Lately, even the franchise’s most diehard fans have found themselves wondering just how fake Teen Mom really is.
That speculation haunts every long-running reality show, but in the case of MTV’s most popular series, it’s spurred by some pretty reliable sources–the stars themselves.
Leah Messer was the first to call out the show’s editors for rearranging events and using out-of-context clips to create a false nartative.
Since then, most of the franchise’s other stars have followed suit, airing their grievances on social media following episodes in which they feel they were wrongly portrayed in a negative light.
Leah’s first husband, Jeremy Calvert, even threatened to host a weekly online series in which he would point out the inaccuracies and falsehoods in the latest episode of Teen Mom 2.
Of course, it’s not surprising that folks like Leah, Jenell Evans, and Farrah Abraham would be quick to attack the show’s editing staff, as they’re almost always depicted as unfit moms and unrepentant narcissists.
It’s when beloved fan favorites like Chelsea Houska cry foul that we really sit up and take notice.
If you watched this week’s episode of Teen Mom 2, you know that Chelsea’s storyline centered around her desire for more babies, despite the fact that she spent much of the episode clashing with daughter Aubree.
In a lengthy social media tirade, Chelsea argued that the portrayal was intentionally misleading and deeply unfair, writing:
“I’ve tried my hardest to not say my feelings on this season. But after watching tonight’s episode and the numerous times they’ve turned sweet great moments into s**t, I can’t not say anything.
“They took out every time she was being a turd (aka a regular 7-year-old) and me correcting her. And turned it into A. Her acting out because of the baby or B. Me ignoring her because of the baby.
“Tonight’s episode they needed some storyline so we agreed to talk about having baby fever so soon.The scene I’m talking about they clipped and cut so damn much.“
She adds that the party shown on last night’s episode actually resulted in fond memories for all (including Aubree) and she was outraged to see MTV transform it into some dysfunctional family moment:
“And what was actually a great ass time, they cut down to show me snap at Aubs. But did not show the 8000000 times she was not listening beforehand. They of course wanted to make it look like I wanted another baby, but was still overwhelmed and having issues with Aubree,” Chelsea wrote.
She added that Aubree likes to “show off and test limits” when the camera crew is around, a secenario that most parents with children that age can no doubt relate to.
“I’m so sick of filming great things and cute things and them trying to dig so deep and create something out of nothing by adding dramatic music,” she added.
“Cole and I made it an absolute #1 priority to always make Aubree feel like she was still everything. And we filmed so much to even show that. All they show it frustration and me telling Aubree to not do sh-t.”
Chelsea concluded with a criticism so scathing it left many wondering if her time on the show might be drawing to a close.
“I knew they were trying to make it into something more than it was,” Houska tweeted when the episode aired. “I felt like they were trying to make it into something that would make my daughter look bad. And I’m absolutely not ok with that.”
Any reality star could tell you that real-life events are often manipulated to make for more compelling drama.
But everyone has to draw the line somewhere, and it seems that Chelsea, seeing her fond family memories transformed into the stuff of lurid drama might simply be too much.
Watch Teen Mom 2 online to try and guess what really happened … and what was authored by the folks at MTV.
