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Several Teen Mom and 16 and Pregnant alums have suffered from drug use over the years.
Ryan Edwards publicly struggled with addiction long before he decided to get sober. Edwards welcomed son Bentley with ex Maci Bookout during the inaugural season of 16 and Pregnant, which aired in 2009. While the pair went on to join Teen Mom, Edwards was absent for most of Bentley’s early years as Edwards faced substance abuse struggles and legal problems.
More than a decade later, Edwards committed to his sobriety in 2024 and strengthened his relationship with Bentley.
“I would most definitely answer any question he had,” Edwards said of being candid about his struggles with his son during a June 2025 episode of the “Dad Up” podcast. “If I was to catch him, I mean drinking, you know, I feel like all 16-year-olds are going to experiment and try it and stuff but my feelings would definitely be hurt.”
Keep scrolling to see which other Teen Mom and 16 and Pregnant alums have struggled with substance abuse and faced legal issues:
Leah Messer
Messer was featured on 16 and Pregnant season 2 to document the arrival of her twins, Aliannah and Aleeah, whom she shares with ex Corey Simms. She would go on to join the cast of Teen Mom 2.
In 2013, Messer welcomed daughter Adalynn with ex Jeremy Calvert. After giving birth to her third child, Messer suffered from back pain and was prescribed medication to help manage it. However, Messer became addicted to the pills and even bought some off the street.
“I felt kind of [like a] zombie. I don’t really even remember some of those times. I don’t remember anyone carrying me to bed,” Messer said in a 2020 interview with People. “I don’t remember falling asleep with my legs crisscrossed. I thought I was making it. I was barely surviving.”
Messer ultimately checked herself into a rehab center where she sought treatment for a month. She has remained sober since.
Amber Portwood
Fans were introduced to Portwood during the first season of 16 and Pregnant in 2009 before she joined Teen Mom. While filming the MTV series, Portwood struggled with drug addiction.
“When you’re making a lot of money, there’s more drugs,” she said during a 2018 appearance on the “Dopey” podcast. “Every time a drug dealer had a new stash, of whatever, they called me first because they knew I’d buy the whole [stash], because I had the money to do it. It’s never helps.”
Portwood admitted that she was a “horrible opiate addict,” and her addiction factored into some of her legal issues. In 2011, Portwood was arrested for violating her probation after pleading guilty to two counts of domestic battery. The following year, she quit her court-ordered rehab problem and opted to serve a five-year prison sentence instead and served 17 months.
During her appearance on the podcast, Portwood explained she opted for jail time after hitting rock bottom.
“Nothing else was working. I had overdosed at my grandma’s house on fentanyl in the bathroom,” she said. “It was daylight when I was awake … I woke up on the floor, like, just drooling out of my mouth. It was nighttime, I had no clue how long I had been in there.”
Jenelle Evans
Evans, who appeared on 16 and Pregnant season 2 and Teen Mom 2, was previously addicted to heroin.
“My first trip was amazing. I won’t glamorize the drug by going into the long details of why people love it so damned much,” she wrote in her memoir Read Between the Lines: From the Diary of a Teenage Mom. “Before I knew it, I was shooting up four or five times a day. I was hooked.”
During Evans’ struggles, she distanced herself from her family and friends. Her mom, Barbara Evans, cut Jenelle off from contact with her son, Jace. (Barbara was Jace’s guardian before Jenelle earned back custody in 2023.)
“It hurt my heart, made me sick to my soul that I couldn’t see my son. I filled that hateful void with more drugs,” she penned. “The drugs always made the pain go away. They didn’t turn on me or betray me. I guess heroin was my first steady, dependable lover. It gave me what I needed to live and I gave it my life. By this entry, heroin was the only thing I had in my life that loved me.”
After having an overdose scare, Jenelle went to the hospital to detox. She has been sober from heroin since 2012.
Ryan Edwards
In March 2017, Edwards was arrested for heroin possession. Later that year, Edwards checked into a rehabilitation facility. In 2018, Edwards went to rehab for a second time.
Five years later, Edwards was arrested for simple possession of a controlled substance and a DUI after he was found “unconscious and unresponsive” in the driver’s seat of his truck. Edwards pleaded guilty to the charges. In 2024, Edwards was ordered to undergo drug testing and attend counseling.
During a January 2025 episode of Teen Mom: The Next Chapter, Edwards shared that he was sober.
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Whitney Purvis
Purvis was featured on the first season of 16 and Pregnant alongside ex Weston Gosa Sr. as they welcomed son Weston Jr. in April 2009. The exes also share son River whom they welcomed in 2014. (Purvis lost custody of both of her sons.)
One month after Weston Jr. died in June 2025 at age 16, Purvis was arrested for involuntary manslaughter and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
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