Former 'Bachelor' contestant and Utah native Michelle Money opened up about her past and her personal experience with teenage pregnancy in a video released last week by a beauty company called PMD. Although it was released on July 22, the video was among the trending topics on Facebook early Thursday morning.
When Money was 15, she became pregnant and instead of aborting, chose to give birth to her son and give him up for adoption.
"The decision to place this baby up for adoption was not an easy one," Money said in the video. "But it was the right one."
Money explains the process was bittersweet and the hardest thing she ever had to do. Delivering her son brought a feeling of love that Money hadn't felt before, a feeling that made it hard for her to hand her son to the social worker.
Home video footage of Money holding and caring for her son in the hospital shortly before she gave him up for adoption is shown in the video.
After giving birth, Money was consumed with what people thought of her and tried to prove herself. It was a subject she didn't often talk about.
"I lost myself in that for a long time, really trying to overcompensate from this mistake that I made," Money said.
She says that it took time to come to terms with the decisions she made in her youth and feel confident in herself again.
An article from Refinery29 says the former Bachelor contestant made people laugh on the show while also staying strong during hard times. The article noted that this new video "demonstrates where some of [Money's] strength came from."
The Bachelor contestant has an 11-year-old daughter and revealed to US Weekly she hopes she can reunite with her son one day.
"I know I will never take the place of his adoptive parents," Money told US Weekly. "But I would absolutely love to have some place in his life if he will have me."
Money ended the video by saying her "wish for every woman is for them to be able to look at themselves in the mirror and love every challenge, every trial, every heartache that they have experienced in their life and still feel beautiful. That to me is true beauty."
PMD is a personal skincare brand that has started a campaign called "Empowered by PMD." The company has created two other videos about women who have overcome trials and challenges and found beauty within themselves.
Money will participate in a Facebook live event July 28 at 7 p.m.