Jordan Wenner was thrust into the spotlight in 2011 for dating Kailyn Lowry, one of the main stars in “Teen Mom 2.” The reality television show followed the lives of some girls from “16 and Pregnant”, as they embraced motherhood at such a young age. Many were shocked when Kailyn cheated on Jordan, who had been nothing but good to her, with the father of her baby. Avid fans dubbed him as the ‘guy who got away’ and were curious about what became of him.
About “Teen Mom 2”
MTV’s “16 and pregnant” premiered in 2009, and each episode featured the story of a pregnant teenage girl until the baby was a few months old. The documentary-style series became a hit, and its viewers clamored for updates on the young mothers – their stories were unfinished and fans wanted to see what happened to them. The reality show spawned several spin-off series including “Teen Mom ” – renamed during its fifth season as “Teen OG” – “Teen Mom: Young and Pregnant,” and “Teen Mom 3.”
“Teen Mom 2” premiered on 11 January 2011, and the original cast was from the second season of “16 and Pregnant.” Jordan Wenner was introduced during its first season when he became part of Kailyn Lowry’s life.
A show about pregnant teens was highly controversial, as some criticized it for glamorizing the situation that these girls were in. However, the producers argued that as they followed the lives of these teens, it clearly showed the difficulties they faced as they dealt with the consequences of making the wrong choices. A study was conducted on the effect of this kind of reality series, and the result reportedly showed a decline in teen pregnancies in the US. It was said that most teens who watched the series would be discouraged from being young parents, because they could see the struggles of raising a kid.
Some were worried that the “Teen Mom” franchise normalized birth control, and promoted sexual behaviors among teens. Another concern was that being a teenage mother could be a quick way to achieve fame and fortune, considering that the cast of the reality show had become instant celebrities, and gained a huge following on social media; a few even became New York Times best-selling authors when they published their autobiographies.
Background on Jordan’s famous ex-girlfriend, Kailyn Lowry
Kailyn grew up without a father, and with an alcoholic mother named Suzi, who was not always around. Child and youth services could not intervene because there were no signs of neglect, as she was provided with the basics – shelter, food and clothing. By the time she was a teenager, she had too much freedom and had pretty much got away with doing whatever she wanted. Smoking pot had become a hobby, she was often in trouble in school, as she talked back to teachers, and anyone who rubbed her the wrong way, as well as got into physical fights with people whom she said were bothering her.
She lost her virginity on a sidewalk with her first boyfriend when she was in eighth grade, and had an abortion at 16. Kailyn was pregnant again at 17, but for her, abortion was not an option as she didn’t want to go through that again. Her boyfriend, Jo Rivera, had a supportive family, and his father, Eddie, remodeled the basement of their six-bedroom home, so that they would have a place where they could stay and raise the baby. His mother Janet acted as a second mother to her.
Filming for the reality TV show
MTV’s “16 and Pregnant,” which was airing at that time, tugged at Kailyn’s heartstrings because she could relate to the pregnant teenagers who were going through the same things as her. When she learned that the network was casting for a new season, she applied, wanting to share her story, as she hoped that other girls would learn from her mistakes.
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By the time she started filming, she was already six months pregnant and living with Jo’s family. She wasn’t at her best, and the cameras caught her making irrational decisions. She and Jo were fighting all the time, and it didn’t help that they had cameras following them around and recording their every move. Jo spent less and less time with her and their son, and he was, apparently seeing someone behind her back.
Kailyn finished high school early, but had her matriculation after the baby whom they named Isaac Elliot was born in 2010. Things between her and Jo improved after the cameras stopped rolling. He even asked her to marry him and she said yes, but the engagement only lasted for a few months. Her feelings for Jo had slowly worn off. She had changed, and watching her life unfold on the small screen gave her some perspective.
How did Jordan and Kailyn meet?
As the reality of her situation finally sunk in, she found herself wanting to become independent. Kailyn felt like her opinions weren’t validated, as she had to rely on others for everything; she had no money, no job, and no car. She wanted to be a good mother to Isaac, and she believed it meant having a place of her own, and earning money to provide for her son.
