Farrah Abraham is stepping up for her daughter.
Indeed, with the Teen Mom alum’s daughter Sophia Abraham now 16 years old, the reality star revealed how she navigates candid conversations about sex, despite not having the same support growing up.
“I think my own life was sex ed class, to be honest with you,” Farrah told E! News in an exclusive interview. “I speak about my life to other teenagers about when I was younger, and so I really just believe in, ‘Hey, these are kind of my experiences.'”
As part of her advocacy for sexual health awareness, she emphasizes to young people, including Sophia, that although their lives may not be like hers, it is essential to be transparent about these topics.
“I think doing the same thing in your intimate life, or any other part of your life, the good and the bad,” Farrah, who welcomed Sophia with late ex Derek Underwood in 2009, explained, “is something that everybody needs so that they can have the contrast to understand what they want to choose and why they want to choose it.”
A part of her strategy was bringing Sophia to the drug store to teach her about “the good and the bad things and the products” surrounding sexual health.
Farrah—whose pregnancy with Sophia was documented on MTV’s 16 and Pregnant—added, “I’m extremely proud of my daughter.”
Looking back at her own teenage years, the 34-year-old admitted that she couldn’t turn to her parents Debra Danielsen or Michael Abraham for guidance.
“I never had anyone take me to CVS and tell me what was good or bad for my life,” she explained. “I had to go to a lot of gynecology appointments to learn all this stuff. I had cysts, I had cervical cancer, I had all sorts of things.”
“So, I think I just really knew from no one being there for me,” she added, “that I wanted to step up and I want to be there for my daughter.”
In many ways, it was this thought process that led Farrah to A&E’s Secrets of Celebrity Sex Tapes for their upcoming Sept. 22 episode.
“It definitely was a time when I was young and no one was really looking out for me,” she recalled of her sex tape’s release in 2013. “I had a really bad complex with my mom not being the mom that I needed.”
And she admitted that she was in a vulnerable place in her life when she entered the adult film industry. But since working through her sexual trauma, Farrah learned what she wants to pass on to Sophia.
“I still go to therapy to this day because I really do want to pick better friends,” she said. “I want to pick better people today. I want to have great people around my daughter.”
“My daughter’s 16 now and I know that she will not be around people who could harm her in any shape, way or fashion,” she continued, “because she will be looking for indicators and using her tools to prevent those people from ruining her career, ruining her future.”
For a closer look at where the Teen Mom alums are now, keep reading.
Katie Yeager
Katie, boyfriend Joey Moes and daughter Molli starred on Teen Mom 3, but have since stayed clear of the spotlight. Details are scarce, but we do know that following the couple’s split, Katie began focusing full time on being a mom. In late 2016, Katie announced that she had been dating someone named Tyler. Tyler and Katie welcomed a new baby daughter in 2017 yet have continued to keep her out of the spotlight.
Alex Sekella
After her struggles with becoming a mom and her breakup with daughter Arabella’s father, Matt, played out for audiences on Teen Mom 3, Alex has since reverted to a more quiet lifestyle. She has stayed clear of the spotlight and is currently focusing on raising her daughter with her new fiancé, Tim Peters. While the exact wedding date is unknown, Alex and Tim are set to get married soon and Alex has posted pictures shopping for wedding dresses on Instagram.
Mackenzie McKee
In 2011, Mackenzie gave birth to son Gannon, with boyfriend Josh McKee. After their trials of teen parenthood played out on Teen Mom 3, the couple wed in late 2013. They welcomed their second child, Jaxie Taylor, in February 2014. In 2015, Mackenzie entered a body building competition after years of training and placed second. She put competing on hold, however, and the couple welcomed son Broncs in August 2016. Mackenzie will be replacing Bristol Palin on Teen Mom: OG and will appear in a few episodes towards the end of the season.
Brianna DeJesus
One of the four Teen Mom 3 stars, Briana is the mother of two girls. Since giving birth to Nova Star DeJesus in 2011, Briana has had multiple plastic surgeries and has come under fire for saying that she wouldn’t be opposed if Nova eventually wanted surgery as well—as long as she’s old enough. In July 2017, Briana gave birth to Stella Star DeJesus, whose father is Luis Hernandez, and in January 2018, the TV star split with boyfriend Javi Marroquin. In May 2019, Briana celebrated her one-year anniversary with John Rodriguez.
Leah Messer
Leah anchored the Teen Mom 2 cast as mother to twins Aliannah and Aleeah. While on the show she struggled to maintain a relationship with the girls’ father and her ex-husband, Corey. In 2012, Leah married Jeremy Calvert and the couple welcomed their first child together, Adalynn Faith, in 2013. They divorced in 2015, and Leah now is a single mother to her three kids.
