She didn’t let a teen-mom label write her ending; she picked up the camera, held her baby, and started directing a life she’s proud to live. Kailey grew up always packing a bag. With a dad in the military, she bounced between homes, schools, and states, making friends fast, then leaving before roots could form. At 13, she met Nathan (he was 15) through a mutual friend. Middle-school “dating” came and went, but their friendship stuck. They lost touch when she moved overseas, then reconnected when she returned to the U.S. In August 2019, she started junior year at her old high school before everything changed.
A doctor had told her she might never have children because of hormone issues, news that stung even if she didn’t fully believe it. Still, a strange gut feeling and recurring dreams pushed her to take a pregnancy test “as a joke.” It turned positive in seconds. Shock hit first. She searched YouTube for teen moms who hadn’t dropped out or disappeared, anything to prove the stereotype wasn’t the only story. It took over a week to tell Nathan. She feared losing him. When she finally did, they took another test together: positive again. There was quiet, then his calm assurances that they’d figure it out.
She booked an appointment, dodging insurance alerts to her dad by saying it was a birth-control check. The nurse confirmed their knowledge, explained options, and scheduled an ultrasound. For Kailey, abortion wasn’t an option; she wanted to own her choices. A few weeks later, the scan showed she was just past 8 weeks.
Telling the family came next. Nathan, 18 at the time, told his first. They were shocked but steady. With Kailey’s family, it was harder. She’d kept the relationship private. Her mom’s primary concern was that Kailey tell her dad. That conversation broke down; her mom called him, and anger poured through the phone. Over time, the shock eased and support grew. At school, Kailey kept to herself. Rumors floated, but she wore hoodies and stayed quiet. She moved online in early 2020, tested out of courses, and graduated at 16, two months before her 17th birthday.
Pregnancy was emotionally heavy, and physically manageable except for back pain. On March 12, 2020, a beach day ended with bad back aches. The next day, a check showed she was 4 cm and in active labor. Avery was born after 21 hours on March 13, 2020, just as COVID shut the world down. Kailey’s dad was still overseas and didn’t meet his granddaughter until she was six months old. Avery charmed everyone from day one.
Kailey launched a YouTube channel amid the swirl of new motherhood and a pandemic. People in town sniped; she kept posting. She wanted to show real life, neither polished nor chaotic, for clicks, just a teen mom figuring things out. The channel sparked a passion for filmmaking. She started college at 17 in digital cinematography and is on track to earn her bachelor’s before 20. Life kept moving. When Avery was seven months old, Nathan enlisted and left the day before Thanksgiving 2020. Letters and calls carried them until April 2021, when he came home. They moved from Alabama/Florida to Nebraska and built a life independently.
Independence felt different, harder, better. They sacrificed the usual “college experience,” traded late-night freedom for late-night feedings, and learned to budget, plan, and grow up fast. Kailey says the most challenging part was losing freedom before she had it, yet she’d choose this path again. Her advice to teen moms: it’s what you make it. Your life isn’t over; it’s changing.
There will be sacrifices, but strangers’ opinions don’t define you. Her advice to families: let go of the stigma. Anger won’t undo anything; support will. She believes everything happens for a reason; her family proves plans can shift and still turn out beautiful. Kailey is a student-filmmaker, a partner, and a mom to a little girl who rewrote her story for the better. If you want to see the real day-to-day, she shares it on YouTube, not glamorizing or dramatizing, but showing what’s possible when you lead with love and grit.
