Stars From TLC's Unexpected That Wound Up Behind Bars

Hot on the heels of the popularity of MTV's "Teen Mom," another reality show about teenagers giving birth hit the airwaves in November 2017. "Unexpected" premiered on TLC with the intent of showing young women during their pregnancies, birth, and bringing baby home. Alongside the pregnant high-schoolers, their equally young partners were featured on the show, detailing the couples' relationships and their upcoming titles of mom and dad.

The series has a solid fan base and good ratings. While "Unexpected" tells a lot of different truths about its subjects' experiences, impending parenthood is the central focus of the episodes, and there's also a lot of drama — especially when normal teenage hormones are combined with an unexpected pregnancy. 

But the babies haven't been the only unexpected turns in the lives of some of the daddies on the series. It turns out several of them have been unexpectedly caught by law enforcement officials, as at least five of the males featured on TLC's "Unexpected" have been sentenced to time behind bars. While they're far from the only TLC stars who've been arrested, "Unexpected's" Max Schenzel, Jason Korpi, Anthony Vanelli, Shayden Massey, and Matthew Blevins have found themselves on the wrong side of the law.

Max Schenzel was 18 and his girlfriend Chloe Mendoza was 16 when they made their debut on Season 2 of TLC's "Unexpected" in 2018. Mendoza was 27 weeks pregnant with daughter Ava, and audiences went through her pregnancy and birth, as well as her relationship with her mom and with Max. The couple's screen-time was popular with audiences, and they returned for Season 3 to show viewers what life was like with a toddler. 

It was also during Season 3 when Schenzel talked about his brush with the law, TLC even showing his mug shot on an episode. "I was charged with credit card fraud and burglary, and I might have to go to jail," he explained about his June 2018 arrest in Maricopa County, Arizona. Schenzel was initially charged with felonies for stealing money and using a stolen credit card. He took a plea deal for the lesser charge of theft, and was sentenced to 30 months probation, and ordered to pay $1157.27 in restitution to his victim, a friend's grandmother. While on probation, he was arrested for domestic assault in altercations with Mendoza in December 2019and  February 2020. He was also caught trying to steal a car and resisting arrest that month. Between all of his arrests, and violating probation, he was sentenced to six months in jail.  

Schenzel was released from prison in January 2021, but it didn't last. In February 2024, he was back in court for drug possession and use. In May 2024, he was put on probation.

When they made their debut on Season 5 of TLC's "Unexpected" in 2022, Jason Korpi was 18 and Kylen Smith was 17. She was 32 weeks pregnant with son Xavier, and audiences got to see the moment when Smith gave birth — and the moment Korpi was kicked out of the hospital for being disruptive. The incident was typical of the couple's relationship — fans accused Korpi of being abusive and even started a petition to get him removed from the show.

Korpi had a busy schedule on August 22, 2022, when his son was born. Earlier that day, he was arrested by New Hampshire police for an infraction that occurred in 2021. Korpi was charged for driving on a suspended license and charged a fine, which he failed to pay, resulting in a warrant for his arrest.

Before his arrest in August 2022, Korpi added more infractions to his legal record. In February 2022 he was driving with his headlights off at night. When police tried to pull him over, he tried to outrun them and drove into a stop sign. He was arrested on 11 different charges, including a DUI, driving without a license, reckless operation, possession of tobacco as a minor, and disobeying an officer. In court in November 2022, eight of those charges were dropped, and Korpi was found guilty of the remaining three: DUI, no license, and tobacco possession. He was sentenced to 60 days in jail, but the jail sentence was suspended on the condition that he stay out of legal trouble for two years.

Anthony Vanelli, 18, and his girlfriend Rilah Ferrer, 16, were introduced to "Unexpected" fans in 2019, during Season 3. Ferrer, was 26 weeks pregnant with daughter Malayah and gave birth in episode 13.

Vanelli has a lengthy record with Seminole County, Florida. In October 2019, he was arrested after an incident with Ferrer that led to first and second degree misdemeanor charges for disorderly conduct and domestic violence. He entered a 9-month pre-trial diversion program with a list of rules to follow including a $450 price and community service. Vanelli failed to adhere to the program; on April 1, 2021, he threatened a woman with a knife and was charged with a third-degree felony for aggravated assault. While the case was working its way through the system, he was hit in February 2022 with a felony charge after he tried to remove his electronic monitoring device. Finally, in June 2022, the teen dad was ruled incompetent to stand trial and involuntarily placed in a hospital for treatment. When he was ruled competent to stand trial in November 2022, he received a jail sentence of 11 months and 7 days, but with time already served for his hospital confinement. 

Just a few months later, on May 23, 2023, he was arrested on a second-degree felony charge for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and a first-degree misdemeanor for resisting an officer without violence. He allegedly stabbed his mother's boyfriend multiple times in the back and chest with a knife. As of June 2024, he was still awaiting trial.

When Season 1 of "Unexpected" premiered in 2017, 15-year-old Lexus Scheller and her boyfriend, Shayden Massey, 17, were introduced to viewers, along with the couple's constant arguments. Scheller was already 38 weeks pregnant with daughter Scarlett, and gave birth just three episodes into the seven-episode season. With toddler in tow, they returned for Season 2 in 2018. While there were rumors they might be back for Season 3, Massey says he turned TLC down because he wasn't getting paid enough for episodes of "Unexpected."

That same year kicked off a series of legal troubles for Massey, mostly involving his vehicle in the state of Indiana. In June 2018, he was stopped for having expired license plates. When he didn't pay the fine for the ticket, the courts suspended his license. Between December 2018 and August 2019, he  got hit with tickets and fines for driving on that suspended license — two of those times for also having drug paraphernalia, once for possession of marijuana, and another time for not having insurance. In January 2020, he shared on social media he had served time in jail for his infractions over the course of several weekends.

On April 27, 2020, his previous unlawfulness came back to haunt him, when he was taken into custody due to an outstanding arrest warrant issued on February 5, as well as possession of a controlled substance. It seems that one of his later arrests triggered a probation violation from an earlier one. 

Matthew Blevins and Hailey Tomlinson were both 16 and dating when they made their premiere on TLC's "Unexpected" Season 3 in 2019. Tomlinson was already 32 weeks pregnant and gave birth to daughter Kinsley before the last episode. Blevins eventually switched to Tomlinson's best friend, also named Hailey, who also became pregnant via Blevins. 

Having two kids doesn't appear to have kept the young father busy enough, and in February 2023, he was arrested in Louisville, Kentucky for second-degree robbery. Blevins was sentenced to three years in prison, but instead of serving his full time, the courts allowed him a pre-trial diversion, in which he would be monitored for 24 months. If all went well, his sentencing would be re-visited.

All did not go well, however, and on April 1, 2024, Blevins was again arrested in the same city, this time for a misdemeanor charge for receiving stolen property. His supervisory period is up on July 30, 2025, and the minor charge could have an affect on whether or not Blevins has to serve any of his original three-year sentence.