Leah Messer has finally opened up about a “turning point” that made her feel confident.
For the unversed, the 33-year-old television personality became famous when she came out in the spotlight as a 17-year-old pregnant with twins on season 2 of 16 & Pregnant in 2009.
Messer’s twin daughters, Aleeah and Aliannah, were born prematurely on December 16, 2009, and the whole journey from being pregnant in her teens to embracing motherhood by welcoming her children into the world still amazes Leah.
While conversing with PEOPLE, she recalled and said, “The first time [production] called, I remember I was getting my nails done. I couldn’t believe that someone was actually calling me to be a part of a television series. I was shook.”
Referring to her ex-husband, Corey Simms, whom she remained married to till 2011 from 2010, she added, “Corey and I did a self-tape and we couldn’t believe it ended up being real.”
Notably, after calling it quits with Simms, Messer married Jeremy Calvert in 2012, welcomed their daughter Adalynn and got divorced in 2015.
She told the outlet that “it took her years to really get accustomed to” camera rolling to chronicle her story on Teen Mom “and understand this realm.”
The mother of three went on to note by saying, “At 17, I had really no idea of what to expect. But it’s been unbelievable. I couldn’t believe the series took off the way that it did. I was very naive to the fact that there were so many people who were apart of making it happen, and so many people watching.”
For Messe, sharing her story was about “making a difference,” as she thinks “the show just resonated with so many people.”
“It was unbelievable that it had such a huge impact, especially the way it did at the beginning. There was a turning point, where you realize you really are a role model to young women out there.”
“That alone had a real impact on me. Because before that pivotal moment of realizing that, I had so much confusion and anxiety about so many people being in my life and having access. Realizing that was a blessing in disguise,” Messer stated.
