How Did Farrah Abraham’s Boyfriend Derek Underwood Die?

It’s hard to believe that it’s already been 10 years since Farrah Abraham’s boyfriend, Derek Underwood, died.

According to Starcasm, the 18-year-0ld lost his life on December 28, 2008, due to injuries that were the result of a motor vehicle accident. Underwood was driving around with two friends, Zachary Mendoza and Dustin Congdon, in Council Bluffs, Iowa, when he lost control of his vehicle, causing it to flip over into a power pole. Underwood and Mendoza were killed at the scene while Congdon was the only one of the three who survived his injuries.

A bottle of Skyy vodka was found at the scene of the crash, and subsequently, surveillance cameras showed Mendoza’s mom purchasing the alcohol at a store. She was later charged with one misdemeanor count of supplying alcohol to a minor as it was determined that Derek was in fact drinking at the time of the crash, though his blood alcohol level was not over the legal limit.

According to Underwood’s obituary, he was survived by many family members at the time of his death, including his mother, father, stepfather, and two sisters. Derek never actually appeared on an episode of 16 and Pregnant, but he was talked about briefly when Abraham’s mother, Debra Danielsen, urged her daughter to block his number and cut him out of her life.

She remained relatively tight-lipped about Underwood until a therapy session on the second season of Teen Mom aired. During an episode, Farrah explained that at the time of Derek’s death, her mother and father didn’t really help her deal with her grief and feelings, noting that they seemed relieved that the problem was gone.

In more recent seasons, Farrah has also opened up about the death of Derek and she has even paid tribute to him on social media from time to time. This past May, Farrah took to Instagram to pay tribute to Derek on what would have been his 29th birthday. Along with a series of photos of herself and Derek together, she included a heartfelt caption.

“To one very special person I celebrate and remember like no other-Happy Birthday Derek I love you, May 8th you would be 29 today, birthdays used to be so simple,” she wrote.

“You gave me that once in a lifetime love of my life everyone so deserves, you gave me so many 1st’s, from virginity, proms, trips, my first ring, you showed me unconditional love, you showed me what relationships are, from prom, graduation, to our only child…all the events that had happened the entire sequence was one filled with the thrill, love & loss.”

The reality star went on to say that she now celebrates his birthday each year with a special breakfast in his honor, and she and their daughter, Sophia Abraham, look at all the photos of them together. She then ends the post by thanking him for the love and all of the memories that he gave her. She also shared that she misses him more than ever, while thanking him for everything that he did for her.

That particular photo earned her a ton of attention on social media, racking up over 100,000 likes in addition to 2,600-plus comments.