MTV Springfield, Illinois teenager Shelby Stults, who appeared on Tuesday's "16 and Pregnant," revealed her biggest regret about becoming pregnant young.
Springfield, Illinois teenager Shelby Stults, who appeared on Tuesday’s 16 and Pregnant, revealed her biggest regret about becoming pregnant young. Her episode on MTV kicks off when Shelby is 33 weeks pregnant with her ex-boyfriend’s child.
Shelby, who was 17 when MTV started filming her, revealed they had split and he was dating another woman but decided to hook up with him again when he told her they broke up and he was single again. She became pregnant after they reconnected — and she’s not the only one. Her ex-boyfriend’s previous partner is also expecting his child.
When Shelby first found out she was pregnant she called her best friend and then she had to tell her mother. “My mom was caught off guard for sure, but very supportive,” Shelby told Heavy in an email.
Her partner, whose likeness was hidden on 16 & Pregnant, didn’t have the same reaction. “He didn’t believe me at first,” Shelby said.
Shelby Shared One of Her Regrets
Shelby is looking forward to raising her daughter, Alaya, “grow and see all her accomplishments, but she is disappointed by her past.
“Overall, I regret my past relationships, but I know that if it wasn’t for them I most likely wouldn’t have grown as much as I have since,” she told Heavy. “The hardest part for me was not having Alaya’s father’s support. Not even in a relationship way, it just would’ve been nice to know he cared about the pregnancy.”
In a voiceover during her episode, Shelby revealed that she started dating when she was 15 years old and dropped out of school her junior — even though she got good grades and was on homecoming court — because she was more focused on boys.
“In high school, I was a good student… but at the end of junior year, I got caught up in relationship drama and put all my energy into ex-boyfriends who weren’t so great for me. I ended up dropping out of school because I stopped doing my work and going to class,” she said. “I cared more about validation from boys than my diploma.”
“After I dropped out, I started working full-time at Wal-Mart and got my GED. Right now I don’t have a boyfriend, but I was on-and-off with one of my exes ever since I was 15,” Shelby continued. “Even though our relationship was pretty up and down and toxic, AJ was that one guy that I kept going back to.”
Shelby Wants to Inspire Other Girls to ‘Appreciate’ Your Body More
Shelby didn’t know much about the Teen Mom franchises before she applied for the series, but she watched them afterward. She felt that one of the moms she related to was Teen Mom OG star Maci Bookout.
Despite not being familiar with the series before appearing on 16 & Pregnant, Shelby auditioned because she wanted to help other young women. “I felt that it would be a positive experience to share my story and inspire other girls,” she said.
Shelby has grownup since becoming a mother. “I feel like throughout my whole pregnancy and after becoming a mom I’ve matured a lot,” the MTV subject explained. “I started to realize what truly matters in life and have surrounded myself with only supportive and positive people. In the process, I actually found more self-love. Something about having a baby really makes you appreciate yourself and your body more.”
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