She found a job at Sports Authority, an American sports retailer where Jordan worked, and they became friends. In her book, “Pride Over Pity,” published in 2014, she described him as a great person even if ‘at first, he seemed like he was not exactly the smartest of the pack.’ Kailyn further wrote, ‘Hanging out with Jordan was refreshing and fun…and our friendship was a hundred percent healthier than anything I ever had with Jo.’
Weeks after she started working, MTV invited her to be part of the spin-off series, “Teen Mom 2.” She considered this a great opportunity to do something positive with her life, so she accepted.
#Wcw 💛😍 @KailLowry pic.twitter.com/p1JAVVts4j
— Kail Lowry Fanpage (@kailynlfans) June 19, 2019
Jordan and Kailyn as a couple
Keeping the relationship a secret
Even when Jordan and Kailyn were just friends, she had to keep this a secret because, at that time, she was still living with Jo’s family. Having a minimum-wage job meant that she couldn’t contribute to household expenses as much as she should have. She was still dependent on Jo’s parents and knew they wouldn’t approve of her spending time with a guy they had never even met, when she should be focusing on raising her son. Jordan and Kailyn had to sneak around a lot.
Clearing the air with Jo and his parents
When Jo noticed that she was losing interest in him, he pursued her and wanted them to work on their relationship. However, by this time she had moved on, and believed in her heart that Isaac didn’t deserve to be with ‘two miserable young adults hiding behind polite smiles.’ In her book, she shared that she initially didn’t want to tell Jo about her relationship with Jordan, in case it didn’t turn serious. Knowing it would be much harder to have this conversation with Jo and his parents in the future, she eventually told them about dating Jordan. At first, Jo’s parents weren’t happy about this, but since it meant that their son could also move on, things ended well, considering.
Free to date
Viewers of “Teen Mom 2” became privy to the relationship between Jordan and Kailyn, and they saw how it progressed. Jordan respected her wishes to wait when she told him she wasn’t ready to have sex. Later on, however, he did become impatient, as she said that like most guys, Jordan believed that having a girlfriend was pointless without sex. She understood that, so she gave in.
Jordan was the first guy Kailyn had a relationship with after giving birth to her son, and she said that she made the right decision in taking a chance on him, as he was someone she could rely on. Kailyn had not yet moved out of Jo’s parent’s house, but either stayed at Jordan’s place or at her mom’s house while looking for her own place. Jordan was quite supportive of her plans, and made even the simplest of things fun for her. More importantly, he bonded with her son. There were times when he would watch over Isaac while she was at work or attending classes in school. She even said that Jo liked Jordan, so the latter spending time with Isaac didn’t seem to bother Jo.
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Kailyn cheated on Jordan
“Teen Mom 2” was a huge success, and the fans became heavily invested in the love story of Jordan and Kailey. Many found him to be quite a nice guy, and felt that she was lucky to have found someone like him in her life. When Kailyn cheated on Jordan, many were shocked not to mention disappointed in her, even if the third party involved was Jo. Some might be rooting for Kailyn to have her happy ending with the baby’s father, but they still didn’t like what she did.
When Jo dropped Isaac off at her house, he spent the night and they had sex. Jordan came home from work earlier than expected and immediately realized what happened. Naturally, the couple broke up, but it seemed that they got back together as Kailyn tried to repair the relationship. She and Jo were over, and having sex didn’t change that. She said that her heart belonged to Jordan but that there were ‘pieces of her’ that she never took back from Jo. After all, the two shared a history together, and had a deep connection because of their son. She claimed that even if she was ‘deeply in love’ with Jordan, she wanted Jo to remain single. It was a case of not really wanting Jo but didn’t want any other girl to have him either. Some believed that if Jo was really serious about Kailyn, she would leave Jordan at the drop of a hat.
