'Teen Mom' Tragedy: Valerie Fairman 'Overwhelmed' By Fame Before Overdose Death
Social media bullies 'spewed lies" about the reality star, friend says.
Dec. 23 2016, Published 6:01 p.m. ET
Before her tragic death of a suspected overdose at just 23, Valerie Fairman struggled with the fame that came from starring on a hit reality show, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
According to the late 16 & Pregnant star's longtime friend Karla Bowers, Fairman found the popularity "overwhelming."
"Being on the show got to her," Bowers tells RadarOnline.com in an exclusive interview, adding that the young mother of Naveah, 7, felt "judged."
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Fairman was arrested on prostitution charges in 2015, prompting rumors of drug abuse on social media.
"Imagine people constantly spewing lies about you, talking down on you," Bowers continued. "Look at Amber and Leah! Both went on 16 & Pregnant, and ended up with drug problems."
Teen Mom OG's Amber Portwood famously went to prison on drug charges, and Teen Mom 2 star Leah Messer checked into rehab last year after suffering what sources called a prescription painkiller problem.
"They are all strong women," Bowers insisted. "But this is hard."
Though Portwood and Messer now claim to be sober and doing well, Fairman sadly couldn't shake her demons. After at least two stints in rehab and time in a recovery house, she died of what family members call a drug overdose.
"She was fighting the fight," her brother Robert Rivera told RadarOnline.com. "But the struggle was always there."
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