Maci Bookout isn’t just playing nice with her ex Ryan Edwards-she’s singing his praises.
Maci and Ryan– who share 15-year-old son Bentley– have worked over the last year or so to repair their once very strained relationship. The resulting friendship will be showcased this season on ‘Teen Mom: The Next Chapter.’
“Especially as we get later into the season, you get to see Ryan and who he is as a human,” she told In Touch Weekly.
“I feel like for all the years [on the show] he was struggling with drug use, but later in the season you will really get to just see Ryan and get to know him,” Maci said.
Throughout 2023, Maci was in attendance for a few of her ex’s (many) court dates and last summer, she publicly defended her decision to support the 36-year-old, in spite of his legal and relationship issues.
Ryan and his girlfriend Amanda Conner– who met while they were both in rehab– even managed to score an invite to Maci and husband Taylor McKinney’s house on Easter this year.
While Maci admits she’s still “trying to navigate” her and Ryan’s co-parenting situation, she’s excited that fans will soon get an update on Ryan and his life.
“Everyone will finally get a chance to get to know the real Ryan and see who he is and how his relationships are developing,” she told People.
Though co-parenting with Ryan (instead of Ryan’s parents, Jen and Larry Edwards) is “new for everyone,” Maci insists it’s going “really well.” She also revealed that in Season 2 of ‘The Next Chapter,’ viewers will “probably see something [they’ve] never seen before on the show” between her and Ryan, as well as Ryan building his relationship with Bentley.
Maci confirmed to the outlet that she also approves of Ryan’s girlfriend, Amanda Conner, claiming the pair “have a really solid friendship” and “a genuine care for one another.”
“She is fantastic,” Maci added. “She’s just really supportive of Ryan and his relationship with Bentley and his co-parenting relationship with me.”
The mom of three went on to reveal that she’s formed a pretty solid friendship with Amanda herself, one that has been “really easy and natural.”
“We click and just really get along,” Maci said. “The most important thing is she’s just really supportive of all the relationships and things that go on with Ryan. It definitely helps for [Ryan] to be in a relationship where that is happening.”
New episodes of ‘Teen Mom: The Next Chapter’ air Thursdays on MTV.
(Photos: Instagram; MTV)
42 Responses
Wow. A lot of people in these commenters lives must be absolutely perfect human beings who aren’t capable of fucking up and redeeming themselves. I feel sorry for all your families and friends. Vapid. Every single one of you.
Good for Ryan for finally doing what he should’ve been all along, and good for Maci and Taylor for supporting a positive relationship with Bentley.
The time in which she’s praising him for being such a wonderful person, he was harassing his (soon to be ex) wife, not taking care of his other children, and continuing to get in trouble with the law for his awful behavior. He’s NOT doing what he should have been doing, he’s continued to be a piece of shit. And Maci is just as bad as he is now for acting like we don’t ALL KNOW how shitty he’s been acting.
She just gives off a vibe that she’s not over him and still wants him.
Maci, it’s a no from me. Ryan has already shown who he is.
Anything for story line, what else does she have.
I just don’t understand why she hypes Ryan so much, ESPECIALLY after all the sh*t he did. And praises his girlfriend who he met in REHAB?! I’m sorry Maci but this doesn’t add up. Either she is somehow still in love with him or she is delusional.
She never listened to Taylor who warned her to not let Bentley get close to his father. I hope at least the kid is smart enough to distance himself from him.
The passive aggressive Mackenzie shade (praising Rhine and his new girlfriend) isn’t going unnoticed here lol…
Oh, it’s def a Mack shade. She never liked her. I still don’t understand why she rather believes Rhine than her.
RIGHT?! on some levels I think Maci is just as delusional as Rhine. Certainly no DECENT human being would stoop so low as to shade someone who was the victim of an insane druggie husband who trashed his children’s home & threatened to kill his then-wife.
Maci has her head so far up Rhine’s ass she can’t see the light of day. Dumbass.
As a male, I really feel bad for Taylor. At this point, I suspect that Taylor and Maci are married in name only. The last few seasons they seemed to not get along much.
As a female I do too.
He’ll drop her ass when he’s in the clear for child support. He deserves better than Maci.
I always feel so bad for Beer Taylor. He’s stepped up for years to be Bentley’s dad, putting in the actual day-to-day work while Ryan threatened to shoot him, and now his wife is constantly singing Ryan praise and he just has to put up with it.
Wow so much Maci hate. Mac was never good for Ryan remember the wedding. Yes yes yes we all know Ryan’s behavior is inexcusable. But Remember who Mac really was though people. Looking to get rich off a drug addict and MTV. Maybe Mac was part of the problem not Maci.
It’s not about whether we like Mack (the consensus is usually no on that), he straight up terrorizes her, trashed the home where their children live, and is a complete deadbeat who still has the audacity to seek primary custody just to eff with her. He is a bad person and Mack defending him and acting like he’s suddenly a great guy is just pathetic.
You can have a decent coparenting relationship without excusing shitty behavior. He hasn’t changed and he probably never will. Even if he stays off drugs, he’s still a piece of shit, especially a piece of shit father. I don’t know why Taylor is still around, but that man must be a saint or something
Right! He was an AH before he used drugs 🙄
Drinking alcohol 🍸every day is not sober. Sorry Maci we know you think it is.
