Leah Messer's girls are growing up.
As her teens get ready for their first high school dance, homecoming, in the Thursday, Feb. 27 episode of Teen Mom: The Next Chapter, Leah can't help but realize how close her girls are to the age when she became their mom.
The fact is particularly on the reality star's mind as Aleeah's boyfriend comes by to pick her up for the dance. The teen is respectful, greeting both the twins' parents before telling his date, "Hi, you look very beautiful."
He then asks the twins' dad, Messer's Corey Simms, "Should I give it to her now?" and he nods. Aleeah's boyfriend slips the corsage on her wrist, and she pins his boutonniere.
In a confessional, the mom of three says, "I'm having a difficult time accepting this whole relationship. Right now, it's too young. Have fun, have a social life, pursue your dreams and goals."
"I got married by the time I was 18 and 19 twice before the age of 20. I know that they won't repeat the same cycle, but it's so easy to fall into that trap. All it takes is an unplanned pregnancy, actually."
Leah, her mother, and her grandmother all had teenage pregnancies. She's been open about trying to steer her daughters down a different path.
"I think that 13, 14, 15 year old should be worried about their grades and having fun and having a social life, not a damn boyfriend," she admits. "But I know that the only way to experience what you want in a relationship is by dating, right? I wasn't prepared for it to happen, but it's here. So, I guess we'll enter the dating era."
Leah Messer/Instagram
Later, Leah hosts Aleeah's friends at the house for an afterparty in a "safe environment."
"I'm not going to be naive to the fact that they're going to make another date, but they're teenagers. I want them to have fun in a safe environment. It's important to me, number one, and that they have a great time," Leah tells her friend.
"I told them, when I was their age, I got a worker's permit. I started at the grocery store and then went to McDonald's. That was my childhood and I'm not saying anything bad. I think that adversity made me who I am today so that doesn't change anything," she explains.
"However, they get to experience adversity that looks a little different, right? And I think this is where we break the teenage pregnancy cycle, here."
Teen Mom: The Next Chapter airs on Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on MTV.