She’s 35, a grandmother and working to make ends meet

She's 35, a grandmother and working to create ends meet.

Key points

• But the United States still has one of the highest rates of teen births among other industrialized countries, according to National Center for Health Statistics.
• Madeline Mitchell's role covering women and the caregiving economy at USA TODAY is backed by a partnership with Pivotal and Journalism Funding Partners.
• "Bestie I'm 36 and this week my biggest stress was getting Harry Styles tickets, " one user commented on the video.
• Devon Ellis was a junior in high school when she discovered out she was pregnant.
• "I know my mom's reaction and help when I got pregnant at 18 made a big difference."

She's 35, a grandmother and working to create ends meet. Madeline Mitchell USA TODAY.

In practice, the Tennessee mom informed USA TODAY she didn't have much backing at that time and had to drop out of high school so as to care for her daughter.

"It was very, very hard to be a teenage mother, " she remarked. "I didn't have individuals helping me go to school and stay in school and pushing me. So, I had to take care of her, and that's what I did." She had another baby, a boy, two years afterwards.

Her children are teenagers now, and her high school sweetheart is no longer in the picture. And while she tried her best to ensure her children wouldn't repeat her own teen pregnancy story, Ellis is now a grandmother at the young age of 35. She posts regarding her struggles as a single mother and grandmother to her more than 91, 000 followers on TikTok, including in a recent video that brought in more than 1 million views.

"There's a lot of hate in these comments but I just want to say good job mama for sticking by your daughter through the hard times, " another user wrote. "I know my mom's reaction and help when I got pregnant at 18 made a big difference."

Teenage pregnancy rates have been declining for decades, hitting a historic low of 11.7 births per 1, 000 girls aged 15-19 in 2025, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But the United States still has one of the highest rates of teen births among other industrialized countries, according to National Center for Health Statistics.

"I literally went through the five stages of grief that week, " Ellis informed USA TODAY, reflecting on when she identified out her daughter. This person was entering her sophomore year of high school at the time, was pregnant. "I was so upset."

Individuals often ask Ellis if she had "the talk" with her kids. She did. She and her daughter spoke regarding birth control options just months before her daughter secured pregnant. She informed her kids that the safest way to avoid pregnancy is to not have sex, she stated, but continued "I know teenagers, I once was one." Her 12-year-old patient was pregnant. Why talking regarding periods matters.

"You can't always just count on them not doing it, so I wanted them to be prepared, " she remarked. "I did everything I could to have my daughter not be a teenage mother, I tried very hard."

"I preached to my children, before she ever got pregnant, 'Please don't become me, '" Ellis remarked. "But it happened."

Now, her grandson is here and she loves him. She loves her family, Ellis remarked, but the pressure to take care of everyone can be overwhelming at times.

"It's me, or it's nothing, " she remarked. "If I don't have funds, then they don't have what they need. And the older they obtain, the more expensive they secure. And, like, our house is falling apart." Being the backing she wishes she'd had as a teen mom.

Ellis remarked she wished she could have finished high school when she first became a mother. She's since gotten her GED.

So when her daughter became pregnant – and after Ellis's initial shock and grief wore off – she created a commitment to be the backing she wished she'd had in high school. "I want to make sure that she's taken care of, " Ellis remarked.

In the mornings, Ellis helps out with her grandson so her daughter can obtain ready for school. Sometimes she helps with child care drop off if her daughter is running late. Ellis additionally helps secure her 14-year-old son up and ready for school before starting work. She tries to clean up around the house between meetings as she works from home, she remarked, so she can be ready to assist out more with the baby when her daughter gets home in the afternoons. Then it's time for dinner, bath time and bed.

"She's been a very good mother, " Ellis remarked of her daughter. "I think regarding who I was and who I could have (been) if somebody would have been there for me to assist me through school. And I want her to be a good mother, I want to create sure she's taking care of him, but I additionally want to create sure that she has the resources to be somebody someday."

Ellis remarked she turned to TikTok initially to see if it could assist pay her bills. She posts videos of her coloring, shares regarding her anxiety and other mental health struggles and films updates concerning her daily life as a young grandmother. She was surprised to find a really supportive community online.

"In moments where my depression and my anxiety were bad and my PTSD was bad, I just remember feeling like I was the only person on the Earth that felt this. So I wanted other individuals to feel like they were not alone, " she stated. "And I've had so many women message me and be like, 'Thank you.' And I'm like, this is what I want to do with my life, is to make people feel better."

Madeline Mitchell's role covering women and the caregiving economy at USA TODAY is backed by a partnership with Pivotal and Journalism Funding Partners. Funders do not provide editorial input. Reach Madeline at [email protected] and @maddiemitch_ on X. Share your feedback to support improve our site!

Taken together, the developments around shes 35, a grandmother and working to make ends meet point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.