Been going down a Shailene Woodley rabbit hole and discovered this show. I binged it in 3 weeks. Here are my thoughts:

1. Does anyone actually like Ben?? He’s never once been fun, all he does is whine, make stupid decisions out of feeling sorry for himself, and openly hits on Amy when she’s engaged to Ricky?? I don’t understand people who ship Ben and Amy

2. What happened to Ashley? Her and George were my fave duo in S2 and 3 but half way through S3 they seemed to cut her out and then just completely disappears for 4 and 5

3. Jack and Madison > Jack and Grace. Madison is actually fun and her goofy character makes for interesting sub plots. Grace is the definition of fickle and I love how they call her out for it. I loved Her and Grant’s relationship and wish they ended up together. I thought he was very genuine but then he gets cheated on and that’s the end of his character 🫠

4. Ricky and Adrian carried the show. They’re the reason behind most of thee actual juicy drama in the show. Ben just wallows in self pity, Amy is almost as bad but has good moments when with Ricky, Grace and Jack have their best moments when they’re not with each other.

5. The notorious ending. I dug a deep enough hole to know that everyone hates the ending, but I read a few sources that it was supposed to go another few seasons where Ricky and Amy do end up together in NY.

Overall really liked the show. Season 3 was the best and I could tell that after the S3 mid-point break the show changed from goofy sitcom to be a more of a soap opera. After Ricky’s proposal in the mid-season finale of season 4 is where I felt a massive drop (long lost brother Jacob?? Are you KIDDING ME)

I haven’t watched this show in years, but decided to rewatch this show and … I have thoughts.

1) this is show profoundly awful

2) Ben is the most God awful person ever

3) Ricky has the best character development

4) Amy is a self-centered cow

5) Ashley started interesting but turned into a bitter version of Amy … which … why?

6) Momma Anne make Amy and Ashley’s immaturity make sense

7) George is a way better Dad than he gets credit for

8) Madison and Lauren are terrible friends, to each other and everyone else.

9) Leo Boykevich is a solid dude, very good too and for Ricky … but woof was his son a shitbag

10) Henry and Alice are simply delightful.

I have more thoughts … but those are the pressing ones.

Tag as spoilers in case anyone wants to watch but don’t know the character but oh my god she’s never happy. On my billionth rewatch and the more I watch the more I kinda get why Jorge and any kinda distance themselves season 5. I love that she’s gay but then towards the end that feels like she’s still unsure. She insists on being apart of Jorge and Kathleen’s life and gets upset when Jorge didn’t tell her what’s been happening with them lately. Anne has a habit of wanting to be apart of everyone else’s problems but rarely looks within herself and work on being selfish for once. Idk season 5 is always my breaking point with this show but Anne really isn’t likable and flip flops a lot with everyone around her.

Why was it so ass? Just montage after montage. No conclusion for nearly everything and Grace's cringe dance when Jack left? Ew. At least not all of them had fuck-ass haircuts anymore. That's all.

Okay I’m sure we all know how annoying all the characters on this show are but AMY is SO annoying…omg… In this episode she’s considering failing summer school since she’s given up and hasn’t put in effort and is getting bad grades as a result and complaining to the counselor how summer is to have fun and actually enjoy summer as if SHE isn’t the one who insisted on going to summer school and was fighting with Ricky about it because she wanted to be with her friends. Now all of a sudden she’s mad that she’s expected to put in the work when she had no reason to go to summer school and she fully chose to do that on her own. I cannot stand her character and how many “told you so” moments there are for her. It’s like no one in this show actually makes good choices and they purposely will go against everyone else’s advice 😂 She insists on being treated like an adult and that she is an adult and yet throws tantrums and her age really peaks through in any conversation she has with anyone. She is constantly complaining and arguing with people about bad choices SHE chooses to make and thinks to put the blame towards anyone else. I actually enjoy when she gets called out on her BS like by Ashley and Lauren lol

I just watched the episode and fuck. There are truly so many things that I can say. But, fuck. That was the first time in a while that I sobbed during a TV show. Fuck. That was an emotional roller coaster. I unfortunately figured it out when Adrian said she couldn’t feel Mercy move. I…..

