Season 10, Episode 1
Brittany
Age: 22
Location: Southeast Michigan
Addiction: Heroin
What’s memorable: The strange “unsubstantiated claims” of sexual abuse disclaimer that I’ve never seen on this show before. Has this weird effect of making you think she’s lying, when really it’s just about legalities. Also memorable: the seemingly decent co-dependent boyfriend that inexplicably puts up with a whole lotta crazy shit.
Official synopsis: Brittany once dreamed of becoming a police officer to protect people from the traumas that she faced as a child. But at 22, her goal is slipping away. She’s a heroin addict who sells her body to get her next high. Can Brittany’s family convince her that it’s not too late to get help?
Original Air Date: June 2011
Interventionist: Rod
I googled the name of the town on her t-shirts in a few scenes, and they’re all in Michigan so I’m assuming this took place in Michigan. Tough episode to watch!
What was the name of the town you saw on her shirt? I live in Southeast Michigan about 20 mins away from Toledo, OH where she mentioned getting drugs at.
I live in SE Michigan too, and I think I saw a hoodie that said “Chelsea.” So maybe that’s where she is from, because Chelsea is about an hour away from Toledo, and it said she traveled an hour each way.
her family is from saline, mi.
What was going on with the boyfriend? The update never mentioned if they broke up or whatever…he seemed comparatively decent given the cast of characters but…
The Boyfriend moved on and away from her.
I’m from Southeast Michigan, and watching this episode, it’s chilling to think about how close to home this is. I’ve driven on that exact stretch of freeway they show when she goes to Toledo.
Now 2018 and I also live in Michigan and everyone knows at least 5 people who have passed by overdose. Watching episodes always made me sad, now everyone is sad. Sad this drug is taking so many lives, not just all the young people but all ages. My heartbreaks for everyone involved. Prayers for it to stop!
So true! (and terribly sad).
I don’t necessarily think that their implying that she’s lying about her claims when they write the disclaimer at the beginning. I think/ believe that it’s just a legality issue especially if it’s not been proven in court and the person has been convicted of said thing . Otherwise the person has a legal right to take not only her but the A&E company/ agency as well for defamation of character which no company/ agency would ever remotely take the chance on . That’s why agency’s and companies ( and frankly smart , level headed people who have some sort of sense in their brain ) does / should be doing . So with the disclaimer then A&E is not opening them selves up to lawsuits and possibly other charges that would come from that . It also separates them from the other persons words and /or actions . So then when the other person ( Britney ) starts to speak of that thing then A&E is essentially backing away with their hands up saying “ she’s the one saying this not us , we don’t have any part of it
So the captions To begin with say that she alleges that ____ took place , then it says that the man denies the accusations which later on it says that no charges have been filed on the person regarding that . So when you have that part alone ( the part on the no charges being filed part ) you are legally required to say that the claims of whatever it may be is accusations since the accused hasn’t been charged nor convicted so the legal system clearly says ( regardless of what the other people in the world belive or are willing to do) that a person is innocent untill proven guilty in a court of law ( which tends to be followed with a conviction of whatever thing ) so to put anything else is to be breaking the constitutional law and thus breaking the rightS of the other person ( the accused ) when it comes to their rights and freedoms . Which can land someone in some serious waters for punitive damages and / or criminal charges for slander and/ or depending on the severity of the issue could rise to the level of harassment towards the person . You might not be want to accept that to be the case and you may want to belive the one making the claims and “harm” the accused person however that’s not your right or freedom to do so and you are going to end up in some hot water .
her mother, mechelle, died in june of 2015. obituaries don’t list cause of death but note that she died in the u of m hospital, surrounded by family members. she was 49 years old.
her sister posted a comment on a local website, commending the police officer who was a part of the investigation of her mother’s death.
Here is the obituary for Mechelle the Mother. How sad. http://www.ochalekstark.com/memsol.cgi?user_id=1615417
That link is a bad one.
The obituary never mentioned her cause of death. I wonder if it was drug related. She had 5 daughters.
What happened to the mom? Wonder what happened to the investigation. What a shame she had so many kids
Does anyone have an update on Brittany and her mom? So sad she passed. Prayers.
Found her on FB she looks great and has been married for almost 2 years.
Do you have the link to her facebook page?
That isn’t her Facebook page. She doesn’t have a Facebook. Brittany is sober and still living in Michigan.
That’s awesome!!!
Hey dizzy, Brittany is actually 22 in the episode. She says it at the beginning. Just thought you might want to change her age at the top.
thank you very much Brittany!! braver than most of us 🙂
According to her sister’s Facebook page, their mother seemed to have passed away judging by this post : https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10219003909555812&set=pb.1446723125.-2207520000.1553626516.&type=3&theater
So sad..
did anyone notice how when they were talking about the molestation they were also talking about how she was dressing promiscuously at the same time. to me this is essentially implying that the two are related which is victim blaming! it starts around or soon after the 8 minute mark. brittany is talking about how disgusting and slick he was about the molesting, they then flash to the mom who talks about noticing something different about brittany’s behavior, then they flash to her friend danielle who said brittany would “walk around in really short shorts or naked or just flaunt herself kind of like a tease i guess”, and then back to brittany who finishes telling her story about the molester. you tell me…
I actually took this as they noticed she had started “acting out’ sexually after she was molested, not before, which I know is a fairly common response to being sexually abused. I could be wrong, but I didn’t see this as victim blaming, more that they were seeing signs that something had happened.
I agree with Dizzy, I didn’t see it as victim blaming, but more of the sad consequences of childhood sexual trauma. Very sad.
Here is her mom’s Facebook page. This is such a very sad story. It looks like she was getting her bachelors degree in social work, while working as a recovery coach from 2011. It looks like she had turned her life around! I know some comments were wondering if she had overdose….I do not think so based on her Facebook. It really looks like she turned her life around! This is just a really sad sad story! My. Prayers are with her family and all of her kids! My heart also goes out to Brittany! I had some things in common with her (not the sexual molestation, or the heroin use, although I was addicted to opiate pills 10 years ago). I really was rooting for her, and I’m hoping that she still is living a life of sobriety that she so very much deserves! 🙏🏼❤️
https://m.facebook.com/100001622355620/
It also looks like her sister, Kristy is doing really good based on her FB page. She has lots of pictures of her with her brothers and sisters. She looks very happy, pretty, and healthy. It looks like there’s pictures of Brittany on her FB, one of her holding a little girl. Kristy says this little girl is her niece, so it may be Brittany’s little girl I’m not going to send the link to her Facebook. It’s really easy to find it. She has a picture of her mother holding her as a baby. My heart goes out to her for her loss! ❤️
https://www.facebook.com/brittany.a.bailey.3?mibextid=ZbWKwL
this is Brittany’s Facebook page
That isn’t her.
That’s not her. It says in the episode that she was born in 1988. Also the face is clearly not her
Brittany’s mom Michelle died of an overdose, sadly Brittany has struggled to remain sober. She is still living in and out of hotels and friends couches in Michigan.