Leah Messer is finally coming clean about the time in her life where she struggled with a prescription pill addiction.
For years, the Teen Mom 2 star has denied that she had a drug problem during the period of time following her daughter Addie’s birth in February 2013. The topic was covered extensively on the show, with Leah always denying that she had dependency issues. However, on the latest episode of her Life Reboot podcast, Leah finally admitted that she was, indeed, battling an addiction to pills during that time in her life.
“I do know how it feels to become dependent on anything given by a doctor,” Leah said.
She later talked about how her drug dependency turned her life upside down.
“Not only was I losing my kids but I was basically losing my life, my husband, everything,” Leah said about her life in 2014 and 2015. “Everything was crashing down on me.”
For the first time, Leah told the full story about how she became dependent on pain pills, and the time she spent at a treatment center in May 2015.
According to Leah and her ex-husband, Jeremy Calvert— who took part in the podcast episode– Leah’s drug problem started when she went to the hospital to give birth to Addie.
“I just went in to deliver Addie and they injected me like 13 times [during the epidural],” Leah said. “In the hospital I couldn’t get up and they just put me on morphine pump. I kept telling Jeremy, ‘Something’s not right.’
“I spent three days in the hospital and they weren’t figuring out what the problem was. They were just keeping me on medicine. It goes into four days and I kept saying something was not right… I leave the hospital and it still doesn’t get better at home. They put me on different drugs to go home on for three months, three different drugs.”
Leah stated that she was very naive when it came to drugs, and that she was actually against taking any painkillers, since she watched her biological father battle addiction.
“I was very oblivious to any drug,” she said. “I was actually anti[-drug] because my dad was a drug addict so I wouldn’t take anything.”
Soon, though, Leah and Jeremy said that Leah’s pain got so bad that Leah needed the medication to get through her day.
“When she got out [of the hospital] she was in constant pain… headaches, lower back pain,” Jeremy said.
“[The pain] would shoot up my spine and the morphine wasn’t doing anything,” she said. “My dad was a drug addict so I was like, ‘I don’t ever want to be a part of that. I don’t want that to be in my life.’ But by then I was already dependent on the medication.”
‘Teen Mom 2’ watched in one memorable scene when Leah dozed off while talking on the phone to her daughter’s nurse, as well as when Leah fell asleep holding her baby niece. Leah explained what was going on during that time.
“I’d go to my doctor because I thought that maybe there was something else wrong with me and they put me on Diazepam [the generic version of Valium], and it had me nodding off,” she said.
Leah continued to take pain medication which, according to Jeremy, she was able to get thanks to her biological father, who was living in their basement at the time.
(The Ashley has stated in the past that Leah’s father contributed to her addiction, but this is the first time that Leah herself actually admitted it.)
On the show, Leah continued to deny that she had a drug problem, even during a face-to-face meeting with her ex-husband Corey Simms, who was trying to take custody of their twins from Leah. However, she now admits that there was something very wrong, although she didn’t want it playing out on the show.
“What she was worried about the entire time was what everyone was gonna think,” Jeremy said.
The drug dependency started to affect every part of Leah’s life, she said.
“Jeremy and I started having issues. Then, after Jeremy and I started having issues, then Corey stepped in,” Leah said. “[MTV] would make it look— I’ll just go ahead and say, even though I’m under contract—- they did make it look sometimes worse than it was, and they played it on longer than it actually was.”
“You also had MTV putting their f**king two cents on it, when they had no business with it,” Jeremy added. “Our marriage and some of the things they wanted to have a hold on wasn’t anyone’s business besides ours….You also had MTV’s point of view in your ear, constantly. MTV had a lot to do with a lot of things.”
As The Ashley reported back in 2015, the show’s higher-ups basically forced Leah into going to rehab, using portions of her show contract (particularly those dealing with payment) as a way of getting her to go. She was originally supposed to go to a treatment center in early May 2015, and even made it as far as the airport to go, but refused to get on the plane.
(They eventually rewrote the story to make it look like Leah went, but then came back because she was worried about Corey taking custody of the twins while she was gone. This was not actually what happened in real life.)
Eventually, Leah and the producers agreed to state on the show that Leah was going to the treatment center to get help for her depression and anxiety.
