Autumn Crittendon Oxley passed away last weekend, making her just the latest cast member from 16 and Pregnant to suffer an untimely death.
Over the years, several of the girls featured on the show — which began airing in 2009 and ran for six seasons so far— have died, as have some of the fathers of the children and other cast members. To date, 70 pregnant teen girls have been featured on the MTV reality show. As of press time, three of the 70 have died.
As The Ashley previously reported, Autumn— who showcased her pregnancy with her son Drake on Season 5 in 2014— was found unresponsive in her home on July 20. Her cause of death is currently unknown but police are investigating.
In addition to Autumn, these are the other “16 and Pregnant” cast members who have passed away.
Valerie Fairman (Season 2A)
Valerie— who appeared on Season 2A alongside the future ‘Teen Mom 2’ girls— died in December 2016 at the age of 23. Before her death, Valerie had struggled with substance abuse issues and had been arrested several times. Just one week before her death, Valerie was arrested for resisting arrest and giving false identification to police. She was released on bail, and was set to go before a judge on January 5, but she passed away from a drug overdose before her court date.
Shortly after Valerie died, her mother Janice Fairman claimed that appearing on “16 and Pregnant” greatly contributed to Valerie’s downward spiral.
“She was a gorgeous girl and it all went to her head,’” Janice told Daily Mail in 2016. “‘She thought she could pretty much do whatever she liked after the show. She was determined to get everything she wanted. I wish she had never been on TV. It played a big part in her death. I think it messed her up big time.”
Valerie’s daughter, Neaveh, was only seven years old at the time of Valerie’s death. In the years since Valerie’s death, her family has kept a low profile. Neavah is now almost 15 years old and is reportedly living with Valerie’s parents.
Jordan Cashmyer (Season 5)
Like Valerie, Jordan came to an untimely death after a downward spiral that included several run-ins with the law. Jordan— who gave birth to her daughter Genevieve during Season 5 in 2014— died in January 2022 at the age of 26. Her father, Dennis Cashmyer, later revealed that Jordan’s death was the result of a drug overdose following a period of sobriety. (The official cause of death was later ruled to be fentanyl, despropionyl fentanyl and cocaine intoxication.)
Jordan had struggled with substance abuse, mental health issues and legal trouble for years following her appearance on “16 and Pregnant.” However, the MTV starlet had turned her life around shortly before her death, getting sober in 2020 and welcoming a second daughter, Lyla, in June 2021. She was going to celebrate her two-year sobriety anniversary the month that she died.
Jordan hadn’t been able to repair her relationship with her oldest daughter, Genevieve, before she died. After her death, Genevieve’s father Derek Taylor took to social media to reveal that Jordan hadn’t been in their daughter’s life for years.
After Jordan’s death, her father Dennis and stepmom adopted Jordan’s younger daughter Lyla.
Sean Garinger (Season 6B)
Sean appeared on the sixth season of the show in 2021 alongside his girlfriend at the time, Selena Gutierrez. They welcomed their daughter, Dareli, during Selena’s episode, and went on to have a second daughter together, Esmeralda, about a year later.
In March, Sean died tragically at his mother’s house while he was trying to move an ATV for her.
“I was with him when it happened,” Sean’s mom stated in an interview shortly after her son’s death. “He was just moving [the ATV] from one parking spot to the next for me, so I could back in to park. He pulled [in] front of me to park the ATV and the ground gave way from all the rain and mud.”
The ATV Sean was on flipped over on top of him, crushing his skull.
At the time of his death, Sean and Selena weren’t together, but she later spoke out about how devastating his death has been for her and their daughters.
“No matter the circumstances that was my kids’ father,” Selena said. “Not only was I with him for 9+ years, he was my first love, my first everything and we had two beautiful daughters that I’ll always be grateful for. They didn’t deserve this; they need their daddy. I don’t know how I’m going to tell them when they get older.”
Earlier this week, the medical examiner’s report revealed that Sean’s official cause of death was a blunt force injury to the head. Documents obtained by TMZ stated that Sean’s skull was fractured in multiple places during the accident.
Derek Underwood: Season 1
Although Derek never actually physically appeared on “16 and Pregnant,” he played a very important part in Farrah Abraham’s episode during Season 1 in 2009. Derek— who is the father of Sophia, the daughter Farrah was pregnant with during her episode— only appeared on the show via a phone conversation he had with Farrah (although his voice was distorted due to Derek never agreeing to be on the show).
Derek died on December 28, 2008— two months before Farrah gave birth to Sophia— in a car crash. Derek had been driving and, after losing control of the vehicle, ended up wrapping it around a utility pole. The accident killed both Derek and his passenger.
As The Ashley reported in her 2013 book, Teen Mom Confidential, Derek was unaware at the time of his death that Farrah was pregnant. According to interviews The Ashley did with several of Farrah’s friends and family members, Derek had heard the rumors at school that Farrah was pregnant with his child, but Farrah refused to confirm the news with him.
Derek’s mother, Stormie Clark, told The Ashley in Teen Mom Confidential that “Derek had tried many times to call Farrah and ask if the baby was his. And each time, she said no. One of their conversations was aired on ’16 and Pregnant.'”
