History YMMV / TheSecretLifeOfTheAmericanTeenager

* TearJerker: Season 3's finale, "... Or Not To Be", has this, due to [[spoiler: Adrian and Ben's baby being a stillbirth.]]

* FridgeLogic: Anyone else notice that these high-school characters don't actually ''attend'' high school so much as meander through the halls, opening/closing lockers and conveniently running into people to talk/argue with as the so-called plot demands?
** The only rooms they're ever seen entering are the bathroom and the counselor's office. When the plot requires as such.
** To be fair, a few of the main characters were seen in a biology classroom at the beginning of season 2, complete with teacher and everything. Though even then, they were only thinking about sex.

* GuiltyPleasure: One you watch in the dark.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: "If you have sex with Adrian, someone really will die." See HarsherInHindsight to see what happened in the Season 3 finale.

* HarsherInHindsight: "If you have sex with Adrian, someone really will die" - [[spoiler: Around a year later, Ben does end up having sex with Adrian which results in Adrian being pregnant and their daughter's stillbirth.]]

* CompleteMonster: [[DomesticAbuse Robert "Bob" Underwood]] is Ricky's [[AbusiveParents abusive father]], taken to some of its worse extremes; his abuse caused his wife Nora to take up a drug habit and start neglecting Ricky, at which point Bob spent years [[ParentalIncest sexually molesting his son]], telling him that's the problems of being a man. After getting released on parole years later, Bob discovers that Ricky has fathered a baby with Amy Juergens, and pretends to go straight, claiming to have his family's best interests at heart. Bob intends to sell his grandchild to HumanTraffickers, under the guise of finding an adoptive family. Bob's reasons for this is both to support his own drug habit and his way hurting Ricky for getting him arrested, stating he'll always be a part of his life until then.

* RelationshipWritingFumble: Jack and Kathleen. The writers probably meant their relationship to be simply friendship or perhaps Kathleen being a surrogate mom to Jack, since Jack is living in her house. However, they come off as having {{UST}} to many viewers.

* SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct: Never on this show, but Shailene Woodley has proven capable in other roles.
** Franca Raisa, in the Season 3 finale where [[spoiler: her baby is stillborn.]]

* FanPreferredCouple: Amy and Ricky, mainly since they have a baby together, Ben comes across as a stalker and they definitely [[TooDumbToLive have the same mindset]].
** Granted thinking two characters should be together just because they have a baby together is pretty dumb but given the alternative...
** This popularity also stems from Ricky being seen as a JerkWithAHeartOfGold. (Though to be fair, others see him as a DracoInLeatherPants)
** They started dating in season three, and in the season finale [[spoiler: they got engaged.]]

* MagnificentBastard: Adrian.

** Adrian and Ashley. The [[NotSoDifferent affinity]] between them can sometimes be read as this.

* {{Narm}}: Buckets and buckets of it.

** Tom, just because he has Downs Syndrome doesn't give him an excuse to be a [[{{Jerkass}} dick]]. Though he does have a few heartwarming/PetTheDog moments with Adrian.

** Tom, just because he has Downs Syndrome doesn't give him a reason to be a [[{{Jerkass}} dick]]. Though he does have a few heartwarming / PetTheDog moments with Adrian.

* GuiltyPleasure

** Ashley since she used to be one of the more beloved characters.

* SnarkBait: The series has become the spiritual heir of ''Series/SeventhHeaven'''s snark from the Website/TelevisionWithoutPity forums.

* IJustWantToBeLoved: The show claims it's true to life, but creator Brenda Hampton (who wrote or co-wrote 102 out of 121 episodes)[[note]]The credit "Written by Brenda Hampton" appears on 57 episodes, so she has to take the blame.[[/note]] fell victim to this trope. It's more like a wish-fulfillment fantasy (with Amy as a stand-in) for teenage girls who actually have to deal with the realities of teen pregnancy.
** Ricky and Adrian's characters who have suffered terrible childhoods both use sex as a form of self-healing and to feel "loved".

* CompleteMonster: [[DomesticAbuser Robert "Bob" Underwood]] is Ricky's [[AbusiveParents abusive father]], taken to some of its worse extremes; his abuse caused his wife Nora to take up a drug habit and start neglecting Ricky, at which point Bob spent years [[ParentalIncest sexually molesting his son]], telling him that's the problems of being a man. After getting released on parole years later, Bob discovers that Ricky has fathered a baby with Amy Juergens, and pretends to go straight, claiming to have his family's best interests at heart. Bob intends to sell his grandchild to HumanTraffickers, under the guise of finding an adoptive family. Bob's reasons for this is both to support his own drug habit and his way hurting Ricky for getting him arrested, stating he'll always be a part of his life until then.

* CompleteMonster: [[AbusiveParents Robert "Bob" Underwood]] physically and sexually [[DomesticAbuser abused]] both his wife Nora and his son Ricky for many years before he was convicted and sent to prison. After he gets out, he discovers that his now-teenage son has fathered a baby with Amy Juergens and offers to sell the child, his own grandson, to HumanTraffickers to pay for his drug habit, despite claiming he's gone straight.

* CompleteMonster: [[AbusiveParents Robert "Bob" Underwood]] physically and sexually [[DomesticAbuser abused]] both his wife Nora and his son Ricky for many years before he was convicted and sent to prison. After he gets out he discovers that his now-teenage son has fathered a baby with Amy Juergens and offers to sell the child, his own grandson, to HumanTraffickers to pay for his drug habit, despite claiming he's gone straight.

* CompleteMonster: [[AbusiveParents Robert "Bob" Underwood]] physically and sexually [[DomesticAbuser abused]] both his wife Nora and his son Ricky for many years before he was convicted and sent to prison. After he gets out he discovers that his now-teenage son has fathered a baby with Amy Juergens and offers to sell the child, his own grandkid, to HumanTraffickers to pay for his drug habit, despite claiming he's gone straight.