You’ve probably heard by now that MTV has a new Teen Mom spin-off coming out soon . But despite the heavily negative rep the program has gotten over the years, one of Teen Mom 3? s stars said that she hopes her story helps teenagers avoid her situation.
“When I started researching (‘Teen Mom’), I saw, wow! It really is making a difference,” Katie Yeager said in an interview with Today .
“It’s controversial, but it’s definitely helping young girls to see the consequences of having unprotected sex and having sex too early. And I felt like I want to help.”
Though the antics of series standouts Amber Portwood and Jenelle Evans cause most of us to cringe and wonder why these shows are so popular, that’s kind of the point. The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy agreed that the show is sending the right message to teens.
Even the less widely-known dramas have an impact. Anytime you catch yourself shaking your head, most everyone else is too.
“Every season of ‘Teen Mom’ creates more public discourse about teen pregnancy, and keeps the issue in the national spotlight,” said Marisa Nightingale, the group’s senior media adviser.
And that’s generally the place that 19-year-old Yeager is coming from. Fame and riches aren’t her admitted goal, rather, she wants to continue the initiative of awareness on the issue of teen pregnancy.
“Why would I close myself off to an opportunity to help so many people just because of what people are going to say about me personally?” Yeager said.
“There’s always going to be negative people out there, even if you’re not on a TV show. I’ve accepted that. There are people who don’t agree with my life, the way my life is, or just don’t like me for whatever reason. I have enough support on my end in the people that are around me and in my life. That’s the only thing that matters to me.”
You can get to know Katie Yeager better when Teen Mom 3 premieres Monday at 10 pm on MTV.
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