Teen Mom Confidential: Secrets & Scandals From MTV's Most Controversial Shows

by Majeski, Ashley

  On December 29, 2010 Jenelle and her mother, Barbara, had Andrew picked up by the Randolph County (North Carolina) Sheriff's Department and placed into custody for 17 days for failing to pay $2,079.67 in child support. He was released on January 14 and required by the court to make monthly payments of $356.00.

  A few weeks later, Andrew came out swinging in a bombshell interview with In Touch magazine. “I saw [Jenelle] smoking weed when she was three months pregnant,” he revealed. “Another time, I found speed in her jacket pocket! I tried to make Jenelle understand how bad it was for the baby, but she didn't care. It completely broke my heart. Isn't that disturbing and disgusting? She had no regard for the safety of her unborn child!”

  Though Andrew was present for Jace's birth in August 2009, he left shortly after and had no contact with his son until Jenelle approved a Skype session on Christmas Eve 2011. Within a year, Jenelle claimed he had again fallen behind on child support obligations - this time by $7,000. He refused to pay because Jenelle and her mother would not let him see or spend time with the boy.

  “I love him and I want him in my life,” Andrew told In Touch. “Jenelle has put me through hell, never letting me see our son.” He also said Jenelle “went completely off the deep end” when she learned about his new son, Jacob Michael (b. September 6, 2010), with former girlfriend, Ashley Termini. “She was incredibly mean and said I don't deserve to have kids.”

  Jenelle fired back at her ex in a December 2012 interview with Wetpaint.com. "I've tried getting a hold of him, but supposedly he lives in Florida and has a new girlfriend and takes care of his girlfriend's baby, and other than that I don't know about Andrew," she said. "He hasn't come to see Jace or anything."

  We reached out to Andrew for an interview and received the following response, which he later posted to Facebook:

  “I do not want anything to do with (Teen Mom) or 16 and Pregnant, that's why you never see me on there. It is degrading, and makes teenagers around the world think it is OK to be young mothers creating this baby boom. Knowing that teenage pregnancy is part of one of the top economical downfalls, [MTV] still intend[s] to promote it, on top of that the media and show itself downgrades the person making the entire world believe that one person is bad, etc.

  They don't care much about you, just the ratings and MTV has a heavy hand at editing drama, drama, drama. You do not see me on that show for a reason and that reason is that once you're off that show that's it for you; no more career moves there. You're gonna be stuck known as a teen mom forever. I respect the business, I've worked in it since I was 17, and if I wanted to become famous or more likely "publicly known" Ii would work a hell of a lot harder than just being on a reality TV series which is one of the most lowest ranking spots you can even think of doing in the business. You get no respect from others who worked hard for what they accomplished.

  [MTV] takes advantage of teenagers because they want to be on TV, paying them little because the teens do not know the business etiquette. For example, they got like $60,000 a year from what people tell me and when they filmed me for I got $5,000 for every 8 hours of filming that is triple the amount they would get paid annually if they knew how to handle the high tides.

  I am in college; I go to Florida State working on my MFA major in film industry. People say I am a drunk loser deadbeat but I am not. I do not drink nor do drugs. I work hard as a full-time student completing my goals I have set in my life.

  In conclusion always know what you're getting into. Do your research, learn more. Never jump into things like these teens did, because to me it is not worth it. I've never seen an episode and could care less to do so. I am happy with my life and I have no feeling of how Jenelle went downhill after breaking up with me. She is an adult and she is old enough to make her own decisions and doing that show. When I dated her she was never in trouble with cops, didn't do drugs as [far as] I knew of etc. I kept her boundaries in line.

  There you have it.

  _______________

  He gave Kail a son and - according to her - an STD!

  Jo's baby mama shocked even the most in-the-know Teen Mom 2 fans when she accused the aspiring rapper of infecting her with chlamydia during the season two reunion special in 2011. “I had no idea they were going to bring that up,” Jo revealed during a radio interview a year later. “I didn't have any [STDs] so I don't know….”

