Gary Shirley drops a bombshell during this week’s episode of Teen Mom: The Next Chapter.
During a guys’ trip with the other Teen Mom dads, Gary shocks everyone when he reveals his 15-year-old daughter Leah has stated she wants her stepmom Kristina to adopt her. Since Leah already has a mother in Amber Portwood, the news comes as a shock to Gary’s co-stars, who then discuss how Amber’s own actions have led to this happening.
“Leah is wanting to be adopted by Kristina,” Gary tells the guys, confirming that Kristina would adopt Leah “in a heartbeat.”
Gary goes on to tell the guys that Amber— who has had an off-and-on relationship with Leah over the years— has no idea that Leah wants Kristina to adopt her.
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During a previous episode of ‘Teen Mom: The Next Chapter,’ fans watched as Amber basically ruined Leah’s birthday dinner by 1) calling Leah a “dick” 2) being late for the dinner but trying to gaslight everyone into thinking her butt had been in the restaurant long before it actually was 3) fighting with Gary as Leah cried.
Gary reveals that Leah has not seen Amber since her birthday (which is in November), and the other dads discuss how crazy it is that Amber is OK with not speaking to or seeing her kid for that long. Gary says that it wasn’t Leah’s choice to not speak to her mom, and hints that it was due to Amber not reaching out.
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“Leah is kind of like, the damage is all done,” Gary reveals. “I think [their relationship] is salvageable, but what Leah would need is for her mom there, all the time.”
The other guys then discuss how it’s Amber’s responsibility to reach out to Leah and make sure she’s there for her as a mom.
“You know, there’s no other way to build trust. It’s consistency, consistency, consistency,” Tyler Baltierra states.
“Amber is the mother. Amber has to try,” Gary says. “It’s never going to be Leah’s fault if she’s not talking to you because, Amber, you’re the reason it’s this way in the first place.”
Gary goes on to say that he has always tried to portray Amber in a positive light for Leah.
“I didn’t want to throw Amber under the bus [with Leah] for so many years,” he said.
“Can’t we stop doing that?” Tyler says. “Can we stop worrying about throwing Amber under the bus?”
“Leah has now realized that she is not No. 1 in her mom’s eyes,” Cory Wharton adds. “Once she realizes that—”
“It’s a wrap!” Tyler says. “It’s done!”
Gary then brought up the fact that, thankfully, Leah has a mother figure in his wife, Kristina.
“She has other people that are there for her,” he said, adding, “Trust me, the best thing that ever happened to Leah was Kristina. Kristina is a loving parent.”
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Later in the episode, Amber’s OG pals, Maci Bookout and Catelynn Lowell discuss the situation, with Maci calling out Gary for talking about Leah’s request to be adopted by Kristina.
“Gary shouldn’t be going around, telling people s**t like this!” Maci tells Cate.
Amber has remained basically silent on social media since her “missing fiancé” drama of last month. As The Ashley reported in June, Gary and Amber attended the wedding of Amber’s brother Shawn Portwood in North Carolina. Days later, Amber tearfully begged fans for prayers for her fiancé, who stormed out of their vacation rental without his phone and took off without contacting her or his family. The search for Gary lasted several days– with Gary even being officially listed as a missing person in North Carolina— before Gary called police to let them know he was “missing” by choice and wasn’t in danger.
Amber and Gary 2.0’s engagement officially ended in late June, after the former lovers finally communicated.
According to the @TeenMomFanz Instagram page, Amber’s “missing fiancé” drama caused Leah to block Amber on Instagram.
“The way things have played out on the show and in real time has immensely affected their relationship,” the Instagram account reported.
Amber has yet to react publicly to the clip.
Despite Kristina’s willingness to adopt Leah, it’s very unlikely that it would actually happen. According to the Indiana Department of Child Services, Amber would have to agree to the adoption before it could proceed.
“The consent of the child’s mother, if she is living, is required by law to complete an adoption,” the DCS’ website states.
As of press time, there does not appear to be any adoption-related filings in Indiana regarding Leah.
Watch a clip of Thursday’s episode below.
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RELATED STORY: ‘Teen Mom’ Star Amber Portwood Has Reportedly Put Herself on a “Sleep Schedule” To Help Heal From Her Broken Engagement with Gary Wayt
(Photos: MTV; Instagram)
63 Responses
So Maci can talk shit about whoever she wants, but Gary doesn’t have the right to talk to the other dads about Amber being a shitty mother? She becomes more insufferable every time she opens her mouth.
The most decent thing Amber could do for Leah now is sign her rights away so her real mom (Kristina) can become her legal mother. It’s been fifteen years, Amber is never going to be any kind of mom, so she needs to stop wasting everybody’s time and completely bow out.
