What Happened To Ebony Jackson After 16 And Pregnant?
MTV raised many eyebrows with the 2009 debut of a reality television series aptly titled 16 and Pregnant. Camera crews followed teenagers around as they documented their unplanned pregnancies for the world to see. Think the movie Juno, but in real life — a comparison made famous by The New York Times.
While the series drew harsh criticism from some, it also garnered praise from others, who argued the show did a great job of capturing the struggles of unplanned teenage pregnancy. The show quickly established a wide fan base and per The Wrap, its second season premiere captured a staggering 3.4 million viewers. Pretty impressive!
While many of the teen moms stole our hearts — ahem, Maci Bookout — there were just as many that left us scratching our heads — ahem, Farrah Abraham. But what about Season 1's Ebony Jackson? Did she land on her feet after making her debut into reality television, or did she succumb to the pitfalls of being portrayed on a reality show while navigating life as a teen mom? Keep reading after the jump to find out!
Ebony Jackson was arrested and lost custody of her daughter
Unfortunately, it wasn't all rainbows and sunshine for MTV's 16 and Pregnant couple Joshua Rendon and Ebony Jackson. During their time on the show, viewers watched the pair welcome their daughter, Jocelyn. Shortly after, the couple married and Joshua enlisted in the Air Force in an effort to provide for his wife and daughter. All seemed well... until it wasn't.
As reported by ABC, the couple was arrested in 2011 and their daughter was immediately taken into child protective services. Officials obtained a search warrant for the couple's home and were taken aback at the state of the living conditions, with animal excrement, flies, maggots, dirty diapers, cigarette butts, and other trash littered throughout the home. The police report stated, "Every room inside the residence had human and dog feces on the floors, walls and clothing."
But that's not all — officials also allegedly found synthetic marijuana and drug paraphernalia. Both Joshua and Ebony were arrested and subsequently released on an $8000 bond. Upon the couple's arrest, however, Jocelyn was placed in custody of the Arkansas Department of Human Services.
Later, Ebony spoke candidly about the arrest and her child being taken away with Hollywood Life. During the 2011 interview, Ebony cited depression following a devastating miscarriage for her household's disarray. "I lost a kid, so I've been going through my own personal problems and so I haven't been able to be the wife, mom that I'm supposed to be," she confessed.
Ebony Jackson moved on to a new relationship and got pregnant again
Ebony Jackson and Joshua Rendon did eventually go on to have another child, a daughter named Jayda, but the pair ultimately separated in 2013, per Starcasm.
In 2015, however, it appeared that Ebony had found happiness yet again — this time in the arms of boyfriend James Baldrick, as reported by In Touch Weekly. James took to Instagram to share the good news. "#HappyEaster thought I would finally share the good news! Say hello to Jaelyn Zoria Baldrick #itsagirl due June 22," he penned in the post.
That makes baby number three for Ebony, though it's reported that her ex-husband Joshua retains custody of her eldest two daughters, Jocelyn and Jayda. And while this makes the first child for Ebony and Baldrick, this is not their first pregnancy together. As reported by The Ashley's Reality Roundup, the couple tragically suffered a miscarriage with a son they intended to name Hercules in 2014.
We wish Ebony and her family all of the best!