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Why Amber Portwood's Daughter Leah Wants Stepmom Kristina Shirley to Adopt Her
Amber Portwood didn’t take the news of her daughter’s adoption well.
After her and ex Gary Shirley’s 16-year-old daughter Leah Shirley expressed wanting to be adopted by her stepmother Kristina Shirley, the Teen Mom star admitted she had trouble processing the teen’s request.
“I thought I was already dark and deep in a hole from what happened to me from the incident in North Carolina from him [fiancé Gary Wayt,] leaving me,” Amber revealed on Teen Mom: The Next Chapter April 17. “But when I found out about my daughter saying that she wanted to be adopted it took over everything.”
Amber, 34, added, “I was really in bed for over four months. But I just realized that I just truly needed my mommy.”
During a conversation with her mother Tonya Portwood, Amber—who is also mom to James, 6, whom she shares with Andrew Glennon—revealed how much of an impact the news had on her.
“I just woke up and I was, like, hopeless,” she told her mother. “Just feeling like hopeless, and just, why am I awake.”
Amber also reflected on the relationship she had with her own mother at the age of 16, and how at the time, like Leah, she moved in with her father.
“My relationship with my mom when I was around 16 was a little tumultuous,” Amber said in a confessional. “Me and my mom were fighting so bad that I had to leave the house and go live with my father.”
At dinner with Tonya, Amber shared that she doesn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel with her daughter after such a major decision.
Instagram/Gary Shirley
“My life circumstances and the things with Leah,” Amber told Tonya, “I’m scared she’s never going to come around.”
Comforting her daughter, Tonya—who revealed she texted with Leah—encouraged Amber to remain optimistic.
“She’ll come around when she’s ready,” she said. “It’ll be fine. You can’t force her.”
After their conversation, Amber admitted she felt a little better, especially after noticing how much her own relationship with Tonya improved after years of turmoil.
“I love my mom so much,” Amber said in a confessional. “So, this is why I have hope with Leah. It’s going to get better. It’s just going to take me a little while.”
Leah—who lives in Indiana with Gary, Kristina and the couple’s younger daughter Emilee, 9—previously expressed her interest in wanting Kristina to legally adopt her.
"I want to be adopted because Kristina's been there my whole life," the teen said on the March 13 episode of Teen Mom: The Next Chapter. "I just feel like it should be official. And it's more than a piece of paper to me."
Leah feared that her mother would contest the decision or extend the legal proceedings until she is 18, when an adoption from Kristina wouldn’t matter.
"If we say something or do something, she might try to do stuff and make it harder," Leah told her father. "And by then it might take two years. And then at that point, there’s no point in even going through all the trouble for it. So, I don’t know. I’ll have to think about it."
To see where more Teen Mom stars are today, keep reading…
MTV; Instagram
Katie Yeager
Katie, boyfriend Joey Moes and daughter Molli starred on Teen Mom 3, but have since stayed clear of the spotlight. Details are scarce, but we do know that following the couple's split, Katie began focusing full time on being a mom. In late 2016, Katie announced that she had been dating someone named Tyler. Tyler and Katie welcomed a new baby daughter in 2017 yet have continued to keep her out of the spotlight.
MTV; Instagram
Alex Sekella
After her struggles with becoming a mom and her breakup with daughter Arabella's father, Matt, played out for audiences on Teen Mom 3, Alex has since reverted to a more quiet lifestyle. She has stayed clear of the spotlight and is currently focusing on raising her daughter with her new fiancé, Tim Peters. While the exact wedding date is unknown, Alex and Tim are set to get married soon and Alex has posted pictures shopping for wedding dresses on Instagram.
MTV; Facebook
Mackenzie McKee
In 2011, Mackenzie gave birth to son Gannon, with boyfriend Josh McKee. After their trials of teen parenthood played out on Teen Mom 3, the couple wed in late 2013. They welcomed their second child, Jaxie Taylor, in February 2014. In 2015, Mackenzie entered a body building competition after years of training and placed second. She put competing on hold, however, and the couple welcomed son Broncs in August 2016. Mackenzie will be replacing Bristol Palin on Teen Mom: OG and will appear in a few episodes towards the end of the season.
MTV; Instagram
Brianna DeJesus
One of the four Teen Mom 3 stars, Briana is the mother of two girls. Since giving birth to Nova Star DeJesus in 2011, Briana has had multiple plastic surgeries and has come under fire for saying that she wouldn't be opposed if Nova eventually wanted surgery as well—as long as she's old enough. In July 2017, Briana gave birth to Stella Star DeJesus, whose father is Luis Hernandez, and in January 2018, the TV star split with boyfriend Javi Marroquin. In May 2019, Briana celebrated her one-year anniversary with John Rodriguez.
