Teen Mom OG's Maci Bookout: I've Been Mummy-Shamed Since the Day Bentley Was Born
Maci Bookout has been in the spotlight for almost a decade since her teen pregnancy was aired in the homes of millions on MTV’s 16 and Pregnant.
Her new book, I Wasn’t Born Bulletproof…, details some of the hardships of having a teen pregnancy televised, as well as how she’s been shamed for being a teen mum.
“The fact that I am on television means that everything I do is open to public scrutiny,” she writes in her book. “I have learned not to let it get me down, but it never ceases to amaze me how quick people are to pass judgement.”
Bookout’s experiences with mummy shaming come from the ever present media scrutiny, but also stem from social media, with critics lashing out at her and her husband Taylor McKinney and accusing them of bad parenting.
“Not so long ago Taylor posted a photo on Instagram that opened me up to all kinds of criticism,” she writes. “In the photo, I’m lying on the couch, holding my daughter, Jayde, who was about 3 months old at the time. She was swaddled in her blankets and sleeping, well, like a baby.”
She continues, “We were doing our fantasy football draft and I was holding a bottle of beer. Taylor innocently posted the photo with the tag, #draftday.”
Bookout and McKinney, who married in October 2016, share two children together: daughter Jayde and son Maverick. They are also raising Bentley, 8, from a previous relationship with her ex Ryan Edwards.
This article originally appeared on PEOPLE.com.
