Last night we bid a final farewell to MTV’s original Teen Mom cast. Well, not technically final, because I’m sure they will keep filming this train wreck as long as their are folks like me to watch it!
The finale resumes with a saddened Amber rejoining her mother on Dr. Drew’s sofa after the doctor goes to speak with her. At the end of the first half of the reunion Amber had stormed off stage because she was so upset discussing her younger sister’s death from SIDS when Amber was four years old. Dr. Drew assures Amber that SIDS is sadly a common killer of infants and no one is to blame.
Amber’s mother remembers that the mother-daughter relationship was very stressful before Amber got pregnant. Dr. Drew uses Amber and her mother as a tutorial for parents who are concerned about their child’s sex lives, discussing how to overcome the awkwardness of broaching the subject of sex with one another.
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Catelynn and Tyler are next in the hot seat. Dr. Drew asks if anything would have been different had the couple not chosen adoption for their daughter Carly. It’s hard for the pair to speculate naturally. Romantically, the couple is doing well. Dr. Drew presses into the fact that Tyler hasn’t experienced a lot in the dating world. Tyler says he was trying to be honest, and he wanted to make sure he was always upfront with Catelynn. Catelynn admits that she trusts Tyler and never worries about him cheating. However, she often feels threatened by younger, cuter girls whose bodies have never carried a child. Her body issues are still playing a big role in her insecurities. The couple’s main lesson to young teens is to not be selfish. Using protection is easy.
Catelynn’s mom/Tyler’s step-mom April joins the couple on the couch. While Catelynn and April both claim that their relationship is much better, it’s almost hard to watch. April admits that much of her animosity regarding Carly’s adoption was a result of following Tyler’s dad/Catelynn’s step-dad Butch’s feelings. Catelynn and April seem to have come full circle, and Tyler considers her to be a great step-mother. Tyler admits that his actual mom played a big part in making sure that Butch didn’t totally devastate Tyler with his actions. We also learn that Butch went back to prison because he and April violated their no-contact order. As it’s the last portion of the finale, I won’t be able to say again how much I adore and respect this couple (until next season, of course!). So, one more time…I adore and respect this couple.
Dr. Drew gives us yet another alarming statistic…less than two percent of teen moms will graduate from college by the age of thirty. Wow. I do have to give Maci some credit for attempting to take classes. She is next to be interviewed and reveals that she doesn’t have too much time before she’s a college graduate. Maci tells Dr. Drew that she wants to co-parent with Ryan, but she doesn’t want to things to be complicated between them. Dr. Drew calls her out for wanting a second baby with Kyle so quickly, but she defends herself, saying that she doesn’t feel nineteen after all her life lessons. Yeah, there’s that.
Maci admits that while she’d love to have a baby with Kyle, she has no plan to do so. She will not have another baby until she’s married, and she and Kyle aren’t in a place where they are ready for that. Kyle joins Maci and reveals that it is difficult to date a teen mom due to the drama. Kyle believes that his strong bond with Bentley is a big factor in the pair’s relationship. Dr. Drew asks if Kyle would want a relationship with Bentley if he and Maci broke up. Kyle responds that he definitely would, but Maci says she wouldn’t want Kyle to be a part of her son’s life post break-up for her own reasons.
Maci feels like she’s sacrificed a lot as a teen mom, but what she reveals hurts her the most is that she moved out of her parents’ house as seventeen, depriving them of their own daughter. Dr. Drew is as shocked as I am to learn that Maci’s parents married at seventeen in anticipation of her older brother’s birth. Maci further admits that she feels guilt over Ryan’s future happiness. She is worried about him trying to make it on his own, and she feels that knows he prospers the most when he’s in a good place. Who doesn’t? Kyle exits stage left, and Ryan takes his place. The two feel like they are much better at communicating and co-parenting than what is shown on this season. Ryan is actually very humorous and mature when discussing Maci’s desire for a sibling for Bentley. “More power to her,” he says, although he hopes Maci will finish school and enjoy a bit of married life before that happens. Both Maci and Ryan agree that they have a lot to work on, but they are definitely on the right track.
The question that has been lingering all season is asked, “Ryan, are you still in love with Maci?” Ryan is all, I love her as she’s the mother of my son, but I’m not in love with her…she’ll be in my life forever as we share a child. Dr. Drew says that he’d hoped the crazy couple would have been able to work it out, but Ryan explains that together, he and Maci are not a good idea. Ryan applauds the role Kyle has played in Bentley’s life, and Kyle joins the pair on the sofa.
Both guys admit that their initial meeting was awkward, but they both felt a feeling of relief once they finally got to know one another. Kyle explains that all three of them just had to learn how to work together in this crazy situation, and amen to that Kyle. Maci feels like she needs to elaborate on that note, telling Ryan that he is easily set off when she approaches him about things regarding Bentley. Ryan kind of agrees, but I also believe that is Maci being a touch manipulative. Dr. Drew gives his two cents, and Ryan champions the role of the teen father.
It’s the final scene and all of the adorable children are on stage. The teen moms are in agreement that their lives are now better off than when their stories first debuted on 16 and Pregnant. Catelynn and Tyler say that letting go of the Carly (or I’m assuming the idea of Carly) is especially difficult. It’s time for the canned questions, so Amber inquires as to when Tyler and Catelynn will tie the knot. The couple knows they are supposed to be together and are in no hurry to walk down the aisle. They at least want to see what college life brings. Gary, always a curious guy, wants to know how Ryan feels about his entire dynamic. Perhaps he wants to be prepared for when Amber goes running back into the arms of the Pee-Wee Herman lookalike.
These babies are no longer young enough to be considered anything less than actual “kids.” They are so precious running around the stage as Dr. Drew reminds anyone who is listening that pregnancy is one hundred percent preventable.
WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE FINALE? WHAT ARE YOUR PREDICTIONS FOR THE TEEN MOM’S FUTURES? WILL YOU BE WATCHING SEASON FOUR?
