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TLC

Get To Know More About Lilly From 'Unexpected'

by Kathleen Walsh

TLC's new show about teen mothers, Unexpected, follows the lives of three young girls in the final days of their pregnancies and the first days of parenthood alongside their boyfriends and families. But what else do we know about these girls? For example, who is Lilly on Unexpected? She's a young mom who's doing her best to make life work while balancing her relationship, school, and her baby daughter who's now just a few months old.

On the show, the biggest problem facing Lilly, at least as it was depicted, was her relationship with her baby's father, James. James and Lilly had only been dating for a few months before Lilly got pregnant, and had to get to know each other better at the same time as learning that they were going to be parents. In one clip, when Lilly asks her step-father if he liked James before she got pregnant he joked, "That was what, a week?" It looks like now, however, the couple have strengthened their bond and are learning how to be parents. An article from their town of Riverhead in New York detailed a little bit about what their lives look like now, with both young people learning to grow up very quickly.

According to the article, neither Lilly nor James still go to high school. Instead, James works a full-time job, and Lilly is a stay-at-home mom. But she intends to pursue her GED later and attend nursing school after that. It's normal for any mother no matter what age to need some time off to take care of their baby, and Lilly is no different. The couple's daughter, Aaliyah Rose Kennedy, was born on Sept. 4, making the little one just three months old now. "People’s parents were talking about me and gossiping to other parents, so I said everyone is already talking about it then why do I care if extra people are?" Lilly told the outlet.

Though Lilly's family was worried about James' commitment on the show — and he did indeed appear less than thrilled about the whole situation at times — the couple is clearly still together, and have built a strong bond as coparents to little Aaliyah. Just a casual glance through Lilly's Instagram account shows that she's almost as enamored with her baby's dad as she is with her baby herself. Her name on the account is "Aaliyah's Mommy," and mentions both James and Aaliyah's birthday in her bio section. "Our relationship is better and stronger than ever since we had the baby," Lilly told Us Weekly.

Lilly also shares bits about her day-to-day life on her Youtube channel, Lilly and Baby. On the channel she talks about all the mundane every day tasks that being a teenage mother requires. Sometimes she has to give Aaliyah an unscheduled bath because she pooped all over herself, her mom, and both of their clothes because that is what babies do. In one video, she and James take some questions, and offer bits of advice to any teenagers who might be getting pregnant: "If you're not ready, don't do it." Lilly said. "And definitely don't try because I know some people do that."

I think we can all agree that teen pregnancy can be extremely challenging. Nevertheless, it is nice to know that even when the unexpected happens, this resilient girl has found a way to make it work for her. Sure, it's not everybody's path, but it's good that these two have found a way to make it work for them.

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