During a season four episode of Teen Mom 2, which aired in Feb. 2013, Leah Messer opened up about suffering a miscarriage with her and then-fiance, Jeremy Calvert’s, first child. However, in her 2020 book, Hope, Grace & Faith, which is due out on May 5, Leah reveals that she actually had an abortion, not a miscarriage, according to People. In the book, she explains that there were people in her inner circle, including her mom, who urged her to lie about the abortion and say she had a miscarriage instead.
“I had very low self esteem at that point in my life and I 100 percent allowed others to control my decision making,” Leah told People. “I truly, wholeheartedly, felt like I convinced myself that [I really had a miscarriage].” At the time of Leah’s abortion, she was already a mom to twin daughters, Aliannah and Aleeah. They were just two years old, and Leah was divorced from their father, Corey Simms. She started dating Jeremy in Aug. 2011, shortly after her split from Corey. In the book, she explains that she was still dealing with her feelings for Corey when she found out she was expecting a baby with Jeremy, which is why she decided to take abortion pills.
“Looking back now, I just wish I would have owned it,” she admitted to People. “I wish I would’ve owned what was going on. [I wish I hadn’t been] fearful of what everyone was going to say. But I’m not going to dwell on the decision I made at that time. I’m going to rise above the decision I made and learn from that experience.”
Leah and Jeremy got married in April 2012, and wound up welcoming their first child, Adalynn, together in Feb. 2013. Unfortunately, their relationship didn’t last either, and they split by 2015. She opens up about the aftermath of the split, including the suicidal thoughts she had following the breakup, in her book. Hope, Grace & Faith will be released on May 5.