Sometimes, it takes maturity to see why people worried about your immaturity.
We reported that Unexpected Season 7 will feature a 13-year-old father-to-be.
That child is Hunter. The child who has since given birth to his baby is now 15.
Will Bella Vaughn face legal consequences for getting pregnant by a then-12-year-old? Here’s what she has to say.
Unexpected is both an indictment of society as a whole and an attempt to be the next Teen Mom.
But when Hunter and Bella conceived, he wasn’t a candidate to be a “teen dad.”
She was 14, and he was 12.
Bella has just recently turned 16. She says that Hunter turned 13 shortly after their catastrophic contraceptive failure.
This week, she took to TikTok to address speculation that she will — or “should” — face legal consequences.
@_izabellamarie sorry i talk with my hands a lot lol #rumors #15andpregnant💙 #boymama #teenmom #mamasboy @KrisNFalen ♬ original sound – bella🐆🎱 | boy mama 💙👶🏼
“I definitely think it is overdue for me to make this video,” the 16-year-old began.
“Y’all have really hit the mark with me,” Bella admitted.
“I know they say that when you’re on TV, you can’t let things get to you,” she acknowledged.
“But,” Bella emphasized, “you guys are way overdoing it.”
She declared: “There’s so much more that people have put out there that is a lie.”
“Hunter is a father! Just because he was 12 [when he got me pregnant], he turned 13 a few days later!” Bella argued.
“I understand it doesn’t make it any better. I understand,” she added.
Bella continued: “He was sexually ready faster than I was, and that’s OK. But I was ready when we had sex.”
She urged: “You can all stop saying it was illegal and that I raped him, because I didn’t. It was both consensual on both sides.”
Bella emphasized: “People have already said that. We have already talked to the cops about it. It was consensual.”
Additionally, Bella hit back at claims that she “ruined” Hunter’s life.
“When I found out I was pregnant, I gave Hunter the option,” she described.
Bella recalled: “I said, ‘If you can’t do this or you don’t want to be here, that is fine, I understand. I can do this on my own or with you. It’s your decision. Whatever you choose I’m fine with.’”
She continued: “He chose to stay with me. He chose to take care of our baby. Y’all can all stop saying that now.”
Bella also defended her mother, claiming that both her and her sister being pregnant as teens was “not a parenting issue.”
First of all, it sounds like Bella and Hunter were a little over a year apart.
While these are arguably developmentally normal times to develop an interest in sex, that is a big age gap when at least one party is a middle schooler. If they’d both been in high school, the only issue would be the pregnancy.
Secondly, no, Bella didn’t “ruin” Hunter’s life. They were both involved in this. You might argue that they have ruined each other’s lives (and Wes’ life), but clearly, Bella would disagree.
It’s really important to note that Bella and Hunter are both children. That’s why they’ve made life-altering mistakes.
This is a tragedy. TLC is turning their story and others into sideshow entertainment. One day, when Bella is mature enough to see her situation clearly, she’ll likely understand the horror that we feel for her, for Hunter, and for baby Wes.