Farrah Abraham has revealed that she was living in her car with her young daughter while filming Teen Mom, despite the MTV series becoming a major ratings success.
The reality star, who later appeared on Celebrity Big Brother in 2015, first became known through 16 and Pregnant before joining the cast of its spin-off, Teen Mom. But according to Abraham, the money coming from the shows initially bore little relation to the attention they were generating.
Speaking on the We Need To Talk podcast with host Paul C. Brunson, Abraham described a period when she was juggling work, school and raising her daughter Sophia while effectively living out of her vehicle.
“I couldn’t get any real-er because I’m living in my car, not sleeping for two days because I’m working, going to school, watching my kid,” Abraham said.
The situation became serious enough that several female producers involved with the show decided to intervene.
“I think three of the female producers who came out at that time, they knew how horrific everything was, it wasn’t a joke,” Abraham recalled.
According to Abraham, the producers told her they were going to confront the network over her pay.
“They said, ‘We are going to call them, and we are going to demand that you are paid right now. This is crazy that you’re living like this.’”
Abraham said she received $3,500 for 16 and Pregnant and around $25,000 in total for her work on Teen Mom. She claims that some of her fellow cast members were earning substantially more.
She specifically recalled hearing that Catelynn Lowell and Tyler Baltierra were being paid around $10,000 per episode.
“I hear what they tell me and I get so upset,” Abraham said.
Lowell and Baltierra had also become well known through 16 and Pregnant. Their story centred on the difficult decision to place their daughter for adoption after becoming parents at a young age.
For Abraham, the difference in circumstances made the pay gap particularly difficult to swallow.
“For one, they don’t have a kid, I do,” she said. “I’m doing this on my f*cking own, against all odds, literally. Who’s really supporting me? No one.”
Abraham also said she was effectively stuck under the terms of her existing contract, leaving her with limited leverage to negotiate better pay.
Her financial situation has changed considerably since those early MTV years. Abraham has gone on to publish a memoir and build a career through adult-oriented online content, including OnlyFans.
Whatever the size of the television audience back then, Abraham’s story suggests the money behind the cameras was a very different matter.
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Last modified: August 20, 2026