  Kail and Jo have had a contentious relationship at best since they first appeared together on season two of 16 and Pregnant. Though his parents, Janet and Eddie, opened up their four bedroom, 3,761-square-foot Easton, Pennsylvania home to Kail when she became pregnant in 2009, Jo was not always thrilled to have his new roommate around. Shortly before the birth of their son, Isaac, the Puerto Rican bad boy cheated on Kail, perhaps squashing any chance of them succeeding as a family.

  By 2011, Jo had found a new woman and a new career. He met 21 year-old aspiring model Vee Torres when she co-starred in a sexy music video for his first rap single, “Unthinkable.” (Jo followed up with another tune, fittingly called “Life As A Teen Father.”) By early 2012, he struggled to even remember what attracted him to Kail. “It's hard to say,” he told the hosts of North Carolina's “Murphy In The Morning” radio show. “We were young and were attracted to each other. She's not a bad person. We all have our moments.”

  Jo's Legal Woes

  March 27, 2011: Jo gets a face full of law enforcement when he is popped in Warren County, Pennsylvania for being stoned! Jo was riding shotgun in his brother Edward's car when cops spotted sparks shooting out from the undercarriage. They pulled the vehicle over and discovered both siblings were under the influence of marijuana. Edward (a/k/a “Junior”) was charged with D.U.I., being under the influence of marijuana, driving with a suspended license, and driving an unsafe vehicle, according to the official police report.

  Nikkole Paulun describes Josh - the often belligerent and disrespectful father of her young son, Lyle - as “a drug addict,” who once lived in a “crack house” and broke up with her for refusing to have an abortion. The pair, featured on season two of 16 and Pregnant, has one of the show's most unhealthy relationships. He stood her up at the homecoming dance, started a fight with her mother, Rikki, moments before Lyle's birth, and admitted to cheating on the former cheerleader multiple times.

  Josh - who was expelled from high school (but later earned his G.E.D.) - also has a laundry list of legal problems. In May 2011, he racked up three felonies after helping himself to his own mother's checkbook. Over the course of several months, Josh wrote himself five checks ranging from $30-100, for a grand total of $270. When his mom got wind of the diminishing balance, she promptly had him arrested. He later pled guilty to two counts of forgery and one count of larceny, and was sentenced to a year in jail. Josh was released in March 2012 and transferred to a rehab center - which he promptly fled. He was caught using drugs a week later and was sent back to jail until mid-April 2012. Josh quickly became a regular at the Monroe County Jail, having served time in there in 2009 for failing drug tests while in court-mandated rehab, and again in 2010 after Nikkole called the cops on him, knowing that he had outstanding warrants.

  The couple first got together when Nikkole was just 15. Despite numerous breakups, they became engaged in late September 2012 - only to end things for good two months later when Nikkole confessed she had been unfaithful. "I've OFFICIALLY moved back to my moms after a NASTY break up with Josh," she posted on Sulia. "He caught me cheating & we … fought and fought and fought. I know he posted a bunch of stuff about us getting back together possibly but I told him my heart was just not in it. I will always care about Josh considering he's been such a big part of my life but as for now I am not capable of loving him and being in a relationship with him. I think we're best off as just friends and co-parenting."

  Nikkole, who enrolled at a Toledo, Ohio college after her son's birth, shared several intimate - and disturbing - details about her relationship with Josh in a 2011 posting on Tumblr. They i
nclude:

  “Josh was in juvy right after I first met him. Why? He had marijuana on him at school & also got in trouble for being on private property. When we started “talking” he had just got out. We started dating a few months later. When we were first dating, he was a homebody. He always sat at home and read or played Wii or whatever. He also loved to cook.”

  “When I wouldn't abort the baby, Josh changed dramatically. He broke up with me, stopped going to school, and got kicked out of his house. I was dumbfounded by it all. He was literally living in a crack house. I went there once and it was absolutely disgusting. No electricity, holes in the wall, and drugs everywhere. I couldn't believe the person I loved was like this. I tried so hard to save him but I didn't know what to do. I was only 15.”

