Teen Mom Confidential: Secrets & Scandals From MTV's Most Controversial Shows (18 page)

Amber spent a month in the clink before reaching a plea deal that included participation in the drug rehab program. She was making every effort to stay clean, her brother Shawn told
OK!
magazine. Doctors even refused to give her over-the-counter painkillers after an emergency gallbladder operation in the spring of 2012. But somehow, Amber found a supply of Suboxone. The drug - which is often prescribed to treat opiate addition - began to deepen her depression. “She started using right after her surgery and then she realized she couldn't stop,” Shawn said. Unable to find work and facing her demons amid the glare of a bright media spotlight, a despondent Amber consumed 30 pills in just three days in what she later admitted was a second attempt to end her life.

“The depression took over and I would just take four or five at a time beneath my tongue and nod out,” she said. “I felt the same way I felt a couple of years back, when I, you know, tried to commit suicide.”

Despite the relapse, Amber would likely have been given additional opportunities to get back on track and avoid being thrown into a population of murderers, rapists and other hardened criminals. “But she just said she couldn't do it and she wanted out of the program,” Cummings said. “I don't know that she realized she would actually go to prison... I don't think she's been realistic about the whole thing all along. Whatever celebrity comes along with [being on MTV], I think she thought it was going to prevent her from being held accountable. That just has not been accurate.”

Amber could have avoided prison time by completing the rehab program. If she keeps her nose clean, Amber could be eligible for parole in late 2014 - when her daughter, Leah, is six. In the meantime, Amber told
ABC News
that she plans to “try to better myself for when I get out. I'll be off the drugs. I'll have an education to get me a job. I am not just going to sit. I am going to do substance abuse classes. I am going to get my G.E.D.”

Amber - who signed over full custody of her daughter to Gary in August 2011 - has long blamed MTV and the
Teen Mom
franchise for her problems.

After spending 24 hours in the slammer for attacking Gary in 2010, she told
Life & Style
magazine. “I wouldn't have been in jail because nobody would have known about it.” Amber also lamented to
TMZ
cameras: “I might get attention, but it's not the right attention. I don't want to be known as 'Amber from
Teen Mom
.'”

At a December 2011 court hearing, Amber told the judge that she felt “pressured” and “exploited” through her work with MTV. “I want to quit [the show], and I will,” she said.

Liz Gateley, an original producer on both
Teen Mom
and 16 and Pregnant insists the show does everything it can to provide support for its young stars. “We put lots of things in place when we were at MTV to give them access to professional help when they needed it,” she says. “But also just to be there and talk to us when they needed to talk to us. My feeling always in those situations and it goes back to every show I have ever done, it comes down to family. How you were raised and the support you had. I don't know that whether we had cameras or not on Amber, that any of that wouldn't have happened in her life.”

_______________

AMBER’S DOING GREAT!

Amber is making great strides in prison, her brother Shawn reported in a personal blog post: “She has had a lot of negative press in the past, which portrayed her as a very hateful individual. And she was for a while. She did not know how to control her anger or even shut up when she needed to. But now I am happy to say that I absolutely believe that it is all behind her now.”

Shawn has been corresponding with his sister mostly via email and video chat during her incarceration. During an MTV special in October 2012, Amber said only her mother Tanya and Dr. Drew Pinsky had come to see her. (Gary has since been to see her as well.)

“After Amber was sent to prison she had a lot to think about and a lot to change about herself,” Shawn wrote. “She had to first realize what was important to her, which was her health and most importantly, Leah. I put them in that order because if she were to remain unhealthy then Leah's importance would be non-existent.”

Shawn says Amber has been participating in the prison's drug and rehabilitation program. She is also working toward her G.E.D and has completed an anger management program

“That is the one difference that I see in her most,” he wrote. “She does not get nearly as angry as she used to. In addition, she nearly never curses, and when she does it is not that vulgar. In a letter Amber sent she said, "I make sure I laugh or smile everyday here. I feel emotions, happiness, anger, and sadness but that is still better than before when all I felt was high." These programs have helped her immensely and changed her thought process, which is something she told me needed to be changed.”

_______________

Though Amber has grabbed more than her share of headlines in the past four years, she's not the only cast member to run afoul of the law - not by a long shot. Nearly a dozen of the girls (and in some cases their family members) have ended up in police custody.

Who can forget these gems:

DEBRA DANIELSON
Farrah's Mom Gets Abusive
January 16, 2010

Farrah’s mom, Debra, is arrested for assaulting her daughter. Police arrive at Debra's house after receiving reports of a domestic disturbance. (It was later determined that the fight between Debra and Farrah was over the childcare of Farrah's daughter, Sophia.) Deb allegedly grabbed Farrah by the throat and struck her on the side of her face and mouth. When the cops arrived, she was reportedly holding a kitchen knife in each hand.

Per the official arrest report:

“On the date of this report, the arrest, Debra Danielsen had been arguing in the home's kitchen with the victim (daughter, Farrah Abraham) over child care issues as well as other problems. The two both live together at [deleted] Willow Avenue. The victim stated that Danielson threw a MTV Tee shirt at her. The shirt landed on near the victim's infant daughter who began to cry.

