As a special treat for Teen Mom junkies (okay, fine, just me) MTV.com posts aftershows after each episode. Hosted by SuChin Pak, this is a chance for the cast members to address stuff in real time after they’ve watched the episodes. (The episodes for this season were taped last fall and winter, so there are often updates or clarifications.) For the Teen Mom aftershows, other teen moms who aren’t famous or on TV come and sit in the studio – on cushions, of course, since only MTV stars get actual couches or chairs – to ask questions or nod approvingly.
1. Amber wasn’t there.
Catelynn, Maci, and Farrah were all there to sit on the couch and take questions (and Maci looked great with her toned-down new hair color), but Amber wasn’t. SuChin said that although Amber wasn’t able to be there they were “thinking of her,” and I assume that was a very casual reference to what some viewers of the show may know – that Amber was briefly hospitalized after a suicide attempt and is now in treatment.
2. Maci calls Kyle her best friend.
If you follow Maci on Twitter, you know that she constantly talks about Kyle, how much she loves him, and how great he is with Bentley. She also referred to him once as her “perfect lover” once, which was majorly squicky. I hope that his crack about how he can’t remember how to kiss Maci because he’s slow is a sign that Kyle will develop a personality this season. I suspect that Kyle is naturally kind of shy and that he still has to get used to being on camera, but I don’t think he’s dumb or slow. Maci says that she has encouraged Ryan and Kyle to meet, but Kyle doesn’t like Ryan “because of the way he treats me and Bentley sometimes.” Maci also says that Ryan’s need to meet Kyle was to assert some sort of dominance. She’s sort of right, but she also needs to acknowledge her own complicity in the situation.
3. Farrah is a fan of therapy.
In her segment, Farrah says that she and her mother have worked hard on repairing their relationship. She says that they’ve been in counseling and it has been very helpful. I’m really liking that Farrah is being honest about both her therapy and her boob job. They’re both things that one could be ashamed of, but she’s coming off as more mature and grounded this year (even with the “came for boobs” incident, which is the funniest thing ever). I totally loathed her during season 1, but watching her mature and actively work to become a good mom has kind of endeared her to me. Who am I? When an audience-mom says she considered going to counseling but thought it would be too “messy,” Farrah, Catelynn, and Maci all immediately disagree and tell her to do it anyway. I hate the idea that Dr. Drew might have actually been useful in some way. Even SuChin is like “Go to therapy, it rules.”
4. Catelynn and her mom both watch the show, but not together.
Of all the girls, I feel like Catelynn is the least comfortable on camera. She’s naturally shy, and the horrible growing-up that she had with April has made her skittish and insecure. She also seems to want to defend her mom, which is admirable of her even though April sucks. Catelynn says that she and her mom have both grown a lot, and that her mom apologized for some of the despicable things she said about Catelynn giving her daughter up for adoption. They both watch the show, but never together, which is easier now that Catelynn has moved out. Maci says that April and Catelynn love each other more than anything, but they also have the ability to push each others’ buttons more than anyone else. Catelynn, true to form, lets Maci explain the situation on her behalf while she nods and occasionally “mmhmm”s.
5. Young Mom Katie is a microphone hog.
Although the “teen mom Groundlings” are there so that SuChin can occasionally throw out questions to them en masse, their segments can be summed up with a lot of group nodding and this one girl Katie hogging the mike so she can talk about herself a lot. She’s 23, so she’s too old to be on the show, and she already has a kid so it’s too late to audition for 16 and Pregnant, but damn if girl isn’t going to get her camera time. She’s like that person who stands up to ask a question at a lecture or presentation and then the ‘question’ turns out to be a ten minute long comment about nothing.
