For most teens, a trip to the school nurse might mean a sprained ankle or a sore throat. But for then-16-year-old Devalin Bishop Tehuia and his 15-year-old girlfriend Keirah Evans, it became the moment that changed their lives forever.
It was in 2022 that Keirah noticed she was putting on weight. She booked a pregnancy test with the nurse at their Palmerston North high school.
A shocking discovery at the school nurse
“My normal size is quite big, so I didn’t pay much attention when I started getting bigger,” she remembers.
“I thought I must be eating too much!”
After the test, the young couple were stunned to discover Keirah was not only pregnant, but five months along.
“I cried, to be honest,” Keirah recalls.
“I was scared, freaking out, feeling all the emotions… I wasn’t 100% sure what I was going to do.”
“It was a shock for me too,” admits Devalin, who is one of the stars of new TVNZ show Dadolescence, a six-part docuseries that follows the lives of five young Kiwi men as they navigate the leap into fatherhood.
“I was happy, sad and confused all at once.”
Gaining whānau support
At first, the teens kept the news to themselves, afraid how their whānau might react.
“I hadn’t had the sex talk with my whāngai parents, so it was a bit awkward,” reveals Devalin, who eventually opened up to his birth mother about the pregnancy.
Once the news was shared with the wider whānau, they rallied around the young couple.
“We definitely got a lot of support,” Devalin explains, “but there was also a bit of a ‘what the heck?’ moment in the beginning.”
As they chat with Woman’s Day about their gorgeous two-year-old daughter Aaliyah, Devalin, now 19, and Keirah, 18, admit young parenthood isn’t always easy, but they wouldn’t have it any other way.
The joy of watching Aliyah thrive
“The coolest part is watching Aaliyah grow up,” smiles Devalin.
Keirah proudly adds, “She’s an easy baby and really intelligent at such a young age. Her speech is amazing, and she’s so independent and likes to do things on her own. If she’s playing with other kids at our house, she’s definitely the boss!”
For both Devalin and Keirah, the concept of whāngai, traditional Māori open adoption, has been a guiding force throughout their lives. They live in Palmerston North with Devalin’s whāngai parents, Mary Bishop and KT Baker. Mary is the whāngai sister of Devalin’s birth mother, and she and KT have raised him since he was a baby.
“KT’s not my biological dad, but I have looked to him as my father and aspired to be like him,” says Devalin.
“He’s always there for me, even if I am in the wrong. He’s been a great role model, especially now I’m a dad.”
Sharing their story on Dadolescence
Keirah moved in with KT and Mary after dating Devalin for about a year, and together they’ve built a loving family foundation.
Despite being anxious about revealing their baby news in the beginning, Devalin and Keirah are now sharing their parenting journey with the nation in Dadolescence.
“We were recommended for the show by our teen parenting unit,” Devalin explains.
“When they said they wanted us to be on it, I was excited and a bit nervous, worrying how people might look at me, but you only live once.”
Aaliyah had already been born when the cameras started rolling and had her first birthday on the show.
Finding their rhythm on camera
“It took a wee while to get used to the cameras and try to act natural!” grins Devalin, who’s proud of the way he and Keirah have matured since having Aaliyah. “We’ve become more and more confident as parents. It definitely gets easier. Having our baby has brought us closer together.”
They always put Aaliyah’s needs first, adds Keirah.
“Wherever we go, baby comes with us. We’d rather hang out with her than go out partying.”
The hardest part of parenting? “Sleep!” they both laugh.
Keirah adds, “Probably the same as any parent. The only difference is we’re young. Otherwise, it’s the same.”
Opening up on Dadolescence
Both feel grateful to have shared their story through Dadolescence and are excited to see themselves on the small screen.
“I hope other young people watching the show see that life isn’t over if you have a baby,” shares Devalin.
“We don’t have as much free time and it can be more challenging to do some of the things we want to do, but it’s still possible.”
The couple’s future dream for their young family is simple – to keep loving life and their whānau, and to make sure Aaliyah has everything she needs.
“One day in the future, if Aaliyah watches the show, we don’t want her to think she is a burden in any way because our pregnancy was unexpected and we were so young,” reveals Devalin.
“Aaliyah is such a happy wee girl and we love her so much. She’s definitely meant to be here with us.”
Dadolescence is streaming now on TVNZ+.