In 2016, Leah refused to admit during an appearance on The Steve Harvey Show that she went to the rehab to get help for her drug dependency. She did admit, though, that most of the people in her life were not happy about her going to rehab.
“Jeremy was on board, he was telling me to go to treatment,” Leah said. “We were divorcing but he was still like, ‘You need to go.’”
Once Leah arrived at the Sierra Tucson rehab center in Arizona, Leah said she met with an addiction specialist, even though she wasn’t technically on the center’s addiction track.
“They had me on the trauma track. You don’t go to treatment just for addiction. You can go to treatment for addiction, trauma, for pain,” she said.
Leah said that, once she was at the treatment center, she thrived and finally got to live the normal life of a person in their early twenties, which was something she had never done before, due to her teen pregnancy.
“You want to know what I learned most from going to treatment? I had never had a time to not only get better, but I had a month to get into who I was…a sneak peek of who I was. I had kids at 17. I never had any time for Leah,” she said.
“You never got to experience fun stuff that normal teenagers get to experience,” Jeremy added.
“When I was in treatment… I honestly felt like it was a month in college,” Leah added. “Most people have that four years of college, but I had that month. It was an eye-opener and a spiritual awakening.”
Leah said she had hit “rock bottom” before going to treatment and, in a past podcast episode, admitted that she had been suicidal during that time.
“I don’t feel ashamed,” she said. “I felt that people seen it [play out on the show] different than what it actually was. It wasn’t like I chose that, but even if I did, that doesn’t matter.
“I’m in a much better place than I was,” she added.
To listen to the entire episode of Life Reboot podcast, click here!
RELATED STORY: ‘Teen Mom 2’ Star Leah Messer Admits Reconnecting with Her Biological Father Was “Very Unhealthy”
(Photos: MTV, Instagram)
29 Responses
Why is it that everyone feels she “had” to admit she had a problem? Should she admit it to herself, her therapist, her loved ones, her doctors? Yes! To random people, and that’s what we are, it’s no one’s business. Yes, secrets keep you sick, but it also isn’t her job to shout it from the rooftops.
I’m glad she finally admits she had a problem. I’m glad she got help. Her life seems much better now.
That’s insane and makes me so upset and angry about how she was basically given all these meds to fix a problem that wasn’t her fault. I don’t see why you’d have to hide that from MTV instead of just saying what happened at the time. That freaks me out so much about child birth 😐 Is the hospital not responsible for ensuring proper procedures & safe delivery, and discharging healthy patients?
Patients have to be upfront about what is happening. Maybe she didnt say the whole truth because she didnt want to say anything. Hospitals and doctora do do what they can to help most of the time. All hospitals arnt crappy. You being the patient have to tell the truth like i said. When i was in the hospital after having a c section nurses and doctors ask all the time how everything is. That is not just for pain, that is including mentally. My ob asked the same thing. By the nurse and my ob doctor. I also filled out a form if i felt wrong mentally. My pediatrician for my daughter also asked if i was doing ok. My insurance called and asked how i was doing. I also answered questions about all that. Hospitals discharge if you say you are totally ok. If not they will keep you. If not they will get you the proper meds most of the time and or help with what you need.
MONKEY! MONKEY! MONKEEEEEEEY!!!
???
Out of all the TM2 girls, Leah is the only one I really like. She seems to be sweet and kind and very naive. I think Leah and the new girl Briana in Portland from Young and Pregnant (with the child that was born without a hand) are very similar in nature and circumstance. Both sweet and naive with disabled children. I think Leah and Briana should try to become friends if they haven’t already. I think it would be nice for the both of them.
I’m glad she finally admitted it, however, it annoys how a lot of the blame was placed on MTV. They covered up ALOT for her, the whole ‘monkey thing being just one example. Like Addie got lost in the woods while Leah was passed out, and apparently not for the first time. She had the twins sleeping in the living room because TR Dues’ kids were sleeping in the bedroom. The fact that at one point Gracie said “I don’t trust you” to her, says a lot at the time. But everyone villified corey and Miranda for wanting better for the girls. Let’s not forget how evil Dawn was to them at that time, and how much she enabled Leah. MTV did her a solid in a lot of aspects, she was mad that they just didn’t cover it up further. Again, I’m glad that she’s better, it’s always nice to see a comeback, however, it would be nicer to see her take full accountability.
