When the first episodes of 16 and Pregnant on MTV were cast, no one knew just how big the franchise would grow. There was no shortage of teen moms available to cast, which says a lot about teen pregnancy in the United States on its own, but the show came with one specific perk: a regular paycheck. Some viewers even dragged moms like Catelynn Baltierra (nee Lowell) for choosing adoption for their babies, then going on to stay on the series—assuming that parents who chose adoption could have used the MTV paycheck to parent their kids. Nothing is that simple, of course.
Though each then-teen mom experienced a lot of drama on the show, many of them stuck with MTV long after they become adults (and for Catelynn and her husband, after they had more children together). Viewers have long suspected that Teen Mom and its spinoffs are part real, part totally fake, but that hasn't stopped viewership from remaining consistent. After more than a decade, many of the original teen moms are still on the show—and still earning a paycheck. The question now is how long the former teen parents can ride the MTV wave, and whether moms like Leah Messer are supplementing their MTV paychecks with "real" jobs.
Leah Messer Continues To Appear On Teen Mom
Some moms have quit the franchise to date; Chelsea DeBoer (nee Houska) moved on to work with HGTV, while Kailyn Lowry departed in a way fans didn't think was the greatest. To date, Leah Messer hasn't revealed any plans to leave, even as her personal drama continues to fuel her storyline.
Fans expected that Leah, who recently split from her fiance Jaylan Mobley, was finally going to get her happy ending after two divorces and too much drama to quantify.
Related: What Is 'Teen Mom' Ex Ryan Doing Since Getting Fired From MTV?
The two were not meant to be, as Leah later revealed as she struggled to explain their breakup—which happened shortly after they got a house together. Given that Teen Mom does offer the cast members a consistent paycheck per season, it might be hard for some of the moms to split from MTV without losing a significant income source.
In 2021, sources estimated that Leah was earning $300,000 to $400,000 or more per season of Teen Mom 2. At that time, Mommy Things guessed that Messer would receive a bump in salary to around $500K in future seasons. The Cinemaholic gave the more conservative estimate of $300K per season.
That doesn't mean Leah is only working for MTV, though; she's pursued a handful of different jobs over the years.
What Does Leah Messer Do For Work?
The top answer to what Leah does for work is that she's a reality TV personality. With earnings of $400K per season, viewers probably wouldn't anticipate that Leah would get a "real" job. However, as of 2023, Celebrity Net Worth states that Messer is only worth $50,000.
Perhaps knowing that MTV won't last forever, Leah has dabbled in various professional pursuits over the years.
It's unclear whether she's kept up with each "day job," but she's said to have worked with LipSense, a lipstick company, in 2018 and sold Mary Kay products for a time. Leah also promotes many brands through her social media, indicating either brand partnerships or contract relationships with said brands.
Related: Who Is The Richest 'Teen Mom' Dad?
Leah may also have residual income stemming from her 2020 book Hope, Grace & Faith, which has over 5,500 reviews (read: sales) on Amazon alone. Given that the book wasn't self-published (it was released by Post Hill Press), it's possible Leah received an advance before the book ever went to print.
Did Leah Messer Ever Become A Nurse?
Fans might recall that at one point, Leah was heading back to school intending to become a nurse. She also studied for her real estate license in 2020. To date, it doesn't appear that she completed either program.
Leah also posted to social media about some speaking engagements, which should also come with a paycheck, but which don't necessarily constitute a normal "day job."
Related: Does ‘Teen Mom’ Star Catelynn Lowell Have A High Net Worth?
Speaking of abnormal day jobs, it seems Leah has also pursued social media as a source of income; she launched a YouTube channel in 2014, but as of 2023, it contains no videos, despite having 19.8K subscribers.
The lack of YouTube content doesn't seem to hamper Leah's business efforts at all, though. Her Instagram has three million followers as of 2023, and Leah often mentions her brand partnerships (or that she's getting ready for calls) on social media.
Even though she hasn't suggested she'll be leaving Teen Mom 2 anytime soon, Leah is keeping busy and building up other gigs that seem to supplement whatever she actually takes home from MTV.
It's interesting to note that of all the moms on Teen Mom 2, Leah has appeared the most consistently between season one and season 11; no other cast member has stuck with the show for every season and their multiple parts.
