So close to home. Farrah Abraham spoke exclusively with Us Weekly about the heartbreaking death of 16 and Pregnant star Valerie Fairman, who died of an apparent overdose on Wednesday, December 21.
Though Abraham, 25, did not know Fairman, nor appeared on the same season of 16 and Pregnant as the late MTV alum, the Teen Mom OG star told Us that her tragic passing has been difficult to process.
“I’ve been so hurt by that all day. Valerie is so gorgeous. She’s so pretty and her daughter [7-year-old Naveah] is just so amazing,” Abraham — who is mom of Sophia, 7 — told Us during a Thursday, December 22, interview in New York City.
As fans are well aware, Sophia’s father, Derek Underwood, passed away during a drunk driving accident in 2008 before the My Teenage Dream Ended author gave birth to their daughter. Abraham told Us that she sees a parallel between her late ex’s past issues with substance abuse and Fairman’s struggles.
“It really hurts me. Just like Sophia’s dad, who was just surrounded by people, even though you’re using drugs. … It’s such a experimental time from our teens to our 20s. I’m not judging anyone who is recreational [with their drug use] because we all may do that, just some people don’t live through it,” she somberly explained. “Some people don’t have the right surroundings to help get them through an experimental time or a tough time. I didn’t really speak to her, but all I know is it really hurt me because you know I thought to myself, ‘What if Sophia never had me?’”
The budding entrepreneur — who appeared on season 1 of 16 and Pregnant, while Fairman was on season 2 — went on to tell Us that she wished Fairman had had better influences in her life and expressed sympathy for the young mother’s loved ones.
“I’m really sad that Valerie didn’t have other supportive people around her to help yank her away from drugs or any of that depression or whatever she was going through and her struggles as a teen mom,” Abraham said. “It hurt me and obviously I wish her family happy holidays and condolences for Valerie because it’s really sad and really hurtful.”
As previously reported, Fairman’s mother told TMZ that her daughter was at a friend’s house in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday and refused to come out of the bathroom. Her pal eventually broke down the door and discovered Fairman unresponsive. Though her official cause of death is yet to be determined, TMZ reports that it appeared to be a fatal overdose. Fairman’s daughter is currently staying with her grandmother.
Prior to her death, Fairman grappled with addiction and had multiple brushes with the law. She was arrested in 2015 on prostitution charges in Delaware, and just one week before her death, she was arrested for resisting arrest and giving false identification to police.
On Thursday, Us Weekly spoke with Fairman’s ex David Pryce, with whom she welcomed Naveah in 2009. He told Us that the Pennsylvania resident was making a strong attempt to clean up her act prior to her death. “I wish that I could have done more for her, that’s basically how I feel,” Pryce said. “She was trying so hard. … It’s a lifelong problem.”
