wrong so they still don’t know why she is developing so slowly and have more tests scheduled in the future.
All in all Leah and Corey seemed happy as ever, and thanks in large part to their families’ support (they mentioned that they have every Friday night to spend just with each other) they seem like they are going to be fine. It’s really an amazing story and think you can use it to swat away any and all criticisms of the show! (There was no talk about the level of celebrity that had been obtained by Corey’s camo West Virginia hat, but that could be attributed to the fact that the hat reached true stardom after the Reunion was filmed.)
CHELSEA HOUSKA and ADAM LIND
Chelsea surprised everyone (except for those with a Teen Mom obsession and an internet connection) when she announced that she and douchebag coverboy Adam Lind were back together! Actually, they were back together but apparently broke up and reunited about every day.
It was more of the same as Chelsea dodgedly defended Adam without actually being able to defend Adam, once again bringing up that she hated constantly being “caught in the middle” between Adam and her dad, Adam and her friends, Adam and… Meanwhile Adam did his usual angry posturing with nothing to back it up, although he did say he has a job now.
Essentially, at the time of the taping Adam was staying at Chelsea’s (still paid for by her dad) but refused to admit that he “lived” there. He said that all we see is the bad on the show and once again seemed to believe his own BS a he was pooping it out of his mouth.
Chelsea’s dad came out and offered up his take on how Chelsea and Adam were presenting their relationship by saying it was a “sugar-coated version of a train wreck. I see teenage kids can that go have fun together. I don’t see teenage kids that can raise a family together. There’s a difference.” (Anyone else here have a man-crush on Randy?!?)
The p!ssing match between Randy and Adam continued as Randy pointed out that Adam had even gone as far as to threaten suicide to Chelsea when they were broken up and saying it would be her fault, to which Adam responded, “Bullsh!t!” (After reading Adam’s text message to Chelsea last season in which he referred to his daughter as “that mistake” I tend to believe Randy’s side of things.)
Of course the Adam vs. Randy match wasn’t settled, although Adam was willing to admit that he thought they would be able to work out their differences at some point. Blah, blah, blah.
The real Chelsea moment occurred when Dr. Drew asked about the effects her volatile relationship with Adam were having on their daughter Aubree. Chelsea initially tried to say that she tried to keep the two things separate but she began to cry when forced to admit that it was a very negative environment for a child.
I really like Chelsea, but she seems to have a self-destructive blind spot when it comes to Adam. She lies to herself about how bad Adam is and lapses into denial with her “I hate being caught in the middle” routine whenever forced to deal with it. But she was unable to do that when talking about Aubree because clearly she isn’t getting “caught between” Adam and Aubree! The problem is Adam and her – and more specifically, Adam. (I haven’t even mentioned that he admitted he asked Chelsea, with funds from her dad, to buy him a truck early on in their relationship.)
Although you wouldn’t know it from the Finale special, Chelsea and Adam have since broken up again – and this time it appears to be permanent. (Although that could have been said at least two times before, and those were just the times that were caught on camera.) It should also be noted that Adam has since been arrested and spent a little time in jail, which must have helped Chelsea come to terms with reality a bit. Oh, and Chelsea and her former roommate (and starcasm favorite!) Megan Nelson are friends once again!
(Whew! this is turning into an epic article, which was not my intention! I’ll try to keep my summaries trimmed down.)
KAILYN LOWRY and JONATHAN RIVERA
Kailyn Lowry and Jonathan “Jo” Rivera continued their vitriolic bickerfest which seems to have a lot to do with the fact that they both were with other people at some point. Dr. Drew pointed out that the hateful things Jo said to Kailyn were not justified, but did seem to come from the fact that he cared a lot for her and felt betrayed.
Kailyn’s new boyfriend Jordan was the first to come out and I have to say they seemed REALLY good together. She told Dr. Drew that jordan comforted her when jo couldn’t and in a way Jo couldn’t. “Why should I force myself to be with someone that doesn’t make me happy?” she asked.
