MICHELE had her first baby at 13-years-old. While she was judged as a teen mom, Michele was determined to prove people wrong and described becoming a mom as ‘soul changing’. Now, she is a mom to four daughters; Alecia, Arianna, Addyson and Aliyah. Michele became a mom-of-three by the time she was 21. She told Truly: “Having my girls so young, I truly feel like we grew up together, so I was learning how to life as I was teaching them how to be a little independent humans.” The content creator became a grandma at the age of 31 as her eldest daughter, Alecia, got pregnant at 17-years-old. Michele said: “Being a grandma in my thirties is not what I expected, but it is such a blessing.” While she was initially shocked, she supported her daughter through everything and felt the experience brought them closer together. Michele shares her story on social media and has had a lot of positive responses to her content but there has also been a lot of judgement. People say she’s glamorising teen pregnancy. Referring to her 18-year-old daughter, Arianna, Michele said: “I call her my teen pregnancy cycle breaker.” She is proud of her family as they continue to flourish. She said: “I hope anybody that is watching our story unfold sees and knows that they can get through anything in life. It’s definitely hard, but you can definitely get through it.”
00:00I had my first child at 13. They all said that I would amount to nothing. Never in
00:05my life did I imagine that I would be a grandma at 31 years old. How could you
00:10allow your daughter to do the exact same thing that you've done? The apple doesn't
00:13fall far from the tree. If any of my other girls were to become super young
00:17team moms, I would support them.
00:21Doing my hair and makeup makes me feel like a person that's alive and put
00:30together. I feel like when I'm put together I can take better care of people
00:36because I've been taken care of first. I have four daughters. Alicia is 24, Ariana
00:44is 18, Addison is 16, and Aaliyah is 11. I was 13 years old when I gave birth to
00:50Alicia. As a pregnant teenager I was judged so much. They all said that I
00:56would amount to nothing. I destroyed my life. They didn't help me do anything but
01:01strive to be a better person and prove people wrong. I had to make sure that I
01:07got through and did everything that I needed to do because I had a baby that
01:10was relying on me to get an education and to better myself. I stayed in school. I
01:15continued to get straight A's. I graduated on time with my class. When I had
01:21Ariana, which is my second daughter, I was 19 and then I had Addison two weeks
01:28before I turned 21. So I had three daughters by the time I was 21. Having my
01:33girls so young I truly feel like we grew up together. So I was learning how to life
01:39as I was teaching them how to be little independent humans. Never in my life did
01:46I imagine that I would be a grandma at 31 years old.
01:50Oh, crack the center. Whoa. There we go. How about we do half of the half?
01:55A daddy, daddy. Let me do some. So this is part of my family. Daniel is my husband.
02:04Alicia is my oldest. Aaliyah is my youngest. Ivory Rose is my oldest grandbaby. And then we have the baby,
02:15Hazelie Raine. She's the boss of everybody, if you couldn't tell. My grand girls call me Mimi. There is literally no way you're calling me grandma.
02:25Being a granddad is awesome. You get to go have fun with them and then send them back to their mom. So it's a pretty good deal.
02:33So Aaliyah, how old were you when you became an aunt? Um, five or six. I don't remember.
02:40What does everybody think of a very typical grandma? Old person. Just that, like, it's old.
02:46So do you think your mom fits that or is she different than a couple of grandmas? She fits that.
02:52Also, she's old. Wow.
02:58Give me a little egg. No, we're not wasting more food. Ew!
03:05So we'll just make some weird egg mixture. It's cute!
03:13So when Alicia told me she was pregnant at 17, my whole heart was shattered.
03:20I know what it's like to be a super young mom and it is never anything that I wanted my girls to experience.
03:26But as a super young teen mom, of course, the only thing that I'm going to do is be supportive.
03:33And we're going to make a TikTok. Come on, let's do your nails.
03:36Mimi loves painting your toes. Don't you like when we match?
03:40So I decided to start sharing my life on social media.
03:43I'm a millennial grandma. Of course, my daughter is a Gen Z.
03:47Last year, I made my first TikTok. It went viral. And now my niche on TikTok is teen pregnancy.
03:54It's not what I like talking about all the time, but it's what goes viral.
03:59At 12 years old, I knew I was pregnant. But at 12 years old, do you really know what being pregnant is?
04:06It's a mixed reaction because the internet has allowed bullies to hide behind their keyboard and say s*** they would never say to somebody's face.
04:15It's kind of comical, but here's some of the things people have said to me.
04:19How could you allow your daughter to do the exact same thing that you've done?
04:22The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Wow. Don't you know that birth control exists?
04:27It's a vicious cycle. Babies having babies. It is.
04:31But we are the cycle breakers, and it stops with my other girls.
04:36For those who think I'm glamorizing or promoting teen pregnancy, you truly don't know me.
04:42Oh, you are so smart.
04:45I'm simply sharing my life, and if it bothers you, that's a you problem.
04:50How would you describe the relationship?
04:53We're very close. I mean, we always have our ins and outs, but I think that's just because we're so close in age.
05:00I definitely think that her being a teen mom supported me more.
05:04She really was there for me as much as I needed her to be.
05:07So what were some of the challenges that the two of you had when you learned that Alicia was pregnant?
05:13I was really scared. I was so scared that you were going to be so mad at me.
05:17When you told me that you were pregnant, I felt like I was getting my daughter back because you were on this not-so-good path.
05:24So I truly feel like Ivory is such a blessing and truly changed your life for the better.
05:31Made me grow up a little bit.
05:33A lot, actually.
05:35It kind of brought us closer together, too.
05:38Because then you knew why I feel the way that I feel because you're a mom now.
05:43What kinds of comments do you see, Michelle, about Alicia's situation?
05:49What a repeated cycle.
05:51That your girls are going to make me a great grandma by the time that I'm 45.
05:56I don't think so.
05:59What mama or Mimi?
06:00It definitely hurts me to see her get that type of comments on her stuff because she was a great mom.
06:06I mean, she took care of me so young, did it basically by herself, so.
06:10If my sister Ariana got pregnant around the same age as I did, I'd probably be very disappointed in her, honestly,
06:16because she's seen me and my mom go through it.
06:19I just, I feel like she should wait and live her life first.
06:23If any of my other girls were to become super young team moms, I would support them.
06:28I would support them.
06:31I would support them.
06:32As a young mom, I know what it's like to be, to be looked down on, to feel like you're by yourself,
06:39and to not know what's coming next.
06:42So, Ariana, I call her my teen pregnancy cycle breaker because she graduated high school.
06:47She has no babies.
06:48She has zero desire to have any babies.
06:51I feel like what I've learned from you is that you've just always shown up for me.
06:55I mean, never left my side.
06:58Always been there for me whenever I need you.
07:00You being raised by me has taught you that you can overcome anything in life,
07:05and I'm so proud of the way that you raised these girls.
07:08They are definitely a handful.
07:10They are so loved, so well taken care of, so smart, and it's all a reflection of you.
07:17I feel like what makes a good parent is being there, being present, showing up.
07:21I mean, you can buy your kid anything, but being there is physically what they really want.
07:27I hope anybody that is watching our story unfold sees and knows that they can get through anything in life.
07:37It's definitely hard, but we can definitely get through it.
07:40For my family as a whole in the future, I hope that we continue to grow and our bond becomes stronger,
07:47and the cycle of teen pregnancy continues to be broken because there's a lot more girls in this family that still need to grow up.