Shut up Maci!
For real! Gary has every right to speak to his friends about what HIS child is going through.
Finally!! He covered her ass for far too long.
It wont happen until she’s 18 and doesn’t need permission. Amber is pure crap but Gary really needs to keep his mouth shut. It’s his daughter’s private info. But considering he has been discussing a lot of her info to the world it’s no surprise. Always a big mouth. Poor Leah. Who knows maybe it’s just to piss off Amber and push her over the edge. I mean we all can see the day coming when she’s left with no relationship with any of her kids. If her kids don’t want her you can’t constantly push them to want to but as long as she tries here and there like she says. It’d piss them off more if she constantly tried daily if they don’t wanna talk.
Gross to defend Amber.
As if amber ever tried to see and care for her kids. Remember when she couldn’t see Leah because she was “depressed ?” Grow the f up. She could still go around banging guys.
Well, once this young woman is 18 she can legally be adopted so if it’s what she wants, it will happen in due time. It’s hard to muster much sympathy for the couch potato at this point. She lives her life in a perpetual state of chaos. She thrives on it and uses mental illness as a crutch and excuse. Sorry, not sorry, if you are chasing someone with a machete, a light bulb should go off in your head. The treatment you are receiving isn’t working.
Leah could sue to cease parental rights, divorce her mother. It’s been done many times. She has a strong, strong case.
You have to be 18 to sue, that suit would have to come from Gary
Didn’t drew barrymore “divorce” her parents at like 15? Maybe I’m wrong.
I am so sick of Maci and Madame Cate sticking up for Amber. I can’t even watch this shit show for the last couple years. Kristina is a Saint.
Maci is consistent. She supports all abusers now, like Rhine.
She has lost the plot.
I wonder how Maci would feel if Bentley decided to go live with Rhine and she had to pay Rhine child support. I bet she would use all the sh*t she has on him for the last 13 years in court to prevent that. I bet her supporting a relationship with Bentley bs would go out the window.
Well said. It’s ridiculous how Maci sticks up for Amber. Did she not see Leah’s birthday. Thanks God for Kristina. Gary can talk about it. They did sign up for a reality show.
They do this to add drama because the show has such poor ratings and lazy ass Maci and Cate don’t want to get a real job.
I can’t believe Maci drove her ass home after the missing Fiance
When was the Dads gathering filmed? So Amber just went to Leah’s birthday, caused a scene and left her kid in tears and then ghosted her for however many months. She doesn’t deserve the title of a mother! I know it must hurt dealing with that abandonment, trust me I have been there. But hopefully she realises that Amber is doing her a favour by staying away, she doesn’t need that toxicity in her life. Kristina is more of a Mom to her than Amber could even dream to be
Indiana:
Consent Of The Noncustodial Parent
In cases involving a divorced parent who remarries, the divorced parent must obtain the consent of the biological father or mother before a stepparent can adopt a child. However, this is not always necessary. Indiana adoption law has provisions by which a stepparent can adopt a child without the consent of the noncustodial, biological parent.
No consent is necessary in a stepparent adoption if any one of the following four circumstances apply:
The noncustodial parent has abandoned the child for more than six months.
The noncustodial parent has failed to support the child for more than one year or failed to make court-ordered child support payments.
The noncustodial parent has failed to significantly communicate with the child for more than one year.
The noncustodial parent is unfit to parent the child. Issues such as drug abuse, mental illness or imprisonment may indicate unfitness.
*the only thing here is that if they were to file for stepparent adoption and Amber starts reaching out to Leah. Adoption will be denied, bc that shows interest in her part and courts give all chances to parents to make amends.
The best thing for Leah is to wait when she’s 18 and have Cristina do an adult adoption.
*Amber if you care about Leah, sign the form for your daughter.
Thank you for posting this for those that seem to think it can’t be done. It certainly can. I wish Amber would just stay away and let it happen
Leah, I feel so sorry for her, but in less than 3 years she won’t need Amber’s permission.
Kristina consistently proves to be the rill woman in Leah’s life. Amber had many opportunities and blew it every time. She can’t even fill the role of non-custodial parent – she goes months without seeing Leah but lives reasonably close by. Wonder if she is still visiting James? That would hurt Leah if Amber is making the effort with James.
Amber is very broken and beyond redemption, like some of the TM loser dads including all three of Janelle’s baby daddies, Rhine, and Adam. It will be no surprise Amber makes it to old age and cries about being abandoned by her kids. She’ll have nobody but herself to blame.
considering she would cancel her visitations with James constantly over things like weather- when they lived in the same state… I highly doubt she is seeing him often.