She said she has her own place now and Jordan is not living with her. She also mentioned that Jo doesn’t have her address so he can’t come knocking at her door in a fit of rage.
(It should be noted that Jordan, who appears to be 6-feet 6-inches of pure good guy, admitted that he is in love with Kailyn.)
Eventually Jo came out, and despite Dr. Drew’s efforts to get them to see eye-to-eye on something, the couple went right back to fighting and pointing fingers.
This was one instance when it seemed to me that Dr. Drew missed saying the obvious thing which is that Kailyn and Jo are both childishly obsessed with not accepting blame for anything that happened. They’re like two politicians at a debate that don’t have any suggestions for what should be done only that the other candidate is 100% wrong about what they’ve done and want to do.
In the fact that they both apparently were with others and both felt betrayed by that fact, they are extremely similar to Leah and Corey. But that’s where the similarities end. That being said, these two definitely need to stay apart. They need to admit their parts in the breakup, forgive the other and MOVE ON for the sake of Isaac.
A few other bullet point highlights from Kailyn’s segment:
Jo’s mom (Janet) said she set down the rule where Kailyn couldn’t date anyone else while living in their house because she was afraid Kailyn would get pregnant again.
Jo: “You were half naked in my bed when you told me about Jordan.”
Kailyn: “You cheated on me with a 25-year-old when I was pregnant.”
Oof.
JENELLE EVANS and BARBARA EVANS
Lord have mercy.
What can you say about Jenelle? She seemed to come in with a few things to say to make her actions understandable, but Dr. Drew made short order of those. Then Jenelle said what I think pretty much sums her up, but probably not in the way Jenelle intended. Dr. Drew asked about Jenelle’s tendency to lose control and she replied by saying, “I try, and try, and try so hard, and I get to the point where I say, ‘F**k it. Whatever.'”
Just remove “and try, and try so hard” and there you have it folks. Jenelle has zero patience for criticism, for unwanted responsibilities, for just about anything – and when faced with the tiniest amount of either she goes into full-on “F**k it. Whatever.” mode.
I think the rest of the Jenelle segment can be summed up with quotes. (It should be noted that some of these quotes may not be entirely accurate – I was tyoing as I was watching and my typing skills leave a little to be desired.)
Jenelle: Every time I’m with Kieffer I seem to blow everything off.
Jenelle (about Kieffer): His humor is what got me. He’s such a funny guy When you’re upset he can make you happy.
Jenelle (about Kieffer): I feel like he’s using me for my money, for my car, for everything.
Jenelle: I think I just look for the bad boys. I don’t look for anybody who is motivated to do anything.
Dr. Drew: Tell him to “f**k off” if you want, It’s OK.
Jenelle: Kieffer, you’re a douchebag.
Dr. Drew: What would you have done without Barbara?
Jenelle: I don’t know.
Dr. Drew: you would be homeless without Barbara.
Dr. Drew: Is she lovable?
Barbara (Jenelle’s mom): No. She needs to be a kinder person
Dr. Drew (to Jenelle): I think you’ve burned your mom out. You are lovable.
Jenelle: I’m about to be f**kin’ finished.
Dr. Drew: I hope, Jenelle, that you can keep Jace a priority in your life.
Jenelle has since reunited with Kieffer and sort of broken up again, saying on Facebook that they hang out but aren’t serious. Obviously the topic of the infamous “Teen Mom Brawl” didn’t come up because it happened after the show was taped.
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So what did you think about the reunion? I thought it was really fantastic, but then I’m a big fan of how Dr. Drew handles these shows. My only complaint is that it should have been longer (or perhaps even two parts) so we could have more Q&A between the girls and between the audience and the girls. It’s always fascinating to me to finally see all four of them interacting with each other. (And call me a wuss, but I liked all the time the babies spent with each other and the other moms in the Teen Mom reunion last season! More Teen Mom 2 baby interaction MTV!)
