Although the Teen Mom franchise is known for being one of the most dramatic and controversial subjects documented by MTV over the years, several parents who have appeared throughout Teen Mom have gone down for providing viewers with some seriously funny moments. Since the inception of 16 And Pregnant back in 2009, the Teen Mom franchise has expanded to include several spin-off series. So of those include Teen Mom 2 and Young And Pregnant; however, Teen Mom and Teen Mom 2 merged to form Teen Mom: The Next Chapter in 2022.
While several stars like Teen Mom‘s Farrah Abraham moved on from the franchise years ago, others like Catelynn and Tyler Baltierra have had their lives documented since they were teenagers. Although the series was initially meant to provide entertainment with a healthy dose of safe sex education, many cast members instead found themselves involved in many dramatic on-and-off-screen behaviors, such as troubles with the law, physical and verbal altercations, and even lost custody battles. Despite all of these negative moments, there have been plenty of hilarious scenes which have remained memorable for the right and wrong reasons, especially with young children involved.
6. When Leah Messer’s Plain Cake Looked Like Cornbread
When it comes to lasting romantic relationships, Leah Messer, unfortunately, doesn’t have the best track record. Before Leah’s recent split from Jaylan Mobley and previous divorce from Jeremy Calvert, she was briefly married to Corey Simms, with whom she shares her twin daughters Ali and Aleeah. While Leah and Corey’s wedding day was exciting when it aired, they split less than a year later after Leah admitted she had cheated on Corey with her high school sweetheart, Robbie Kidd, two weeks before their wedding. Corey was devastated by the news, and in an attempt to lessen the blow a tad, Leah began to decorate a cake she had recently made. Despite the tense situation, Corey’s misidentification made his emotional declaration, “I really don’t want no cornbread right now,” way funnier than it should’ve been.
5. When Jo Rivera Couldn’t Hide His Disdain For Kailyn Lowry
Long before Kailyn Lowry was rumored to have a secret fifth child, she only had to worry about one, her son Isaac with ex-boyfriend Jo Rivera. While Kailyn and Jo had small moments of cordial interactions in the early Teen Mom 2 seasons, Kailyn and Jo were not fond of each other after their break-up in 2010, although Kailyn briefly hooked up with Jo in 2011 while she was dating Jordan Wenner. Regardless of their dating lives, Kailyn and Jo did their best to follow an unofficial custody agreement and share the responsibility for Isaac. That being said, Jo couldn’t hold back his true feelings for Kailyn in a hilarious exchange on the first season of Teen Mom 2 that left Kailyn visibly confused. “It’s a nice day, isn’t it?” Jo asked now-former Teen Mom star Kailyn, who nodded along. Without missing a beat, Jo then delivered the out-of-nowhere remark, “You don’t deserve to be outside enjoying the sun. You should be in a cave.” While the insult was unwarranted, Jo’s deadpan delivery immediately made it a memorable Teen Mom moment.
4. When Nathan Griffith Delivered Some News For Barbara Evans
Jenelle’s relationship with Nathan Griffith was tumultuous at best and violent at worst on Teen Mom 2, but there’s no denying that Nathan had a gift for unintentional comedic timing. Besides asking why he happened to be born male and theatrically telling Jenelle to “stop it” during an argument, Nathan found himself relaying information between Jenelle and her mother, Barbara Evans, several times while they were dating on Teen Mom 2. After one of Jenelle’s many arrests during the mid-2010s, Nathan, who has also been arrested several times himself, was tasked with delivering the news that Jenelle was again in custody to Barbara. When Barbara asked where her daughter was, Nathan, with a Starbucks frappuccino in hand, innocently stated, “Oh, that’s the bad news. Jenelle’s in jail.” His quick announcement immediately went viral online for its ridiculousness.
3. When Gary Shirley Tried To Propose To Amber Portwood
Like Jenelle and Nathan, Amber Portwood and Gary Shirley’s relationship was arguably the most chaotic relationship filmed for Teen Mom. Although Gary was perpetually lazy and Amber was abusive to the point of being arrested for domestic violence, the couple were briefly engaged twice before finally separating for good. While Gary’s second proposal to Amber on the second season of Teen Mom was certainly memorable, it instantly became a classic moment among viewers, not for being romantic, but for being nothing short of a trainwreck. It only took a few seconds for Amber to grow displeased with the way their conversation was going while on the beach, and between Gary’s awkward stance and Amber’s annoyance, the cherry on top wasn’t when Amber eventually said yes, but when Gary exclaimed, “Amber, there’s water coming up here!“
2. When Ryan Edwards Spent Too Much Time Getting Ready
Halloween is one of the many important holidays frequently showcased on Teen Mom, so when Maci McKinney’s ex-fiancé Ryan Edwards didn’t show up on time to take their son Bentley trick-or-treating, the fallout was both embarrassing and humorous. Bentley, who was joined by Maci and Ryan’s parents, Larry and Jen, collected lots of candy, but Ryan mysteriously missed the festivities on Teen Mom season 5. While Ryan was rightly criticized for trying to manipulate Bentley’s feelings, the conversation quickly became a meme when Ryan, in full skull makeup, emotionally asked, “Why didn’t you wait on me, Bentley?” Unfortunately, it wasn’t until a few years later that Ryan’s unexplainable behavior was finally revealed to be caused by a battle with drug addiction.
1. When Jenelle Evans Refused To Miss Her Kesha Concert
Jenelle blessed viewers with dozens of memorable quotes before she was fired from the Teen Mom franchise in 2019, but Jenelle’s most iconic moment, without a doubt, occurred when she tried to use Kesha to get out of going to jail. Throughout the first couple seasons of Teen Mom 2, Jenelle, who’s not returning to Teen Mom, constantly dealt with a revolving door of drama and personal issues, especially when they revolved around Barbara, her ex-boyfriend Kieffer Delp, and the law. After Jenelle failed a drug test while on probation on Teen Mom 2 season 3, Jenelle’s lawyer managed to secure her a deal: instead of facing up to 45 days behind bars, Jenelle could serve just 16. Unfortunately, Jenelle’s jail stint would commence just a couple of days before her Kesha concert. In one of the best moments in Teen Mom history, Jenelle passionately explained that she was obsessed with Kesha and had second-row seats to her concert, which is why she had “all these feathers” in her hair. Despite all the controversy, Jenelle and her husband, David Eason, and Jenelle’s love for Kesha, will never be forgotten.