The victim was yelling at Danielson over the shirt throwing and Danielson grabbed her by the throat. The victim pushed Danielson's hand away from her. Victim stated that Danielson then hit her along the right side of her head and hit her in the mouth. I observed multiple small cuts to the right side of the victim's mouth. Debra Danielsen was arrested for domestic Abuse Serious.”

Deb later took a plea deal for the incident, and the aftermath was a key plotline for the second season of
Teen Mom
. Months later, Debra was asked by Dr. Drew if she regretted striking her daughter. “No,” she replied. “I think that as a parent, if you love your child, you have to tell them when enough is enough on something. You're there to guide them. It doesn't mean you're overbearing as I've been called, but it means that you have to love them.”

* * * *

AUBREY WOLTERS
Banned From Walmart -- For Stealing!
May 20, 2010

Aubrey, of
16 and Pregnant
season two gives her 17 month-old son a firsthand look at the criminal justice system - by bringing him along for a shoplifting spree at the Prescott, Arizona Walmart. Aubrey, 17 at the time, was with an unnamed friend when store security allegedly caught her swiping $29.66 worth of eyeliner and makeup brushes.

According to cops, her accomplice had placed the items in her purse. The newly divorced mom landed in even more hot water when police later discovered a stash of drugs - including Ritalin (used to treat ADHD) and Oxycontin in her purse. An official police report says Aubrey didn't have a prescription for either. (Shocker!) Both Aubrey and her pal were charged with shoplifting - and banned from returning to the world's largest retailer for a full year. Aubrey was also slapped with additional charges for possessing drugs without a prescription.

Authorities say she claimed the Oxycontin was her grandmother's and the Ritalin belonged to her ex-husband. Brandon Akerill did eventually produce a valid prescription but said he couldn't explain how the pills got into Aubrey's purse. He was given custody of young Austin while Aubrey got carted off to juvenile detention.

After the charges became public, Aubrey turned to her
Facebook
fan page to tell her side of the story. Here it is, in all its unedited glory:

“I was never charged with shoplifting (didn't steal anything girl i was with did) & also had a single pill on me which was for my mema & the charge was a yr ago & will be expunged from my record... I went to walmart with a girl I knew & right before entering told her not to steal anything because my husband worked security & walmart had camera operators plus of course I had Austin. She told me it was chill. Then walked through the store a little bit, she wandered off & we eventually met back up. When we walked out the doors i had no idea she'd stolen anything, I didn't even think it was a big deal because I hadn't stolen anything. (Never got a shoplifting charge) When the cop searched my purse i wasn't worried at all because once again I didn't know. I'm not an oxi user & i don't do heroine. If I did I certainly would have hidden it or something because I had plenty of opportunity... The felony will be removed from my record now that I'm 19 yrs. old & have paid my fines. I have a court date set in Arizona. I was ordered to write a paper on the dangers of giving someone a prescription that is not there own & the courts said to come back in a year...

The girl that gave the magazines this info… is the same girl who got me arrested. She's always hated me & thought she could make some easy money by selling this story even though it was a long time ago.”

She also had a pretty clever explanation for the drugs that cops found in her purse:

“My mema's prescription ran out. She was in pain, I'd gotten it from a friends mom who had the same prescription. I was not carrying around a bunch of drugs, I had a single pill on me & I'd gotten it 15 mins before hand & was taking it to m…y mema. I didn't even know how much trouble I could get in for having it otherwise I would have hidden it.”

According to
E! News
, the case was closed on June 14, 2010, when Aubrey wrapped up a court-appointed drug diversion program. In a previous run-in with the law, Aubrey had her driver's license suspended for failing to pay a speeding ticket.

* * * *

VALERIE FAIRMAN
Beats Up Her Mama
April 5, 2011
The
16 and Pregnant
season two alum spent several nights as a guest at the Chester County (Pennsylvania) Youth Center after unleashing a violent assault on the woman who adopted her.

Val - who was being home schooled after disciplinary problems at her local high school - reportedly punched and pushed her mother to the ground, breaking her vertebrae. The high school junior, 17, was charged by state police and taken into custody. After being released from detention, the mother of (then) 19 month-old Nevaeh was placed under house arrest until her hearing.

* * * *

JENNIFER DEL RIO v. JOSH SMITH
Who Punched Who?
April 18, 2011
Cops in Hillsborough County, Florida are called to the home of 19-year-old
Josh Smith
- after he claimed to be pummeled by the hot-tempered mother of his twins! Smith - who was arrested on November 4, 2010 and ordered to complete a domestic violence program after allegedly attacking Jennifer Del Rio - says the 17 year-old mom opened up a can of whoop ass when he tried to end their relationship.

According to police reports, Jennifer became “irate” and “punched him in the face and pulled on his shirt.” He eventually pushed her away as an act of self-defense. When no arrest was made, Jennifer quickly took to her official Facebook fan page, and claimed “Josh lied to the cops... He punched himself and ripped his shirt... He lied under oath & that will be proved.” The way she tells it, their latest dispute began when she drove Josh home from a job interview. He requested to keep one of the children overnight and she objected.