Leah’s little sister is the sweetest thing ever 💗. She put her arms around her to console her when she was upset. Then she followed her to the bathroom when she knew her sister was having a meltdown. That is awesome, and real family.
Poor Leah- the nicest, most mom-like thing Amber could do would be sign over her rights & allow Kristina to adopt Leah so we absolutely know that will never ever happen if only for spite. Leah is so lucky to have Kristina but I KNOW it still hurts & will always bother Leah that her bio-mom could & would never put her first 😞
If Leah wants it, then the court should listen to her since she is old enough to say what she wants. Amber had many many chances to get her life together and still nothing, so I pray that Leah gets what she wants. After the birthday dinner, that was enough for me and I felt so bad for Leah.
Courts can’t really go around the law just because they want to, if and when her situation fits the criteria I’m sure her wish would be granted.
From a legal standpoint, her situation already fits the criteria. At the very least simply based on no contact for over 6 months, the adoption could be pushed through. Add in everything else (unstable, drug use, abuse charges/conviction, etc..) Amber has (and has not) done, and the situation falls perfectly on the legal side to allow an adoption. Leah, Gary and Kristina are perfectly within their rights to file, and it would be granted. The court wouldn’t be “going around the law”, they’d actually be following it.
Read above. Leah fits the criteria. The only thing that could ruin it is Amber suddenly pretending to show interest. A judge could weigh all the evidence and follow the law and allow the adoption to go through.
You know damn well amber would be selfish and do it too😡
That would have been great! Kristina IS Leah’s mother by all standards, Amber just gave birth to her. And wow, Cory actually saying something insightful…it’s different when it’s not your own family, am I right, dude? Also the other girls are such enablers of her, esp Maci “my ex did nothing wrong, Bentley should speak to him”. It also sounds like Cate and Tyler prob don’t speak about this with each other, being on different sides xD
When you have to agree with Cory (and Tyler), you know the situation is bad…she’s 15! Of course she can decide who she wants in her life but yeah, it’s not possible until Amber signs off the rights (which she should but never would cuz she’s selfish)
I imagine the word “adopt” is taboo in C&T’s house.
They, well, probably just Cate, can’t see the truth in this situation. She probably conflates it with her own.
I bet Ambien will never allow that to happen, but as others have stated, you can’t blame Leah, the damage has been done, imagine 15 years of big MTV pay cheques for a woman that has never parented her child.
Garry should have had that money not Amber.
Who is drunk non paying taxes Maci to talk? The point of the show is to talk about their lives. Maybe Gary is done walking on egg shells with Amber/
Leah is 15. The damage is done and it’s massive. I think someday Leah may accept amber has mental issues and be forgiving and have a sort of friendship with her mother but that’s only gonna be when Leah is grown enough to accept that amber is a very flawed individual
That’s never going to happen. You think after all these years Amber is going to suddenly stop being so self absorbed and develop empathy?
I hope they’re regularly drug testing Amber for these court ordered visitations.
Leah is a really pretty young girl.
She has a great parents. She’s going to be fine if she can get completely away from that lowlife monster.
and this goes for any parent who thinks the kid should reach out, they are YOUR kids, they DIDNT ask to be brought into this world, YOU chose to have them so it’s YOU’RE responsibility to reach out and actually listen to them, it doesn’t matter if they’re grown and have their own cellphones it’s still on the parent!!!
Absolutely. It’s not the childs responsibility to reach out- it’s the PARENTS. If you are a parent, then, well, you are THE parent- you are not the child! Take initiative and show that you can lead and that you are in control. Now, it is up to the child to respond and if they don’t want to, then you’ll need to accept that and move forward without resentment. Especially resentment in the form of hurtful words spoken to your own child. But in no way should a child be responsible for reaching out to a grown adult- especially one that is their own parent. I honestly wonder sometimes still if Amber is still on pills or something because they say when you use, your mental/emotional maturity stops growing. When you get into sobriety AND recovery (if you are an ADDICT with a problem, staying sober isn’t going to “fix” you and it won’t keep you sober/clean for the long run- you have to integrate some sort of recovery that most often includes looking at yourself and making you take some accountability, as well as being of service to others- to get out of yourself) you then begin to start growing again. I am in recovery. I didn’t start using really until I was about 17 and then it was on and off until I was 38. I am 41 now and in the time that I have been truly sober, I have grown- a LOT. Everyone close to me has commented on it and how I’ve changed- and for the better. Now, I’ve always been a physically present parent, with full custody but I can admit that I was not mentally and sometimes emotionally present for my sons for a while- not like I should have been anyway. Now, it’s totally different. My LIFE is totally different. I can now say I am not a good mom, but the BEST mom- for my sons anyway. Amber really needs to re-evaluate her methods of attempting to be Leah’s mom and integrating back into her life because she will absolutely lose her if she hasn’t already. When you are a parent, it’s not about how YOU feel, it’s about how your child feels. I cannot imagine how Leah feels right now and I guarantee that if Amber IS making actual attempts with James, to be his mom- that’s also absolutely hurting Leah too.