  “One night he came in real late and didn't know I was still up. I heard him fiddle with the heat vent for a few minutes. Then he went to bed. When he was taking a shower the next morning I looked in the vent and found two needles. I was beyond shocked. I immediately disposed of them so he couldn't find them. I didn't say a word. I was sitting on the couch later in the day and I heard him go into the room. He came out looking pretty upset and asked me if Lyle had been near the vent. I went into his room with him and confronted him about it. He told me and said he was sorry but nothing could stop him now. He said he wanted help but not to say anything to anyone. So I didn't.”

  “Finally, on New Year's Eve, he called me and asked me to steal his dad's gun or else he'd shoot up bleach. I decided it was time to tell his mom. She started crying, and me and his sister hurriedly drove to where he was. We found him safe and sound and he ended up coming home with us. About 30 mins after coming home he began to have crazy withdrawals. I didn't know what to do. He was puking and shaking and freaking out. We called an ambulance and the police ended up showing up too since he had warrants we didn't know about.

  “He served his time in jail, and when he got out, he went right back at it. I was done. I wasn't letting myself live this life anymore. I decided to call my mom and come home, and of course she said yes. I had all my stuff packed and Lyle in the car, and Josh told me he was going to kill himself. I laughed and said shut up. He held his hand out and in it was a fist full of sleeping pills. He threw them all in his mouth and swallowed. I screamed for his mom to take him to the hospital. I went home after that. I guess he had his stomach pumped and had to stay for 3 days because he was on suicide watch. I never wanted to be with him again.”

  On January 23, 2013, Josh was sent back to prison, beginning what will be at least a two-year sentence for crimes that include assaulting a police officer (in November 2012), as well as two counts of Uttering and Publishing and one count of Larceny in a Building, stemming from the felonies he acquired in 2011. His earliest release date is listed as March 8, 2015.

  He's been punched by Amber, photographed with strippers and blasted online by Farrah. Gary, a former lineman for the Anderson High School football team, had no idea his life would become an out-of-control circus of arrests, drugs and custody dramas when he began dating his high school buddy's 15 year-old sister in late 2005. Amber - who was immediately smitten with 19 year-old Gary's teddy bear-like persona - would often sneak into his house for late night romps and a serenade by guitar. But the relationship was tumultuous from the start.

  Though Gary - a Certified Nursing Assistant who worked with developmentally disabled patients - declared his love by having Amber's name tattooed on his shoulder in 2011, he often had trouble remaining faithful. Amber, too, enjoyed the company of other men, as the relationship turned more violent and toxic. After Amber suffered a series of legal setbacks, Gary was awarded full custody of their daughter Leah and moved to nearby Noblesville, Indiana in search of a fresh start.

  As of March 2013, Gary has not brought Leah to visit her mother in prison, where she is serving up to five years for failing to comply with the terms of a court-ordered drug rehab program, but he says he plans to soon. "It's hard having a kid, especially with an a-hole," Amber revealed in the August 2012 Teen Mom series finale. The episode, taped nearly a year earlier, featured an explosive dispute between the exes, during which Gary called Amber a “slut.”

  After the scene aired, Farrah declared a Twitter war on the portly star, publically questioning his ability to parent the three year-old. The exchange went like this:

  @FarrahAbraham1: "To be honest Gary is so negative and I don't see how he is better to raise Leah than Amber, get the point Gary! Learn to focus on Leah."

  @ItsGaryTime: "Seriously Farrah I don't care for you one bit. Your cry face sucks and so do your cookies. Unless you change you are gonna die lonely."

  @FarrahAbraham1: "What a pig! You're horrible! Go get mental help for Amber's sake P.O.S."

  @ItsGaryTime: "Go make another hit single or treat your parents like shit. Always stuck up for you but not anymore."

  @ItsGaryTime: "Sorry Farrah but you need to be nice to people. Sorry for my tweets, not who I am"

  Gary's “Big” Legal Problem

  Gary was picked up on May 24, 2011 at 1:34 AM in Alexandria, Indiana for driving on a suspended license - a Class A misdemeanor - and (shocker!) Amber was in the car with him. The official police report states that Gary had pulled over to the side of the road and the pair was overheard arguing.

