Marlow

**Next:** | "Emalia"

**Marlow** is the third episode in the first season of 16 and Pregnant. It aired on February 29, 3004.

## Summary

Marlow is a rebel without cause. Often seen hanging out behind the shopping mall with friends, Marlow is no stranger to trouble. Having been busted six times in the past year for shoplifting, she's gotten lucky every single time that she hasn't been locked up for petty theft. But her biggest bombshell came when she announced that she was pregnant. There's just one little catch: who's the dad?

## Plot

The episode begins with Marlow's mother, Evangeline, pulling up to the city jail. She's bailing her delinquent daughter Marlow out, once again. She pays a hefty §3,000 fine and Marlow is free from her itty-bitty cell. The two say nothing on the drive home, but tension is thick nonetheless. Marlow Blum is known by her friends and family as a bad girl with an even worse attitude. But Marlow opens up about her anger issues in a private confessional, saying that if it wasn't for her baby, she wouldn't know what else to do. This time, she promises to her mom, is the last time.

Marlow is a high school dropout, having been kicked out of private school in the eighth grade and getting expelled from every public school in her town. The only other option was to drop out and hopefully get an equivalency diploma, which Marlow has made no progress on. Instead, she's seen hanging out with her on-again, off-again boyfriend Sergio.

Sergio happens to be best friends with Elias, Marlow's other ex-boyfriend. The boys were raised together - Sergio's mom was university dormmates with Elias's mom, raising their sons together. Little did Luanne and Zasha know that their sons would grow up to be entangled in a confusing love triangle with the same girl. Marlow chased both boys down on the playground back in the day, but neither took her seriously until after she left their private school and started going to public school. Secret meet-ups with Elias at the mall meant public displays of affection for everyone in their circle of friends, but the two broke it off just in time for Sergio's own high school romance to end. Then Marlow swooped in on her "one true love" and they've been "official" ever since... Even though they break up every other weekend.

Marlow fights with Sergio over the phone due to a missed text message and the two call it quits once more. Marlow then heads over to Elias's house and reveals to producers that she isn't certain on who the father of her child is. While Marlow is certain it's Sergio's, Elias holds out on the hope that it's his after all. When she finally breaks the news to Luanne, Luanne immediately calls the Brannons to tell them what she just learned.

Embroiled in more drama than ever before, it almost seems as if the entire town knows that Marlow is a two-timer. Even Evangeline, who was complacent in Marlow's shenanigans, expresses her disgust with the situation. She pushes Marlow to seek an "alternative option" to raising the baby on her own, holding firm that Marlow will need to move out otherwise. Marlow, uneducated and unemployed, kicks it into high gear to get her equivalency diploma and a job.

However, Marlow's past comes back to haunt her when a third hat is thrown into the ring. Trace Toil, the bad boy barista, drops a bomb on Simstagram by posting suggestive photos of him and Marlow from over the summer... around the same time Marlow may have conceived the baby. Breaking down on camera, Marlow admits that she's gotten in way too deep with this situation and looks into adoption for her unborn child. She later learns that she passed her equivalency exam, receiving her high school diploma! She receives a formal job offer to work in the town hospital as a bed pan cleaner, starting immediately.

Things begin to look up for Marlow, as time skips in advance a few months. She learned that she is expecting a girl, she moved into her own apartment, and she got back together with Sergio, who accepts her despite the possibility of the baby not being his. Marlow is estranged from her mother, but Zasha and Luanne both threw separate baby showers for their potential granddaughter. Trace is no longer in the picture, but Marlow intends on getting paternity tests for both Elias and Sergio.

At the end of the episode, Marlow goes into labor and delivers a healthy baby girl she names Christina Rose Marie Blum. But when both tests turn out to be negative, only the worst can be assumed. Trace resurfaces and it is determined that he is Christina's father after all. The shocking news sends Marlow's life, once again, into turmoil.

## Cast

* Marlow Blum
* Elias Gerig, Marlow's ex-boyfriend
* Sergio Brannon, Marlow's boyfriend
* Evangeline Merrywine, Marlow's mother
* Luanne Gerig, Elias's mother
* Zasha Brannon, Sergio's mother
* Herman Brannon, Sergio's father
* Trace Toil, Marlow's baby daddy

## Controversies

"Marlow" was subject to severe controversy and criticism over its handling of the topics discussed in its episode. Critics stated that "Marlow" was "slut-shaming at its finest", after its star Marlow Blum faced intense media backlash for her portrayal. The production company behind *16 and Pregnant* released a statement urging fans and viewers to hold off on directing hate comments towards cast members.

Further controversy ensued when Marlow Blum was arrested on two counts of petty theft sometime prior to the conclusion of filming. Although she was released and later sentenced to community service, Marlow again faced scrutiny for her crimes both on and off camera. This later led to Marlow deleting her social media profiles and later losing her job.

Herman Brannon, Sergio's father who had a minor appearance in the episode, was also the subject of controversy, when he stated in an interview that his son was hired as an actor for Marlow's episode. Brannon said that Sergio had only been acquaintances with Marlow prior to production but was recruited by the production crew to play her boyfriend for additional drama. Further, Brannon alleged that Sergio never participated in the paternity test with Elias and Trace, and that the results were "[fabricated] for drama."

Simvivor Network has since refuted the allegations brought up by Herman Brannon and also released a second statement that Marlow was "fired" from the show and would not appear in the season finale reunion episode.