Daughter of Deceased “16 and Pregnant” Star Valerie Fairman Is Thriving Says Her Grandma

Nevaeh and Valerie in 2015…

Nearly a year-and-a-half after 16 and Pregnant Season 2 star Valerie Fairman passed away from a drug overdose, the daughter she left behind is reportedly doing well. In a rare interview, Valerie’s mother, Janice Fairman, revealed how the Fairman family has coped with the loss.

Valerie (who appeared on the same “16 and Pregnant” season as Jenelle Evans, Chelsea Houska, Kail Lowry and Leah Messer in 2010) passed away in December 2016 at the age of 23.

Days after her death, Janice said Valerie’s daughter, eight-year-old Nevaeh, was doing well and had even wished to return to school. Janice recently told Radar Online that the little girl remains in a good place despite the loss of her mother.

“Nevaeh is very well,” Janice told Radar. “I don’t think it’s been hard for her. I don’t know if it will be in the coming years. She’s doing well in school. I took her to a grief counselor, which she didn’t need.”

Prior to her death, Valerie had struggled with substance abuse and had been arrested several times. Just a week before she passed away, Valerie was arrested for resisting arrest and giving false identification to police. Given the instability of her lifestyle, Valerie did not regularly see her daughter while she was still alive, which Janice said may have contributed to Nevaeh’s ability to cope with the devastation.

“Because her mom wasn’t living here at the time, it made it easier on her,” she said. “[Nevaeh’s] still in the house she’s grown up in.”

Though Valerie may no longer be with her daughter, Janice said her memory is kept alive through a necklace Nevaeh has with Valerie’s ashes in it.

“Ashes are in her play room, too,” she said. “She also has flowers from the service.”

Janice said Nevaeh’s father, Matt Pryce, sees her every Saturday; however, she notes that he has his own problems. (As The Ashley has previously reported, Matt has also struggled with substance abuse in the past.)

Janice said Nevaeh doesn’t always want to visit with her father, though they try to make sure she is present for birthday parties and other special activities.

Janice said she would like her daughter to be remembered as “loving and caring person.”

“I know she was into drugs and wasn’t so nice,” Janice said, “but in her heart she really was.”

To see what the other girls from “16 and Pregnant” are up to these days, click here!

13 Responses


  1. People have to understand that Valerie was a foster child who was in and out of the system, I believe it said in her episode she was adopted by them less then 5 years before she got pregnant(she had to be 10 at the youngest) before then Valerie most have seen things kids shouldn’t have seen, plus her parents seems like the family who adopt a lot of trouble kids( I think there where 12 kids all together and 3 of them where bio). I really hope Nevaeh goes to college and have a good life and learns from her mother’s mistakes. I really hate it when people blame Valerie’s adopted Mom for her problems because she wasn’t in her life for that long.


    1. Right. Most people aren’t even willing to try with these older foster kids. I commend her mother for trying to do the hard work when maybe it was too late. I feel sad for Valerie and all other kids who are at the mercy of these horrible adults.


  2. Is this Valerie’s adoptive mom? I’m surprised she got custody, I remember thinking the adoptive parents seemed unfit to raise all those kids.


  3. This is a mother who doesn’t sugar coat or enable her child. She did exactly what she needed to do to protect Nevaeh. Hopefully Matt deals with his addiction.


    1. I remember during Valerie’s 16&P episode when she wanted to return to school, instead of being home schooled, as she and her mother had planned. Valerie’s mother told her she could go back to school if she had child care arrangements set up for Nevaeh, so her mom sat in the other room and watched Valerie call various daycares and find out for herself what the cost of caring for a newborn really was. Her mother was upset, watching Valerie become more and more discouraged with every phone call, but she said she knew that Valerie needed to figure this part out for herself. The Fairman’s seemed like very loving people and they held their kids accountable for their behavior.

      On a side note, how beautiful is Nevaeh?! Gorgeous girl.


      1. More of us new generation mothers need to be like this. So often we want to shelter our kids from pain, rejection, failure, and we end up producing self-entitled adults that cannot handle real life. It sucks watching our children hurt, but it’s part of life and the part that makes them resilient.

        And you’re right, her daughter is beautiful ❤️


  4. Jesus Christ, Matt, get your sh*t together, she doesn’t have to lose another parent too! Hopefully Valerie’s death will make him stop using.


    1. I suspect he won’t since she died December of 2016. What should make him want to stop using is his daughter who is alive, not his deceased baby mama.

      Thankfully, Nevaeh has grandparents who stepped in basically at birth and saved her from parents with addiction. I agree with you that Matt needs to get it together so his little girl doesn’t lose another parent!


  5. That is pretty devastating. I’m glad the baby is being well taken care of, loved and has her grandma. Hopefully her dad will grow up and be a part of her life in a positive way. Good luck little girl! Make grandma proud!


  6. I don’t know what makes me feel more sad. The fact that this poor girl died so young or the fact that her little girl doesn’t seem to miss her dead mother because she wasn’t around to begin with.

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