Fifteen years after Kail Lowry signed up to have her life (and her children’s lives) play out on TV, the former Teen Mom 2 star says she’s starting to realize the impact that decision has had on her kids.
During an emotional episode of her Barely Famous podcast— which was released on Friday— Kail’s 15-year-old son Isaac (who now prefers to go by his middle name, Elliott) came out as gay. The podcast episode also discussed how Elliott’s life has been impacted by his mom putting him (and his siblings) on TV from the time they were born until she quit the show in 2022.
Kail Lowry said that, at the beginning, she wasn’t thinking about how spending more than a decade on TV would affect Elliott or his siblings.
“I’m speaking for the entire [‘Teen Mom’] cast— and I hope that they don’t get mad at me for saying this– but I truly don’t think that any of us understood the implications and impact that [us being on the show] would have on our children,” she said. “At the end of the day, we weren’t thinking that we were exploiting our children.”
“For myself, I signed up for this show out of pure desperation and needing money and needing to figure out a way out of the situation that I was in,” Kail— who was living with Elliott’s dad Jo Rivera‘s family at the time of his birth— stated. “I don’t think that I ever thought about where we would be in 15 years. I thought it was, ‘Right now I’m going to get paid, I’ll figure this out and I’ll get my life together for my son.'”
Over the years, fans watched as Kail’s—- and her kids’— issues and problems have played out on ‘Teen Mom.’ Having the show focus on the kids— rather than the moms— has caused the show’s stars to be criticized for exploiting their kids for their own profit. (Kail’s co-star Chelsea Houska listed this as one of the main reasons she chose to leave the show in 2020, stating that she felt it was wrong that her eldest daughter Aubree’s personal life had become too much of a focus on the show.)
Scenes featuring Elliott’s (and the other ‘Teen Mom’ kids’) childhood tantrums and personal problems often made it onto the show, resulting in that moment being available for viewing online forever.
During some scenes, Kail (or the other parents) even pointed out that the cameras were capturing the bad behavior and showing it to the world. (Check out the video below for one example of this.)
Despite this, Elliott– who has stayed in the spotlight via social media and promo deals— stated that he isn’t upset that his mom chose to put his childhood on TV.
“Do you ever feel resentment because I had us on TV your whole life?” Kail asked her son. “Do you get upset with me, or angry with me ever?”
“No,” Elliott replied. “No, I really don’t. I might feel a way that we were on it for so long, but at the same time I try my best to look at the positives. We wouldn’t be right here in this moment if it wasn’t for everything you’ve done. I couldn’t see it another way. I’m really grateful for you. You’re the only person I need.”
Kail stated that social media was very different in 2009 when she signed up for “16 and Pregnant,” so fans’ access to her and her family was very different back then compared to today.
“If I was 16 and pregnant today, I think I would look at it from a different perspective because I could see all the apps [available now], all the Internet, all the trolls, all the forums, all the things,” she told Elliott. “Instagram came out after you were born. Or I got on Instagram after you were born, so it was very different. So I think that also played a part.”
Kail said she’s also been criticized for allowing Elliott (and her other kids) to be featured prominently on social media— both hers and their own.
“You’re in a weird position because you’re a pseudo-nepo baby and you have the ability to make money on social media at 15 years old, and you have the ability to share your passions for ASL and pride and have your opinions on social media,” Kail said, later adding, “I have a hard time now because I know the benefits of social media, and I understand the benefits of being a public figure, the opportunities that can come from it. But I also know where that leaves us mentally sometimes. It can be draining. It can be so many good things but it can be so many bad things.
Kail and Elliott also spoke about times that have become scary or uncomfortable because fans have recognized them out in public and gotten “too close.”
“When people come up to us in public [because they recognize us from the show], I don’t mind,” Kail said. “I’m an adult. I can make my own decisions. But we have come across times where people will be like, ‘Isaac get in [the picture]’ or they’ll physically grab him. [This happened] specifically [at] the Jelly Roll concert in Philly. That lady physically grabbed him to be in the picture. That’s not OK! Just respectfully, keep in mind he is a child. He is a minor.”
Elliott stated that he doesn’t like to be in photos with fans, and Kail gave more perspective as to why she might decline a fan’s request to take a photo with her and her kids out in public.
“We don’t know where these pictures are going. If they’re on somebody else’s phone, we don’t get to see them…. we’re not saying this to be mean, and that we’re not thankful to [the fans]…but the pictures, it’s hard,” she said. “AI [Artificial Intelligence] is so powerful. But also so scary. We’re not saying [no] to be rude or not thankful for you guys, but keep in mind he’s a minor.”
“It’s a really weird place to be,” she said later in the episode. “I know so many people that I’ve talked to on Barely Famous who are like, ‘I would never let me child be a part of this industry’ or ‘My child’s never getting social media.’ I understand all sides of it…it’s been a really hard place for me to be in as a parent and as a public figure at the same time.”
Elliott is not the first ‘Teen Mom’ kid to speak out about having had their entire childhood filmed for a TV show. Back in February, Leah Shirley— the daughter of original Teen Mom stars Amber Portwood and Gary Shirley— discussed the topic during an episode of Teen Mom: The Next Chapter. Leah, who is 16, said it’s “weird” and sometimes “painful” to watch old clips of the show, which often show traumatic incidents that have been forever captured on tape.
“I see the older ones, from when I was like two, and it’s just weird to watch because it’s always, like, Amber screaming at you and you leave,” Leah told her dad.
Leah also admitted that it’s hard for her to watch clips in which Amber neglected her as a baby.
“And then there’s one clip where [Amber] is like, ‘Why is Leah crying?’ when she is in a complete opposite room, just leaving me,” Leah added. “It’s just weird. I think those ones are kind of painful to watch because it’s little me.”