MTV; Instagram
Leah Messer
Leah anchored the Teen Mom 2 cast as mother to twins Aliannah and Aleeah. While on the show she struggled to maintain a relationship with the girls' father and her ex-husband, Corey. In 2012, Leah married Jeremy Calvert and the couple welcomed their first child together, Adalynn Faith, in 2013. They divorced in 2015, and Leah now is a single mother to her three kids.
MTV; Getty Images
Kailyn Lowry
After giving birth to their son Isaac, Kailyn and boyfriend Joe struggled throughout their time on Teen Mom 2 to maintain their relationship. After splitting up, Kailyn moved out on her own and began dating Javi Marroquin. The couple welcomed their first child, Lincoln, in 2013, and married the same year. In 2017, Kailyn welcomed another son Lux Russell with long time on and of boyfriend Chris Lopez. Currently, Kailyn says their co-parenting relationship is "complicated" as the podcast host remains single.
MTV; Instagram
Chelsea Houska
During her time on Teen Mom 2, Chelsea's relationship with her daughter Audree's dad, Adam, crumbled as she struggled to be a mother and a student. After getting her GED and later going to beauty school, Chelsea met her now husband Cole in 2014. The couple married in October 2016 and welcomed Watson, their first child together, in January 2017. In February 2019, the reality star gave birth to her and Cole's second child Layne Ettie. Since then, Chelsea and Cole started collaborated on a clothing line on Itzy Ritzy.
MTV; Getty Images
Jenelle Evans
Teen Mom 2 viewers remember her as single mom who frequently bickered with her own mother over her lifestyle and the care of her son Jace. After an attempt to turn things around, Janelle struggled through a failed marriage and an abortion in 2013, but then later gave birth to her second child, Kaiser, with her then-boyfriend Nathan Griffin in 2014. After giving birth to daughter Ensley with boyfriend David Eason in January 2017, the mom-of-three married David in North Carolina later that year. Their fairy tale ending didn't last long though, because in February 2018, David was fired from Teen Mom 2 for a number of homophobic tweets. More recently, the Eason family has been in the news after David supposedly shot and killed their family dog. Since the incident, Jenelle has lost custody of her three kids.
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Catelynn Lowell
Catelynn and her boyfriend, Tyler, decided that it would be best for their future child if she was put up for adoption. Ultimately their daughter Carly were adopted by Brandon and Theresa, who appeared frequently on Teen Mom 2. In 2015, more prepared to be parents this time, the couple welcomed another child together, Novalee, and got married later that year. The reality star sought out mental health treatment in November 2017. After coming back from rehab, Catelynn announced on an episode of Teen Mom OG that she had suffered a miscarriage. In February 2019, the couple happily welcomed their third child, Vaeda Luma.
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Maci Bookout
Maci first gained national attention as the mom to Bentley, who she had with her high school boyfriend, Ryan. Wanting to show girls that they could still continue on their path to college after having a child, Maci joined Teen Mom to became an advocate for helping girls like her find alternative routes to achieve their goals. She and Ryan split up, but Maci enrolled in college to study journalism. In 2014 she welcomed her first child with her now husband, Taylor McKinney. In 2016, the couple wed and welcomed Maverick, their second child together. in 2016, the couple had their third child Maverick McKinney. In addition to filming for Teen Mom OG, the pair also maintain a fashion line called Things That Matter.
MTV; Steve Mack/Getty Images
Farrah Abraham
Farrah had Teen Mom's saddest story, her boyfriend having died in an accident two months prior to their daughter Sophia's birth. She later wrote a tell-all novel, My Teenage Dream Ended and made headlines after making a sex tape with porn star James Deen. She scored her own TV special, Being Farrah, in 2014. Three years later, she was axed from Teen Mom OG, allegedly because of her job as an adult entertainer. The reality star filed a $5 million lawsuit against MTV's parent company Viacom for "sex shaming" her porn career and has since dropped the suit after reaching a settlement. Farrah has remained in the spotlight, starring on reality shows such as Ex on The Beach, Celebrity Big Brother and Botched.
MTV; Twitter
Amber Portwood
Mom to Leah Shirley, Amber has had her share of media attention since her initial debut on 16 and Pregnant in 2009. She was accused of domestic abuse against her daughter's dad, Gary Shirley, and the oft-combative teen mom spent 16 months in prison on drug-related charges. She was released in November 2013 and now stars on Teen Mom OG. In 2015, she got engaged to Montana radio DJ Matt Baier, but after years of cheating rumors about her then-boyfriend, the TV personality called it quits. Fortunately, Amber overcame the failed relationship with the love and support of cinematographer Andrew Glennon, and in May 2018, the pair welcomed son James. In 2019, the couple broke up while Amber was arrested and pleaded guilty to domestic violence following an altercation with Andrew. She was put on probation. In 2020, she debuted a new boyfriend, Dimitri Garcia.
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