Kailyn Lowry
After giving birth to their son Isaac, Kailyn and boyfriend Joe struggled throughout their time on Teen Mom 2 to maintain their relationship. After splitting up, Kailyn moved out on her own and began dating Javi Marroquin. The couple welcomed their first child, Lincoln, in 2013, and married the same year. In 2017, Kailyn welcomed another son Lux Russell with long time on and of boyfriend Chris Lopez. Currently, Kailyn says their co-parenting relationship is “complicated” as the podcast host remains single.
Chelsea Houska
During her time on Teen Mom 2, Chelsea’s relationship with her daughter Audree’s dad, Adam, crumbled as she struggled to be a mother and a student. After getting her GED and later going to beauty school, Chelsea met her now husband Cole in 2014. The couple married in October 2016 and welcomed Watson, their first child together, in January 2017. In February 2019, the reality star gave birth to her and Cole’s second child Layne Ettie. Since then, Chelsea and Cole started collaborated on a clothing line on Itzy Ritzy.
Jenelle Evans
Teen Mom 2 viewers remember her as single mom who frequently bickered with her own mother over her lifestyle and the care of her son Jace. After an attempt to turn things around, Janelle struggled through a failed marriage and an abortion in 2013, but then later gave birth to her second child, Kaiser, with her then-boyfriend Nathan Griffin in 2014. After giving birth to daughter Ensley with boyfriend David Eason in January 2017, the mom-of-three married David in North Carolina later that year. Their fairy tale ending didn’t last long though, because in February 2018, David was fired from Teen Mom 2 for a number of homophobic tweets. More recently, the Eason family has been in the news after David supposedly shot and killed their family dog. Since the incident, Jenelle has lost custody of her three kids.
Catelynn Lowell
Catelynn and her boyfriend, Tyler, decided that it would be best for their future child if she was put up for adoption. Ultimately their daughter Carly were adopted by Brandon and Theresa, who appeared frequently on Teen Mom 2. In 2015, more prepared to be parents this time, the couple welcomed another child together, Novalee, and got married later that year. The reality star sought out mental health treatment in November 2017. After coming back from rehab, Catelynn announced on an episode of Teen Mom OG that she had suffered a miscarriage. In February 2019, the couple happily welcomed their third child, Vaeda Luma.
Maci Bookout
Maci first gained national attention as the mom to Bentley, who she had with her high school boyfriend, Ryan. Wanting to show girls that they could still continue on their path to college after having a child, Maci joined Teen Mom to became an advocate for helping girls like her find alternative routes to achieve their goals. She and Ryan split up, but Maci enrolled in college to study journalism. In 2014 she welcomed her first child with her now husband, Taylor McKinney. In 2016, the couple wed and welcomed Maverick, their second child together. in 2016, the couple had their third child Maverick McKinney. In addition to filming for Teen Mom OG, the pair also maintain a fashion line called Things That Matter.
Farrah Abraham
Farrah had Teen Mom‘s saddest story, her boyfriend having died in an accident two months prior to their daughter Sophia’s birth. She later wrote a tell-all novel, My Teenage Dream Ended and made headlines after making a sex tape with porn star James Deen. She scored her own TV special, BeingFarrah, in 2014. Three years later, she was axed from Teen Mom OG, allegedly because of her job as an adult entertainer. The reality star filed a $5 million lawsuit against MTV’s parent company Viacom for “sex shaming” her porn career and has since dropped the suit after reaching a settlement. Farrah has remained in the spotlight, starring on reality shows such as Ex on The Beach, Celebrity Big Brother and Botched.
Amber Portwood
Mom to Leah Shirley, Amber has had her share of media attention since her initial debut on 16 and Pregnant in 2009. She was accused of domestic abuse against her daughter’s dad, Gary Shirley, and the oft-combative teen mom spent 16 months in prison on drug-related charges. She was released in November 2013 and now stars on Teen Mom OG. In 2015, she got engaged to Montana radio DJ Matt Baier, but after years of cheating rumors about her then-boyfriend, the TV personality called it quits. Fortunately, Amber overcame the failed relationship with the love and support of cinematographer Andrew Glennon, and in May 2018, the pair welcomed son James. In 2019, the couple broke up while Amber was arrested and pleaded guilty to domestic violence following an altercation with Andrew. She was put on probation. In 2020, she debuted a new boyfriend, Dimitri Garcia.