This basically sums up my feelings. I’m happy she’s sober and that she’s admitted her addiction. But, MTV definitely didn’t make things look worse, they made them look so much better. Corey and Miranda were raked through the coals for “taking” the twins from poor Leah when they were legitimately scared for their safety. That’s why Miranda quit. Leah nowadmits she refused to get on the plane for rehab, but on the show it’s because Corey was going to take the girls. MTV allowed her to lie and blame Corey, Jeremey, Miranda, etc. for her problems. Even on the last season of the show she blames all of Gracie’s behavior problems on her feelings about Ali when Leah’s addiction obviously had a serious impact as well. Hopefully, she’s at least discussing that with Gracie’s therapist.
She and Jeremy tell the entire story on her podcast. She had a severely botched spinal tap/epidural, they stuck her 13 times and had her on a morphine drip. When she got home from the hospital Jeremy had to carry her to different places in the house because she couldn’t walk, and she had to miss baby Addie’s first doctor appointment due to that fact. Her dad was living with the family at that time, and Leah was prescribed 3 different medications for a span of three months. After that time she was just taking whatever she could to help with the pain, and her dad was supplying her with pain pills.
What annoys me is why this isn’t the stuff they show on TM, instead of the ridiculous story lines they manufacture instead. It would be so much more powerful and impactful IMO.
Especially the impact of the botched epidural (and I’m pro getting your kid out anyway you want) but if this show is supposed to be about the pregnancy and being a teen mom and complications – having a debilitating problem because of your delivery is something that could be useful.
How did she pass that drug test though? Everyone was shocked that it came out negative.
Because she abusing the pain meds she was prescribed. She even said so right after. Her prescription was her saving grace. She stopped taking the other words, for a time for the sake of the drug test, then went back to it right after.
I’m glad she has finally admitted it. Seems like that was the only missing piece left in the picture of her recovery.
I’m really proud of Leah. We’ve seen her journey, she’s made a lot of mistakes but she has come a long, long way. I’m sure she’ll continue to make some mistakes, as all humans do, but she’s in a much better now place, which is great for the girlses
Wait a minute, Leah has a podcast?! Jesus God(Leah)! I am glad to hear she’s doing better because she seems like a genuinely nice person; however, I am kind of wondering about this treatment center in Arizona. You hear all the time about celebrities going to these fancy “rehabs”, costing thousands per day and they are little more than spas that they go to for a while mainly for PR purposes. All of my knowledge about rehab comes from this show and Amy Winehouse songs, so I’m wondering if this is one of those kind of places. I’m glad Leah is doing well, but her description of the place feeling like going away to college for a month is suspect, and I’m not even going to get started on what’s going on with Catelyn. I know the recidivism rate for addicts is incredibly high, I just hope mtv isn’t giving free advertising to a place that might be exploiting addicts, their families and their wallets.
I’m still rooting for her. She is a far cry from her super entitled excuse of, “I’m only looking like I’m slurring my words because of MTVs editing me to show me in a bad light, so I refused to take accountability”…I won’t knock her for getting her shit together and rising above her previous issues. She has come so far from the girl we saw 2 or 3 years ago, and it seems like she keeps progressing. Looks like she’s one of the few in the franchise using her platform for actual good…practicing what she’s been preaching. Hope she keeps it up, because she’s so much better than she was before.
ok but what “was wrong” and what was causing her all that pain??
Botched epidurals can cause major back and head issues that can be truly debilitating.
They certainly can. I have a permanent numb spot on my back from my epidural.
She was “naive ” to drugs.. yet if I remember right, she was popping pills way before addie, back when she was with Robbie , who everyone said he popped pills, and would supply Leah with them too. Give me a break Leah. Hey how bout your black, live in boyfriend , after jeremy ..? she lies..
Seriously? Why say “black live in boyfriend”? What the fuck does race have to do with it? Who cares
Agreed. Racist much?
Or it could just be a description since Leah has had more than one.
Ok I just watched The Whites documentary…yep! I’m right! ??
I see Jeremy all up her ass again since she’s single. Who does he think he’s fooling ?
I said it before and I’ll say it again. Jeremy is HOT! Saw him in person. Tall and HOT!!!!
Wow, mad props to Leah. That takes a lot of courage to admit and even go into detail what happened.
I’m actually proud of her. It’s HER story to tell when she wants to. She seems to be doing well.