A new season of Teen Mom 2 is almost upon us.
And with it, a whole new set of trials and tribulations for the series’ original leads – and a couple of newcomers joining the cast.
Suffice it to say, there will be plenty of storylines for fans to absorb and dissect this year, although in particular stands out.
On the casting front, Ashley Jones has replaced Chelsea Houska, and Jade Cline is still making a name for herself on one of MTV’s most popular and longest-lasting shows.
But with no offense to Ashley (above) or Chelsea, it’s the plight of a longtime fan favorite that’s left viewers desperate for answers.
The trailer features a scary moment in which Leah Messer reveals that she discovered a lump in her breast.
Things are concerning enough that the 26-year-old mother of three says she has decided to undergo testing.
“He recommended that I have an ultrasound done,” Messer says during a phone call.
Obviously, we’ll have to wait until the new season premieres on May 4 to find out what’s going on with Leah.
And that doesn’t seem like the sort of issue that will be resolved in a season premiere, so we’ll probably have to wait much longer than that.
But eventually, we’ll get some closure on a situation that already has Teen Mom 2 fans fearing the worst.
Making the scenario even more agonizing is the fact that Leah appears to be firing on all cylinders just ahead of her health scare.
In addition to raising her three daughters West Virginia native Leah was writing her memoir at the time.
She was also planning to launch a podcast when she got the bad news from her doctor.
But it seems all of that was temporarily put on hold when she found out she was facing a potential crisis.
The bad news is, it might be months before we figure out how this situation has been resolved (or, for that matter, if it has been resolved).
The good news is, these scenes were shot last year, and Leah has made no mention of struggling with regard to her health.
So in all likelihood, the lump turned out not to be cancerous, or it was successfully treated in the months since.
But we can’t be sure about that until we hear it from Leah, and alas, that may not be happening imminently.
And since it looks as though her health scare will be a major storyline, we won’t hear it from Leah until we hear it on the show.
The situation reflects what has become a major point of contention between producers and cast in recent years:
The stars want to communicate freely with their fans on social media.
But producers feel – perhaps rightfully – that if the cast shares everything on Instagram, there will be no reason for fans to tune into the show.
Obviously, some sort of balance has to be achieved in that regard, which is no easy feat with families, friends and entire teams involved.
The difficulty of maintaining some semblance of privacy while at the same time giving producers enough to keep her storyline interesting?
It’s a real thing, and is supposedly one of the challenges that led popular co-star Chelsea Houska to quit Teen Mom 2.
And as they enter their second decade of stardom, no doubt Leah and Kailyn are beginning to feel similarly strained.
So here’s hoping that Leah’s situation turned out to be nothing – and that we won’t have to wait until the finale to find that out.
Needless to say, Teen Mom 2 can’t start soon enough.