Maci Bookout believes early episodes of her MTV reality show, “Teen Mom,” can help her 13-year-old son, Bentley, better understand the birds and the bees.
“I feel like the authenticity of our show in the early days, it’s kind of unmatched,” she tells Page Six in an exclusive interview, while promoting the latest iteration of the franchise, “Teen Mom: The Next Chapter.”
The 31-year-old elaborates, “And I feel like it’s a great, real, raw, human example of, ‘Hey, this is life and this why every decision you make matters.’”
Bookout was one of six girls who starred on the inaugural season of “16 and Pregnant,” a real-life depiction of teen pregnancy that premiered in June 2009 — following extensive media coverage of Jamie Lynn Spears and Bristol Palin’s teen pregnancies. (Palin, now 31, eventually appeared on a season of “Teen Mom OG” in 2018.)
Months after “16 and Pregnant” debuted, Bookout, Farrah Abraham, Amber Portwood and Catelynn Lowell were assembled as the original cast of “Teen Mom,” an instant hit that ignited further conversations about teen pregnancy in America.
Bookout memorably faced a series of obstacles after welcoming her son in high school — including a broken engagement with Bentley’s father, her ex Ryan Edwards, Edwards’ seeming disinterest in fatherhood and his eventual battle with addiction.
Those struggles, along with those of Bookout’s castmates, had a positive impact on viewers and, most notably, teen pregnancy rates in the U.S.
Despite concerns that “16 and Pregnant” and ensuing “Teen Mom” spinoffs would glamorize teen pregnancy, research conducted in 2014 and published by the National Bureau of Economic Research indicated that the franchise was to credit for a decline in underage conceptions across the country.
MTV
MTV
MTV
“We’ve always believed that storytelling can be a powerful catalyst for change, and are incredibly heartened by this news,” Stephen Friedman, then-President of MTV, said at the time.
For her part, Bookout is hopeful that Bentley will make a concerted effort to avoid teen parenthood — especially after watching his mother’s onscreen journey.
macideshanebookout/Instagram
macideshanebookout/Instagram
“Obviously, I was a teen mom. And as I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized more and more I was a kid having a kid and was a kid raising a kid,” she reflects. “I think with Bentley getting so close to 16, it really just puts that into a whole kind of different perspective of, ‘Yeah, you were a baby having a baby,’” she reflects.
The mom of three — who also shares daughter Jayde, 7, and son Maverick, 6, with husband Taylor McKinney — adds, “He’s a great kid … Bentley’s mature and he’s very wise beyond his years and still, I’m like, ‘There’s no way [he can be a parent now].’”
“Teen Mom: The Next Chapter” airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on MTV.