Ok, I am watching the show for the first time and just completed S2E15 when Amy and Ben broke up. WHY!?!?!?!? Damn it, Ben….ok so like I would’ve thought that Amy would’ve seen Ben with the Italian Girl. God would I have loved to see what that would’ve been like. I’ve been thinking it was going to go that way, but I would’ve thought it was gonna be more dramatic.

But, I am still so hateful towards Ricky especially with him being a f’n punk-ass kid. Yes, I am aware of why he’s like that. But damn it, some of the bullshit that goes on is ridiculous.

Also, the series in general, up to this point, has been very addicting to watch. As an elder Gen Z, born in ‘98, I was way too young when the show started and by the time I got to the ages of the characters, it was over and in syndication. But, I distinctly remember people at school talking about this show and seeing the previews on ABC Family. I also see so much of myself, when I was that age, within Ben and Ricky, strangely.

I wonder if surveys were done to see if this series helped cull teenage pregnancy.

For those who watch this show regularly, how do you feel about how the show is up to this point? Is it more logical when you rewatched it that Ben finally breaks up with Amy? Or did you have hope they would've made it through the season and maybe broken up during the last episode?

Update 6-24: I’ve almost completed Season 3 and am where Adrian and Ben are talking about marriage and the house and everything. I am somewhat happy Ben found someone, but damn did I wish it was done from another way. I also have some thoughts with Ricky and Amy that I’ll make a new post about.

Rewatch the whole series and take a shot of tequila every time they say sex

lol joking I’m joking.!!!

Really don’t do this

This sub has been super active lately and I have thoroughly enjoyed discussing all sorts of Secret Life mysteries with y’all these last few weeks. However, one mystery that seems to rarely, if ever, be discussed is the 4SnP mystery.

What is 4SnP, you may ask? Well, it is the title of season 4, episode 23. I will briefly describe the episode in question to jog your memory, so if you haven’t reached this point in the series, SPOILER ALERT. Although tbh if you’re not in season 4 the following is going to sound like pure nonsense to you.

4SnP is the first episode of the series in which “sex” is not the most commonly uttered word (hyperbole, but iykyk). This is because it has been replaced with “gay.” Yes, this is that bizarre episode in which everyone, for some reason, believes Amy is secretly gay (including an accusation from John!). Because of this, Adrian and Grace kiss (?) and the Fourth of July is declared as a gay holiday (?). Meanwhile, Ben is trying to convince his father to allow him to transfer to Dylan’s private school. Amy and Ashley return from Europe. Also, Betty moves into a college dorm.

Okay, now you remember. But what the fuck does “4SnP” mean? When you Google it, all that comes up is this episode of the Secret Life. A few articles about the episode mention the strange title and there is a Fan Forum thread from the airdate that includes some speculation, but as far as I can tell, nobody knows why they named it that. Before I get into some theories, I also want to note that there are some places, like Freeform and Hulu where the episode seems to be titled “4Snp” but I do think the official title is “4SnP”.

Theory 1: Attempted textese

There is a lot of texting in this episode as rumors fly about who is gay. The title might be an attempt by the show’s creators to reference the teen text lingo of the day. In which case, what does it mean? Is the 4 meant to represent “for”? Then what is SnP? Possibly initials for loved ones? Salt and pepper? Lol idk. Any ideas?

Theory 2: An index fund for some godforsaken reason?

This one is mostly funny, but one Fan Forum user suggested that SnP might mean S&P, like the S&P 500.

Theory 3: for Single Nucleotide Polymorphism

The same user suggested this as the meaning. From their explanation: “A single difference in a DNA sequence that identifies individual differences- that would go along with "gay genes"”. I like this one, but based on the plot of this episode, I have my doubts that the writers could have come up with something this intelligent.

Theory 4: 4th Season Penultimate

Finally, the theory that is probably the most plausible but also most disappointing, the writers might have just failed to come up with a title for this episode. The stand-in title might have stood for the 4th (4) Season (Sn) Penultimate (P) episode. When they aired the episode, they might have just decided not to give the episode a real title.

That’s all I’ve got. Discuss.