Interestingly, there were some reports that the scene aired in “Teen Mom 2” about Kailyn cheating on Jordan was staged. She and Jo did sleep together and there was a confrontation with Jordan, but there was no camera around, so they just recreated what happened, and this was why some viewers thought that they were acting weirdly.
Was Jordan to blame for what happened?
Cheating, Kailyn said, was the worst mistake that one could make in a relationship, and she sincerely regretted breaking Jordan’s heart, as he clearly didn’t deserve it. However, she eventually ended things with him in 2011, because he reportedly changed from the guy he used to be – it appeared that he got caught up with all the attention he was receiving from being part of “Teen Mom 2.” She claimed that he partied all the time and led a carefree life, and it was something that she couldn’t do because of her responsibilities as a mother.
At the start, Kailyn said that she felt bad for Jordan as he became exposed to public scrutiny because of her. He’d assured her that no matter what happened, he would stick by her. As he became a regular cast member in the reality TV series, he acquired a fan base of his own. Some girls who were enamored of him, took things to a level that made Kailyn uncomfortable, and it didn’t help that Jordan was being too friendly with them. One thing that hurt Kailyn was when a girl acted like she would move in with Jordan. She knew that he wouldn’t really go through with this, but she still jumped to conclusions and felt betrayed. She couldn’t confront him about this as it felt that she was being a hypocrite. Some of the hate she received from social media was because of how she treated Jordan. Kailyn said that Jordan made mistakes too, but they weren’t aired on the show.
After Jordan’s breakup with Kailyn
Being with Jordan was a blessing for Kailyn, as she said that it was during their time together that she learned how to be part of a stable and healthy relationship. One would think that since the two parted ways, they would not see each other again, at least outside of work. However, Jordan was still a friend that Kailyn trusted and could depend on. He was the only person she could think of to call for help when she was raped by Caleb, a guy she was seeing at that time.
Things were casual with Caleb; they weren’t dating or sexually active. He was persistent so she finally agreed to go on a date with him. He came over to her apartment one night, drunk, and wanted to talk to her. However, once he was in, he roughly pulled her into the bedroom and onto the bed and forced himself on her. She screamed and tried to get him to stop but he was too strong. As soon as it was over, he left her bleeding and in tears. She was in shock and didn’t know what to do, so she called Jordan to get her to a hospital. Kailyn couldn’t tell him what happened to her. The doctors knew, but she didn’t allow them to do a rape kit on her. Jordan drove her home afterward; Kailyn tried to move on with her life as best as she could.
The timeline was a bit sketchy, but during the “Teen Mom 2” reunion special aired in 2012, Jordan said to her, ‘No matter what kind of terms we’re on, I’m there for you — and for him. I do love you, Kail.’ The two even shared a kiss. However, things didn’t progress the way that Jordan wanted them to. As much as she appreciated Jordan’s help and support as a friend, she thought it would be better for the both of them if she distanced herself from him. If they saw each other regularly, it would be easy for them to cross the line between friends and lovers, and it wouldn’t be healthy for them. She then quit working at Sports Authority, and found work elsewhere.
Did Kailyn cheat on her husband with Jordan?
In an article by “Radar Online” published in 2016, it was reported that Kailyn hung out with Jordan in Los Angeles, based on his tweet about how it was great seeing and catching up with her, and that they should do it again soon. At that time, she was still with Javi Marroquin whom she married in 2012, so some wondered if she was cheating on her husband. However, Kailyn denied the rumor involving her and Jordan.
What happened to Jordan?
As Kailyn found love with Javi after her breakup with Jordan, many of his fans were hoping that he too would find true happiness with someone they believed was more deserving of his love and attention. Since he no longer appeared in “Teen Mom 2” after their breakup, not much was heard from him again.
Many were delighted when news came out in December 2019 that Jordan proposed to his girlfriend, Jaimie, whom he shared a daughter with. They were married on 21 March 2021, and he shared photos of himself, his wife and daughter during that special day on Twitter and Instagram. Jordan’s stint in the MTV reality series might have been short, but its loyal viewers remembered him with fondness, as he was one of the few good guys.
