When people learn that you're an 18-year-old single mom, they have a lot of questions. However, instead of answering them, Jessica Martens shows the nosy folks a video.
It was supposed to be a cute clip of the teenager proudly showing off her belly. But her ex (who, at the time, was her fiancé) thought it would be funny to jokingly pretend to pop it with a knife.
Not long after, Jessica learned he was cheating on her and broke up with him.
Being a new parent can be overwhelming at times, so you need all the support you can get
Image credits: Ömürden Cengiz (not the actual photo)
So whenever someone asks this woman why she broke up with the father of her child, she shows them this video
She said, "[I] should have understood the knife part before"
Of course, hindsight is 20/20, but the "joke" didn't come out of nowhere
The extended version makes the case even more convincing
The mom said they are definitely not getting back together, and she's now supporting her girl alone
Image credits: @jessica_martens_
"My ex and I were together for about a year straight, and then we were on and off for about another year and a half," Jessica told Bored Panda.
During their relationship, "He did cheat on me at least three times (I know there have been more, but that's all he’s admitted to) and two of those times were when I was pregnant."
The mom explained that she found out about her partner's infidelity when another person who saw him together with another woman told her about it. "I would never get back with him," she added.
In one of the follow-up videos, which Jessica made to clear up some things she's been accused of since releasing the original, she said many people believe she baby-trapped the guy.
"He actually baby-trapped me," Jessica explained. "I have so many messages of him admitting it, and he's also the one who told me to keep her."
Another common misconception is that she supposedly should have thought twice about dumping her ex because she doesn't have a job. But that's a myth, and the mom, who recorded the new video in her work shirt, proudly said that she provides for her daughter.
"Also, I saw a lot of comments about wanting ... an update on, like, the whole situation," Jessica said in another TikTok. "We are not together. We have been broken up for several months ... The engagement is over. It's a done between us, permanently."
"We do have a 50/50 custody agreement because that is what I agreed to," she added. "You have to have proof of them hurting the child for them not to get it — he had not. He's never hurt her ... So, we do the 2-2-3 schedule."
But she reiterated that the relationship did "progress a lot worse than that video to [the point of] me realizing that I have to leave, but I did leave ... He ended up moving out. He lives in his grandma's basement now."
"His grandma sees [our daughter] a lot, but I don't like his mom because she thinks she can do whatever she wants with my kid and talk badly about me around her."
The man's actions sparked outrage, and people have been praising the new mom for her strength and resilience