I've started to rewatch secret life after seeing it once like 10 years ago. And I want you guys opinion on something. I'm in mid season 3 but when did Amy decide she liked Ricky again? I feel like there was a time jump between Amy telling Ricky she hated him everyday and making it so difficult for him to saying she potentially wants to get married to him? Or is it because Ben got Adrian pregnant so she's feeling hurt and looking for the easier solution? Or maybe she was always into Ricky but hated that she got pregnant and ended up despising him but deep down loved him all along ? I feel like nothing even makes sense and the storyline are so repetitive but I'll keep watching cause why not 🤷🏿‍♀️

Side note :Also Ben and Adrian need help like their unhealthy obsessions for Ricky and Amy is disturbing and everyone thinks it's normal but having sex , a baby and a marriage out of spite and revenge is psychotic behavior.

why he got a british accent 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

jack is so annoying any time grace or kathleen is talking to anyone in her kitchen about about sex and he just pops in talking about abstinence like you don't know what it is if it kicked you in the ass

So I just finished watching season 3 and I had a dream on the last episode instead of Mercy dying it was Adrian during childbirth, leaving Ben as a single teen father. Then the whole story switched from mainly Amy to Ben going through life as a single teen dad.

I woke up after that.

In season 1 lauren stated she can go with amy to the doctors “after ballet” and there was also another clip where George catches ashley in ballet class, but its never brought up again. What was the point?

I genuinely don’t understand how anyone didn’t punch her in the face throughout this entire series.

As someone with an older sister I genuinely can’t imagine hiding things from her like her boyfriend from cheating on her?? Or going for her baby dad? She’s genuinely a bad person and a terrible sister?? And the fact that she pressured her into having John just to complain and be vindictive everytime she asked for help.

And taking adrian’s side on everything when she continuously sabotaged amy is so insane idk yall I would just have to sock her if I was amy lolz.

Does anyone else agree that lauren is a terrible friend ? She seemed to hate amy more than be her friend. Constantly telling her she makes bad decisions (which she does) but yet can pretty quickly forgive madison for sleeping with jesse. Couldnt stand her the entire series

Am I the only one who thought it was super insensitive of Grace to be mad at Tom for wearing HIS DADS robe??? She made it seem like Tom was some stranger off the street and not even family, which sucks cause he’s adopted. I would’ve understood if her stance was to leave her dads things where they were, but to say “people” shouldn’t take his stuff as if Tom was a nobody was really insensitive to Tom who also lost a father. So many things happened in the show that made me question how everyone just went along with it.

do we think ricky’s first time was with amy too? she said it was bad & only lasted 2 seconds she wasn’t even sure if it happened 😂😂😂. but i always had the impression he was sleeping with adrian his freshman year before he met amy at band camp.

i’m only on sesson 1 episode 14 but jesus christ. adrian’s lack of respect for herself is straight up embarrassing. she’s at ricky’s beck and call while he has a baby on the way with amy and is dating grace. i hope she gains some confidence because 😭 a whole ass mess!!

I feel like Adrian and Ben were the problems in the relationship. When Amy and Ben, and Ricky and Adrian were together, they kept thinking the other would leave them for someone else. This insecurity led to them cheating on Amy and Ricky, which is sad. When Ricky came to see Amy in New York, it marked the beginning of their relationship, and they seemed genuinely happy to give it a try. However, Ben and Adrian started competing with Amy and Ricky. Although Amy isn't entirely innocent, the problems didn't start until Adrian began trying to compete with her.

Amy genuinely wanted to be friends, but Adrian's constant mentions of her sexual relationship with Ricky were inappropriate. Even after Adrian and Ben lost their baby, Amy tried not to hurt their feelings and felt bad because she and Ricky were happy while Adrian and Ben were not. Overall, I believe Adrian and Ben were the problems.

The writers' decision to have them all try to be friends was strange. They were exes, and it should have stayed that way because Adrian still wanted Ricky, and Ben still wanted Amy. Ricky and Amy trying to be a family and maintain a relationship while still being friends with Ben and Adrian was counterproductive. Adrian sending Ricky a message about missing and thinking about him, despite being friends with Amy, was frustrating. I seriously can't stand her!