Tuesday’s 16 and Pregnant introduces us to Izabella Tovar and her boyfriend Jairo Rodriguez from Draper, Utah. Izabella lives at home with very supportive parents and is a rising sophomore at a local Catholic school. She has spent the summer hanging out with Jairo, her boyfriend of three months and avoiding her friends, as she is trying to keep her pregnancy a secret. The couple is expecting a boy in September.
At seven and a half months, Izabella goes to visit her best friend Cassidy, and her bump reveals why she’s there before she even needs to say a word. Cassidy admits that she had heard rumors of her friend’s pregnancy but was waiting to hear it from her. Cassidy promises to help Izabella maintain her studies. Her parents take a cue from Izabella and Cassidy and decide to spill the beans to the rest of the family. Her uncle paints a pretty harsh, yet spot-on, description of what likely lies ahead for the young couple.
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Izabella makes her first public appearance at church, and her parents decide to throw her a baby shower so she can see more of her school friends, since she is currently working on assignments from home. Izabella is excited to be able to catch up with her friends, but she’s disappointed that Cassidy is a no-show.
At a family dinner, Izabella’s father Erik says he is disappointed in his wife, Vi, because of how lenient she has been with their daughter. He says he somewhat blames Vi for being more of a friend than a mother and should have talked to Izabella more about sex and its consequences. I am totally drinking his Kool-Aid until I realize, um, he could have done the same. I understand the bond of mothers and daughters, but if he thought his wife was too concerned with being a buddy, Erik could have stepped in to be the parent.
Cassidy has been avoiding Izabella since missing the baby shower. Izabella is upset but has to other things to think about as she and Jairo head to her thirty-eight week check-up and her blood pressure is high. To avoid any potential complications, the doctor decides to induce Izabella at the end of the week. With this news, the couple must decide quickly their next move. Luckily, Izabella’s mom runs a daycare, so childcare isn’t an issue, but of course, Jairo is moving in with his pregnant girlfriend. Thankfully, Izabella’s parents put two big stipulations on their new tenant–he must keep up with his studies and enroll in college, and he WILL NOT be sharing a bed with their daughter (a little late for that rule, but what can you do?).
The couple gets an early start on September 17th, induction day. They head to the hospital as soon as Izabella blow dries Jairo’s hair (??). As labor begins, Jairo admits he doesn’t want to see any of the birthing business and plans to stay up near Izabella’s head. After fourteen hours of labor, she is finally able to start pushing, and sixteen hours in, there is still no baby. Her doctor is extra chirpy, and after a final pep talk and push, Enrique Jairo is born.
Jairo takes to fatherhood, and while Izabella is disappointed that none of her friends come to visit, her biggest supporter comes in the form of Jairo’s cousin. He comes to see the young couple and talks about his first few weeks in college, his political science major, and his plans to go to law school. He lectures Jairo on the importance of choosing a path that will benefit his new child, and tells Jairo he better not raise the baby like a little gangtser. Izabella would do well to have this cousin baby-sit often!
It’s exhausting for both Jairo and Izabella, but they work well together. The couple prepares to head back to school, Izabella to high school and Jairo to community college. Izabella’s uncle comes down hard on Izabella’s family for supporting the couple while they go to school. The uncle feels like Jairo should go to work to support his new family. While I see his point, Izabella’s dad thinks the couple will fare better in the long run with an education, and I see his point even more. Here’s hoping Jairo keeps up his end of the bargain.
On her first day back to school, Izabella tries to clear the air with her best friend. Cassidy admits that she was distant because her feelings were hurt that Izabella kept her pregnancy a secret. An angry Jairo picks Izabella up from school, and something tells me that his college enrollment didn’t go as planned. He totally shuts down when Izabella tries to talk to him, and he storms out and leaves the house. When Jairo returns, the family sits down to talk to him. An embarrassed (and rightfully so) Jairo admits that he has been lying to everyone about finishing high school online, and has in fact not graduated.
Erik takes his daughter to dinner to discuss the gravity of Jairo’s actions. He sits down with Jairo and sets forth a pretty fair game plan as to Jairo’s schooling and the couple’s living situation. The episode ends with the young couple with Enrique at the baby’s Baptism and Izabella reflecting on the importance of having such a supportive family.
On Mtv’s aftershow, Izabella reveals that she kept her pregnancy a secret because she had seen how badly a fellow classmate had been treated when she became pregnant a few months before Izabella. Izabella is still with Jairo, calling him “amazing.” He is working, going to school and helping raise Enrique. Izabella herself says she did not expect to see such a change in the young father, but the new family seems to be thriving with the support of her parents.
