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Jordan Cashmyer, ’16 and Pregnant’ Star, Dies at 26

Jordan Cashmyer, best known for being featured on MTV’s reality series “16 and Pregnant,” has died. She was 26 years old.

Cashmyer’s family revealed the news on Facebook on Sunday morning, though did not give a cause of death.

“Last night I received a call no parent ever wants,” Cashmyer’s family wrote. “My oldest beloved daughter, Jordan has passed away, she was only 26 years old. Our hearts are truly broken. No parent should ever have to go through losing a child, EVER. Please keep my family in your thoughts prayers as we navigate through this terrible tragedy. Please understand and respect our privacy at this time. We are surrounded by the love and support of our children, grand daughter [sic] Lyla and family members.”

Jordan Cashmyer and her boyfriend were featured on “16 and Pregnant” in 2014. Back then, Cashmyer’s family did not approve of the couple’s relationship, and cut their daughter off. She and Derek Taylor were left homeless before she eventually gave birth to a girl they named Genevieve “Evie” Shae Taylor.

Just months before checking into rehab in June 2014, Cashmyer wrote in a blog post, “For the past two years, I have struggled with addiction… I practically used my body as a trashcan and would put whatever was given to me in my body. I got to the point where I wanted to die. I had lost everything I cared about in life and felt that I had nothing to live for, so I was hospitalized for a little over a week.”

Cashmyer and Taylor did not stay together after the show, and after further struggles in her personal life, Jordan signed custody of her daughter over to Taylor’s mother in 2015, albeit temporarily. In 2017, Cashmyer was arrested for drug possession, but celebrated one year of sobriety in January 2021.

“It is with a heavy heart that we found out our grand-daughter [sic] Jordan has passed away,” Dennis Cashmyer Sr., Jordan’s grandfather wrote. “Please keep our family in your thoughts and prayers.”