The producers of Farrah’s “16 and Pregnant” episode eventually found why Farrah’s baby daddy was no longer in the picture, but the future ‘Teen Mom’ star begged them to keep Derek’s death off of her episode.
“[Farrah] even told the producers she was not attending his wake, although she ended up making a brief appearance,” Farrah’s friend told The Ashley.
Angie Douthit (Season 4)
Angie— who is the mother of Season 3 star Mackenzie McKee— was a fan favorite during Mack’s episode of “16 and Pregnant.” The 2012 episode covered Mackenzie’s pregnant with her oldest son Gannon and how Angie (and Mackenzie’s very conservative family) handled the news of her teen pregnancy. Angie would go on to appear alongside Mackenzie on Teen Mom 3 and, later, Teen Mom OG.
Angie passed away in December 2019 after a two-year battle with Stage 4 cancer. At the time of her death, Angie was 50 years old.
Her diagnosis, treatment and eventual death was covered extensively on ‘Teen Mom OG.’
RELATED STORY: “16 & Pregnant” Season 5 Star Autumn Crittendon Dies at Age 27 (Updated)
24 Responses
Also Emily for season two dad pass way from a heart attack I believe, the was like the second or third who appeared on the show to pass away. I think Emily’s father’s death definitely played a part in her alleged drug abuse. There was a lot of grandparents that appeared on the show that are mostly likely no longer with us since some episodes where filmed over ten years ago and most of the girls fell into obscurity.
Jordan’s fiance, the father of her second daughter Lyla, also died from a drug overdose 4 months before Jordan died. So sad that she died & she was so lost in grief that she threw away 2 years of sobriety just for it to cost her life too. Kristina from season 4’s boyfriend also died right before filming for her 16 & Pregnant episode started & she gave birth prematurely from the stress she was under after he died. At least she has a happy ending though, she’s married with 2 more kids & a step kid that she seems close with.
Good lord this is so sad. Idk why Farrah’s story just sucks to hear. She was pregnant and didn’t tell him and then the kid dies. No wonder she was so miserable after. The girl was grieving and dealing with guilt of not telling him. I’m not saying it’s an excuse for her behavior but I’m sure her mother played a MAJOR part in all of the secrecy. I wouldn’t doubt that contributed to all the negativity that there is now.
I understand that but this article is about a select few not the US in its entirety.
Stick with the facts presented before you instead of making it such a broad subject.
That’s all I’m saying. This article is about six people and not the entire world
So 50% of the people mentioned in this article died from drug related causes. That’s an awful HUGE number. I don’t understand why you want to downplay it. If you are afraid the same is going to happen to you, go get help, don’t stop being in denial about the severity of this problem
2 of 6 is not 50%.
And I’m not downplaying it, I just feel like the others that died from something else need to get acknowledged too
no one said it was about the entire world… the title literally says “16 and pregnant tragedies, the cast members who have died.” the writer did stick with the facts because, again, the facts were based on *cast members*
I know Ashley did but this Mick character did not
Ok….. Thanks for telling us 👍
So many young people dying from drugs…
3 of the 6 people mentioned didn’t die from drugs.
Sean Garinger died moving an ATV, Derek Underwood died in a car accident (no mention of drugs with either if them)
Angie Douthit died of cancer so DEFINITELY no drugs there.
And Autumn Crittendon’s death is still under investigation.
My comment is not exclusively related to Teen Mom. In the US there is an incredible high number of young people dying from drugs and I find it appalling and very sad
If you wanna talk about the US then talk about other causes of death like, car crashes, cancer, drownings, etc…don’t just limit it to drugs
Why so sensitive? There’s a well documented epidemic of drug overdoses among young people lately. There’s no drowning epidemic.
Tracy, I’m not sensitive but a cause of death is a cause of regardless of it is at epidemic level or not.
They are all bad and deserve to be acknowledged.
Actually, if you google Derek Underwood’s death, it’s been confirmed that a bottle of vodka was found in the car and alcohol was found in Derek’s system. And he was under 21. So maybe not narcotics but drugs & alcohol has been more of a factor than not in almost all of these deaths. Excluding Mack’s mom from cancer obviously. Sean’s death is truly the only “accident”.
once again, no one is saying it’s only drugs causing these deaths! op said “so many young people dying from drugs!” this is not the same as saying “every single one of these people in the article died from drugs.” i feear that twisting words and manipulating what people say will not get you very far on this website. but keep raking in the downvotes, you’re doing great! 🙂
Actually the original news article about Derek’s death said they did believe drugs/alcohol was a contributing factor (can’t remember which or if it was both)
But it does not say that in this article…it only says he lost control of the vehicle Herr so that’s the facts I’m sticking with
Here*
Okay? But the drug overdoses and not to mention, the addiction issues, are issues that could have been solved/avoided with proper support and assistance. I say this as a recovering addict and as a daughter of a father that dies from a fentanyl overdose. I have over 3 years now and even I cannot sugar coat that so many people are dying in the US from drug overdoses- mostly fentanyl.
Do you really have to read and comment under everyone’s comments??? Bored much??? Just curious
Yes it’s a shame.
Those 2 were young, beautiful mothers with their whole lives ahead of them.
Cancer is a terrible thing. RIP Angie.
That freak accident was craziness. He was just moving an ATV. Sad and horrible way to die.
RIP Autumn. RIP Derek.
Exactly