After years of turmoil marked by addiction, multiple divorces, and countless accusations of shoddy parenting, Leah Messer appears to have found a modicum of happiness and stability in her life.
And in admirable fashion, she frequently expresses gratitude for her good fortune.
These days, the MTV fan favorite is making it clear that her primary career goal is not lining her pockets, but setting a positive example for her millions of impressionable fans.
In the early days of the Teen Mom franchise, both stars and producers stated that their objective was not merely to entertain but to shed light on the difficulties faced by young first-time parents.
Obviously, in the years since, that intention has been overshadowed by the casts’ celebrity status and high-profile feuds.
But as a mother of three daughters it seems Leah is still focused on spreading the word about the perils of teenage pregnancy.
In recent weeks, Leah has been engaged in an ongoing open conversation with her social media followers about the importance of sex education and equal access to birth control.
“So proud of you!!! You are such a strong woman! From one teen mom to another I look up to you a lot. Thank you for being you,” one tweeted to Leah this week.
“You’re welcome! It’s not easy but I hope all of us girls can continue to prevent teen pregnancy by sharing our story/struggles! That’s the goal,” Leah replied.
Yes, Leah has eagerly reminded viewers of the show’s original mission statement several times in the past few weeks.
It seems that like many critics of the show, she now feels that Teen Mom 2 has had the opposite of its intended effect.
While teen pregnancies have been on the decline in recent years, there are certainly young viewers of the show for whom the prospect of getting pregnant at a young age has only become more attractive by MTV’s most popular shows.
Leah seems to be aware of this, and she also seems genuine in her hopes to dispel the notion that a teen pregnancy is something to aspire to.
For the most part, Ms. Messer has been lauded for her efforts.
Of course, her comments have attracted their fair share of criticism as well.
Some have derided Leah as a hypocrite and expressed their belief that a woman who welcomed three children before her mid-twenties and benefited enormously by doing so, she’s not the best representative of the dangers of teen pregnancy.
But Leah has repeatedly made it clear that good fortunate of the kind that she’s experienced is increasingly uncommon.
Hopefully, the same young fans who look at Leah’s life these days and see an aspirational figure will also bear in mind that Ms. Messer went through hell to get to where she is today.
Watch Teen Mom 2 online to relive all of Leah’s struggles.