I am disgusted that MTV would stoop this low. To give any of them a platform on a show with the word “Teen” in its title is ridiculous, but Ryan, Farrah and Jenelle I just can’t. I can’t.
Macy is delusional. The only way Ryan will ever grow up is if he actually knows what accountability is! He has been enabled by not only Larry and Jen, but also by a corrupt court system. All his crimes, yet he is still walking free. That judge should be permanently removed from the bench. It really pays to be a spoiled white kid in the South
Maci drank with a visible baby bump, exploits Bentley going to counseling, dosent pay her taxes, drinks alcohol from solo cups while driving, dropped out of college. Yet so many think she’s someone to look up to…
Soooo, are we all just gonna ignore Rhine’s new girlfriend’s arm tattoo?😅😭
Makin’ Jenelle’s “YOLO” tattoo look classy isn’t easy, but girl is making it happen 💀😂
I had to zoom in but woof! That is trash-tastic and I wouldn’t want her anywhere near children either. It’s obvious she’s trash and she even wears it on her sleeve!
I think I injured myself rolling my eyes so hard.
Maci is a lying sack of shit. She knows the show was done and all for money says she likes Jenelle and Ryan when everyone knows she hates their guts. Hey bag of bones, go get a real job.
Yeah, we have already seen the real Rhine, he’s the type of guy who cheats on every girlfriend he’s ever had, he’s driven under the influence at least 3 times that we know of, so he has no care for everyone else, he is lazy, deadbeat father to all his children, spoilt, coddled, abuser, wifebeater, shits in his bed, and manipulates everyone to get his way.
I could understand Maci tolerating Rhine for the sake of Bentley, but to advocate for him, to pretend like he isn’t an abuser, is just despicable. This “man” threatened to shoot her husband, how can she disrespect Taylor, like this? He’s been out of jail maybe a month, he hasn’t proven anything to anyone, can’t even finish rehab and a year sober before you make this grandiose claims about him?
She should be ashamed of herself.
And when Rhine shows his true colors again, like he always will, she can think about how she enabled him to hurt others. She helped to financially support him in harming others.
Hahaha shits in the bed 😂
Ok Maci is officially the epitome of the pick me girl and has become trash.
Taylor, run for the hills. She obviously still has feelings for Ryan and you deserve better.
Translation: Amanda kisses Maci’s butt.
Amanda is probably hoping to hop on the TM gravy train. It’s happened so many times with the girlfriends of TM baby daddii. Easy money and Amanda wants in!
Maci, you have a husband.
His name is Taylor.
Not Ryan.
anyone else a little bothered about maci signing terrible twosomes praises after how awful they’ve both been to mackenzie? it’s great Ryan can supposedly clean up for Bentley, but he’s got two more kids with a woman who dealt with his use and abuse for years and they’re just gonna….gloss over it I guess? leave a bad taste in my mouth, and I’m not even a mack fan at all 😕
Exactly. What Rhine did to Mackenzie and his two younger children is unforgivable. He caused trauma to his family, even if it’s the family Maci would prefer to ignore. Ryan shouldn’t be near ANY children going forward. Taylor should not allow that fecal matter around his two younger kids.
Exactly. Maci thinks she is the queen, the most important because she has 1 of Ryan’s kids. Mack has 2. She suffers equally, if not more so than maci. Did she not see what Ryan did to their house? And to their kids things? You bet your life maci would be scurrying down to get a restraining order if it were her.
Sure Jan
Can we all lose respect for Maci now? All her years of bashing him, being a strong single mother because Ryan was uninvolved, restraining orders (!!!!), and now she wants us to believe, after 10+ years of this, that he is a good person, in a healthy relationship?
HAHAHAHAHA. He has been, arguably, the worst he’s ever been in recent years on top of the already existing terror he’s caused since Bentley was born. So no, it is not actually logistically possible that he is now a respectable specimen. No, we will not take your word maci, that he suddenly has morphed into such a fantastic person that the last 10+ years of trauma should be forgotten. It isn’t possible.
No wonder she supports Jenelle.
They’re like the same person.
Wasn’t David amazing for many years, now a piece of shit (spits).
Rhyne is a piece of shit (no spit), now he’s amazing?
Maci will do or say anything for $$$$.
Ryan sure cleans up good. He is starting to look like his old self again. He does look clean, waymore fresh than he looked just a short time ago. He is still a crap person but hopefully he can change that. I don’t necessarily see that happening but one can hope for the kids. His girlfriend I know nothing about. I only read what is on here but she doesn’t look all that clean. She looks like a user. Both drugs and a user of people. Hopefully all involved are doing better now, including mack. But really, ryan looks so young and good lol
She actually looks like about 75% of the women that I know from NA who have achieved long-term sobriety. Amanda is still getting healthy and back to her old self, it takes a long time after you get clean to start looking normal again. And if you’re talking about her tattoos then you’re just being a judgmental prick.
I’m still on the fence about her because of her past behavior and the fact that she’s in early recovery and living with someone she met in rehab. That never ends well. But the whole judging based on looks ain’t it, sis.
He is not taking his sobriety seriously and neither is she. They post themselves drinking alcohol.