Leah Messer has suffered more than her share of hardships during her time on Teen Mom 2.
Of course, all of her struggles took place under the glaring spotlight of reality television, which means that her biggest failures were likely compounded by intense feelings of embarrassment.
Leah seems to have felt that humiliation most acutely in the days when she was struggling with an addiction to prescription painkillers.
At what may have been her low point, Messer nodded off while holding a small child.
Leah has consistently refused to publicly acknowledge that she struggled with addiction, and the reason for that is likely the stigma that continues to surround substance dependency in America.
Sadly, Leah is far from alone in what is no doubt an ongoing struggle, and for a reminder of just how pervasive an issue addiction truly is, she doesn’t need to look beyond her own family.
As she’s stated in the past, Leah’s father is an addict, and she’s been open about her decision to cut ties with him as a result of his issues.
She’s reportedly gone years without any communication with her father, but he still reaches out to her from time to time.
His most recent attempt at a reconciliation apparently came yesterday.
Leah tweeted about the ordeal to her 1.4 million followers, revealing that she couldn’t bring herself to answer her father’s phone call.
“When your dad calls and you haven’t heard from him in quite some time,” she tweeted.
“Do you answer or let your voicemail do the talking?”
By way of explaining her refusal to pick up the phone, Leah continued:
“It’s the same thing every call. Maybe this time he really is going to choose life over death. All I can do is [pray].”
So we assume that the elder Messer only calls his daughter when he’s looking to borrow money.
If that’s the case, then Leah’s situation is even sadder than we thought, and her decision to cut ties with her fsther is imminently understandable.
But if his situation provided her with the inspiration to sober up for her kids, then at least there’s a silver lining to this incredibly dark cloud.
Watch Teen Mom 2 online for more of Leah’s many ups and downs.