My dad used to only buy presents for the sons he shared with my stepmom. Never bought birthday or Christmas presents for my sister and I. One day I asked why not and he gave me a hard time for not buying stuff for Father’s Day and his birthdays. I was in elementary having this conversation. Amber reminds me of him so much.
That is so disgusting.
My 2 older kids have an absolutely evil SM. My son went to a bday and didn’t have his own party. They gave him his gift 2 weeks later. They didn’t fit. She took them back and he ended up with nothing. Like he was trying to personally offend her by the pants not fitting. They’re more than happy to build her 14 YO SON a house on their land. Sick people!!
Pants I meant to say
I became enraged again and my brain quit working 😡
Ugh Maci. She had no problems talking shit about Ryan when it suited her. But, Gary has to protect Amber? Gross.
Maci needs to take several seats. Being the wonderful mother she attempts to come across as, should be an advocate for whatever is in the best interest of a child. We all know Amber is a horrible mother that clearly doesn’t actually care about her children. Instead of bitching that Gary shouldn’t be talking about that she should be giving it to Amber straight and telling her she’s fucked up and to give Leah the one thing Leah actually wants that Amber is able to provide (signing over parental rights). Also the women on this show have been able to shit all over their baby daddies and say whatever they want for literally ever but Gary apparently isn’t able to speak some truth about what his kid wants because it might hurt Ambers feelings?.. ok lol. Hypocrite.
Maci is far from a good mom. She’s a college dropout, she dosent pay taxes, she’s a alcoholic who drank while pregnant, and hasn’t amounted to anything in life..
I️ agree I️ used to respect Maci in the beginning and thought she was the most normal level headed one on the show but that respect quickly and astronomically declined when her story line became Bentley’s therapy sessions. That poor kid. She’s just been one poor decision after the next since that season. And now that she sticks up for Amber on a regular basis – the one who, along with alllllllllllll of her other horrible actions and decisions wielded a literal machete near her baby, Maci is trash in my books.
She is severe alcoholic.
Great post 💯
I think Maci thinks she’s being a good friend to Amber by sticking up for her, but a good friend would tell her to pull her head out of her a$$ & actually be there for her kids! Stop putting herself first all the time & take some accountability for her actions!
Well this is going to go over like the Hindenburg with Ambie. I hope that machete was taken away from her!
Amber could be the poster child for borderline personality disorder. That’s no excuse, though. Doesn’t she have a therapist? Or someone to give her honest feedback about her (lack of) parenting skills? I feel for her, but she seems to do nothing to help herself and her situation. She cares about boyfriends more than her own kids. It’s tragic, and letting Kristina adopt Leah would actually be the most loving thing she could do at this point.
If I’m correct, on the show they show her going to a therapist. Pretty sure her therapist, that she goes to, is a pediatric therapist. Like WTH! She’s a grown woman!
Yep. F’n joke.
I have BPD & literally the best thing ever for me was to find a psych who worked with me on my trauma & called me out on my BS when I needed it. Forever thankful for her.
Absolutely. I have BPD also. It is a good thing to have people search your self and thoughts.
Amber is still going to a child therapist.
Amber is the worst and everyone knows it.
Unrelated, but Kristina has another daughter too, right? How old is she? Just curious!
Curious what Indiana’s law would be once Leah turns 18. Could Leah then ask to be adopted by Kristina without Amber needing to give permission?
I realize not many outlets recognize “adult adoption” but if this is something Leah is passionate about I’d be curious of the laws once she turns 18.
Big talk from Maci who blabbed about her kids therapy conversations. Amber is and has been a deadbeat to Leah her whole life.
Exactly. Maci has been blabbing about Bentley’s private therapy sessions to an entire tv network… piss off maci 🙄
Crazy how much she looks like amber
Maci, and Cate, need to stop coddling Amber! It’s time they all grow up. Amber’s actions have affected her relationship with her daughter and that is a fact!!!
Not a single person that ever watched an episode of TM would be shocked to learn that Leah wants to be adopted by the only mother figure she’s ever known. Also we wouldn’t be shocked to learn that Amber won’t allow that because we all know that she’s a selfish POS.
Also Maci stfu. You know your friend is a deadbeat “mother” to both of her children. Stop enabling her