After the 16 and Pregnant Season 2 Premiere featuring the very outspoken and controversial Jenelle Evans, I expected MTV to follow up with a more mature girl less likely to draw fire from detractors of the show. Instead, they elected to go the opposite way with their youngest mom yet, 15-year-old Nikkole Paulun of Monroe, Michigan.
Unlike most of the girls featured on 16 and Pregnant, Nikkole seemed to have a great relationship with her mom, or at least she seemed to before she started dating bad boy baby daddy Joshua Drummonds.
This show has already introduced us to a number of deadbeat baby daddies, and I didn’t think it could get much worse than the unemployed alcoholic Andrew from Jenelle’s episode. But this Josh kid takes the cake! Even though I write for a snarky blog, I rarely use harsh derogatory comments when talking about people, but this kid is a complete a$$. (Gotta keep it clean!)
Andrew seemed lazy and inconsiderate, but it was comprehensible in my mind that an intervention and some sort of smackdown could turn him around. But Josh? I just don’t see it. Not only was he disrespectful to everyone, as he openly admitted on the show, but there is a meanness and viciousness about him – which is a character trait not many people are ever able to rise above.
Not only was Nikkole the youngest of all the 16 and Pregnant mothers physically, but she also acted like the youngest in terms of maturity, as evidenced by her letting Josh treat her horribly over and over and over again. Nikkole’s mother, Nikkole’s friends and even Josh’s mother were well aware of his destructive nature but Nikkole continued to want him in her life.
Through the entire episode Nikkole seemed very quiet and passive, and I think that’s a trait wolves like Josh can smell from a mile away. She seemed a little oblivious to danger and to consequences, summarized by her discussion with her mom about inducing labor:
Nikkole: (voice-over narration) Tomorrow is my due date. I’m really uncomfortable and can’t sleep, so my doctor said we can induce labor, but my mom is worried that inducing might make my labor more difficult.
Nikkole’s Mom: So when the doctor says you could be in labor for up to two days, how do you feel about that?
Nikkole: I’ll get over it. It’s not that bad.
Mom: No? How do you know?
Nikkole: I don’t know. I’ll get over it. (laughs)
Mom: Are you not nervous?
Nikkole: Yeah I’m nervous, I’m just not thinking about it.
Mom: OK, Let’s go. Get yours bags packed.
Almost all the 16 and Pregnant girls start off the same – as normal teenagers without much stress or responsibilities. At some point during the course of their pregnancies or shortly after, they all seem to have a moment when the gravity of what they are facing begins to really set in, and from that point on we begin to see them mature in fast forward. That never seemed to happen with Nikkole.
By the end of the episode she appears to offer mature advice by expressing her regrets about getting pregnant, but it doesn’t really seem all that sincere. That being said, I did notice a difference in her video interview with SuChin Pak. Not only did she seem more assertive, but what she had to say seemed to be coming from someone that had really wrestled with the reality of motherhood. Nikkole says she has left Josh behind and that she realizes she should never let him, or anyone else, treat her that way.
So I’m hopeful that Nikkole might be alright. Though she is a bit Paris Hiltony, she doesn’t seem to have a hateful bone in her body and I wish the best for Nikkole and Lyle. Maybe we’ll get to follow up with Teen Mom Season 2!
Be sure to check out all of our 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom coverage!
Asa Hawks is a writer and editor for Starcasm. You can contact Asa via Twitter, Facebook, or email at starcasmtips(at)yahoo.com
