Go, mamas! Farrah Abraham, Maci McKinney (née Bookout), Kailyn Lowry and the other top-earning Teen Mom stars are seriously raking in the dough. Their salaries prove these ladies know how to make deals and work hard.
There have been many faces to come and go on the long-running MTV reality show. The original Teen Mom — along with versions 2 and 3 — and Teen Mom: Young and Pregnant were all spinoffs of the 16 and Pregnant, which ran from 2009 to 2014. Not surprisingly, many of the highest-earning moms on the show were first seen in the early seasons of the original series.
For example, 16-year-old Maci was expecting son Bentley with ex-boyfriend Ryan Edwards in the first episode ever of 16 and Pregnant. The other ladies featured on season 1 were Farrah, Amber Portwood, Catelynn Lowell, Ebony Jackson and Whitney Purvis.
After her season 1 stint, Farrah went all-in on maximizing her fame (and money) with future appearances on the Teen Mom spinoffs and reality shows Ex on the Beach, Couples Therapy, Single AF and Big Brother. Other stars, like Maci, preferred to lead a quieter life.
The Tennessee native wrote her book Bulletproof in 2015, and it quickly became a New York Times bestseller. However, she does her best to stay out of the limelight for the most part.
“Reality TV can make you very famous,” she explained in her memoir. “Everyone knows your name and talks about you, but there’s no red-carpet prestige or glamorous piles of money.”
She added, “People immediately think you’re a high-end celebrity and you travel the world and have a mansion and so much money and all these other things they associate with having your face on television.” Maci found her own happy ending with husband Taylor McKinney, whom she married in 2016.
Kailyn first appeared on season 2 of 16 and Pregnant with ex Jo Rivera while expecting son Isaac. She used her reality fame to launch multiple side projects, including her “Coffee Convos” podcast with Chrisley Knows Best alum Lindsie Chrisley and Pothead Hair Care, a CBD oil-infused product line.
All in all, these stars have their eyes set on the cash. Catelynn and husband Tyler Baltierra, who have been on the show for over 10 years, said their kids are “set for life financially” due to their earnings from MTV.
“College is paid for and that was mine and Catelynn’s main thing,” Tyler said during an appearance on “The Awesome Dad Show” podcast. “Each of our children has trust funds that money goes into and they can’t touch.” The couple share daughters Novalee and Vaeda and are also parents to their first child, Carly, who they placed for adoption during season 1 of 16 and Pregnant. In February 2021, the duo announced Catelynn is pregnant again with another baby girl.
He added, “I have so much confidence and peace in how we’re raising my children … They will be humble and will know the sacrifices we made.”
Keep scrolling to see the highest-earning Teen Mom stars!