The Truth About Teen Mom Star Leah Messer's Drug Addiction
Teen Mom 2 fan-favorite Leah Messer is telling all in her new memoir, Hope, Grace & Faith, titled after the middle names of her three daughters: Aliannah, Aleeah, and Adalynn. She's also opening up about a painful drug addiction that she previously denied — but fans saw play out on camera.
Leah first came clean about her opioid addiction in November 2018, revealing on her podcast, Life Reboot, that she knew "how it feels to become dependent on anything given by a doctor." She explained that her prescription pill dependency started after the 2013 birth of her third daughter, Adalynn, when doctors gave her a botched spinal tap that left her in immense pain for months.
While that's how her addiction started, with the release of her memoir in May 2020, Leah is getting real about how her prescription pill dependency affected her life. Read on to learn how Leah confronted her past battle with addiction — and how she got the help she needed.
Leah Messer claims her dad had supplied her with medication
While Teen Mom 2 fans are familiar with Leah Messer's mom Dawn and stepdad Lee, viewers haven't seen much of her biological dad, who lived with Leah and then-husband Jeremy Calvert for a time. It was her dad, an addict himself, who Leah claims gave her meds after her own painkillers ran out.
As she revealed in her memoir (via Us Weekly), doctors prescribed the reality star with hydrocodone, oxycodone, and Tylenol 3 after a botched spinal tap during labor with Adalynn. But it was diazepam, she said, that was the medication that "really knocked [her] out." And it was Leah's father who provided her with meds after her prescriptions grew stale.
"With all the doctor appointments I've been juggling for Ali, my oldest, I never had time to schedule a follow-up appointment to figure out why I'm still in so much pain, so my dad has been hooking me up with the same medications," Leah wrote in the book.
Jeremy previously corroborated this account in November 2018 on Leah's podcast, Life Reboot. "He was for sure [supplying Leah with medication]," he revealed. "It was easily available with him living in our basement."
Leah Messer doesn't remember filming while under the influence
Longtime Teen Mom 2 viewers will remember episodes from Season 6 where the reality star would nod off with heavy-lidded eyes, mumbling incoherently. One scene in particular often sticks out in fans' minds: Leah Messer was sitting on a couch, holding her brother's baby on her lap. As Radar Online recapped, she quickly began slurring her words and fell asleep mid-sentence, while her brother tried to wake her up and a friend took the baby.
In an April 2020 interview with Entertainment Tonight, Leah said she can't remember filming the moments while she was under the influence, and, in fact, watched the scenes in which she was in disbelief.
"I look back at that footage, and I draw blanks. I draw blanks to that period of my life, because it doesn't seem like that was... I look at it and I'm like, was that really me?" she asked rhetorically. "Was I really nodding off? Like, was I really under that much medication?"
Leah Messer had an intervention after she wanted to take her own life
It took hitting rock bottom for Leah Messer to realize she had a problem. She revealed to Entertainment Tonight in April 2020 that she contemplated taking her own life, which is what led those around her to confront the reality star about what was going on. "It didn't even dawn on me until I was finally like, 'I don't even want to live anymore. I'm not worth, like, my life is not worth living.' And then it was like, my management and MTV stepped in."
Leah also explained that she was aware that the suicidal thoughts were a sign that she needed help. "When I wanted to commit suicide, that's when I realized there was an underlying issue," she told ET. "Being suicidal and wanting to take my life and leave my girls without a mom is what led me to seek... you know, I needed help. And that was OK. And it was OK."
According to The Fix, Leah completed a 30-day treatment program in 2015. As E! News reports, she is now sober.
If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's 24-hour helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).