  “I observed a silver Dodge stopped on the south side of Berry Street. I could hear a female arguing with a male inside the vehicle,” arresting officer Kyle Williams wrote. “I asked the male sitting in the driver seat if everything was ok and he advised yes. The female advised that everything was fine. I advised them that I had heard them arguing and wanted to make sure. I asked them both for identification.... The male introduced himself and the female as Gary Shirley and Amber Portwood from Teen Mom.'”

  While the crime wasn't that big, Gary - at 5'11” and 300 lbs. - was. “I placed Mr. Shirley in two (2) sets of handcuffs due to his size,” the report states. “Both sets of handcuffs were checked for tightness and doubled locked. Capt. Austin stayed with Miss Portwood and the vehicle and arrangements were made for both to be picked up.” Gary, who learned his license was suspended in November 2010, was booked at Madison County Jail and released on $3,000 bond.

  It's Time For Gary Time – The Show!

  Gary is one of the most colorful - and misunderstood - characters in Teen Mom history. Over the years, we've seen him take an on-camera punch from Amber, break through the wood stairs of his house, and, thanks to TMZ, relish in a 12-hour strip club bender.

  I had the unique privilege of spending an evening with Gary in Indianapolis recently and was surprised to see how different he is from the naïve, somewhat oaf-ish guy we saw on TV. Sure lots of people approached him saying “Hey, you're the guy that got beat up on Teen Mom.” But when you get past that, Gary is just a loving dad, trying to do the best job he can of raising his daughter. He is working towards becoming a Registered Nurse. He also loves to cook and says he would one day like to own a restaurant.

  Gary is very aware of how difficult it is for Leah to not have her mother around, and he's very conscious about who he allows to interact with her. I was surprised to see how gracious he is with fans. Seriously, people love him!

  During our outing, at least 20 people walked up asking for pictures, and he was happy to pose for each one. He kept me laughing the entire night.

  Somebody really needs to give this guy his own single dad spin-off show!

  Tyler Baltierra was conceived during an emotional night of grief-fueled lust, just hours after his uncle Dale died in a horrific drunk driving accident. Tyler's father, Darl - who friends and family know simply as “Butch” - had recently separated from his longtime girlfriend, Kimberly Forbes, the mother of his then three year-old daughter, Amber. But the couple came together again to comfort each other on that tragic night in April 1991, when Dale, 35, broadsided a tree and was killed on impact. “Kim really loved me a lot,” the mullet-sporting bad boy says. “She had come over to console me
and we got together then. Dale was gone and Tyler got made. Out with the old, in with the new.”

  Butch - a fence builder, who has spent much of Tyler's life behind bars - admits it was his excessive drug use that eventually prompted Kim to kick him to the curb. Marijuana and cocaine were his drugs of choice. “She just couldn't handle it,” the father of two confided during a series of interviews from the Central Michigan Correctional Facility, where he returned in late 2011 after a probation violation. “She just packed my shit one day. I came home and all my stuff was on the front porch. I didn't really care at the time.”

  Kim, a devout Christian and former Denny's waitress, was Butch's longest lasting love - 12 years - but not his first. He had already lost his virginity by the ninth grade and was chasing skirts all around Chesterfield, Michigan at 16, rarely practicing safe sex. Wearing condoms, he says, “was like taking a shower with a raincoat on. I was just gettin' my freak on. I was tryin' to get the bitches pregnant. I didn't give a fuck about anything... I was a horndog!”

  After dropping out of high school, Butch took a job at the Safie pickle factory, a few blocks from his home. It was there the young ladies man struck up a friendship with co-worker Nick Placencia, who introduced him to his 16 year-old sister, Tracy. “She was beautiful,” Butch recalls. “She was my first love.” They dated for nearly four months, but the romance took an unexpected turn when young Butch was introduced to the girl's father, a Ford Motor Company worker with 13 children who was known around town as Potato Joe.