Self-proclaimed “damn good mom” Amber Portwood is seemingly determined to remain in her daughter Leah’s life, whether she’s wanted there or not. According to a source close to the Teen Mom star, Amber is “devastated” after finding out that Leah wants her stepmom to adopt her.
As fans saw on the latest episode of Teen Mom: The Next Chapter, Leah’s father, Gary Shirley, revealed during a guys’ trip with the ‘Teen Mom’ dads that he and Amber’s 15-year-old is “wanting to be adopted” by her stepmom, Kristina Shirley. While sharing the news with his co-stars, Gary even referred to his wife Kristina as “the best thing that ever happened to Leah.”
Despite the strained relationship Leah has with Amber– one that was presumably exacerbated after Amber called the teen a “d**k” during a birthday dinner earlier this season–- it doesn’t appear that Amber is willing to sign over her parental rights to Kristina, which, according to the Indiana Department of Child Services, would be required by law in order for an adoption to happen.
“Having Kristina adopt Leah would never happen on Amber’s watch,” a source recently told Us Weekly. “She wants to be in Leah’s life. She is not looking to hand off parental responsibility to somebody else.”
Interestingly, Amber has somewhat done just that for a number of years, not only with Leah, but also with six-year-old son James, whom she shares with ex Andrew Glennon, as both children primarily live with their fathers. While Amber and Andrew– who in 2022, moved from Indiana back to his home state of California, taking James with him– have a set schedule to deal with cross-country visits, Gary revealed on last week’s episode of ‘The Next Chapter’ that Amber had not seen Leah since the teen’s dumpster fire of a birthday dinner in November.
However, according to Us Weekly‘s source, Amber has been making an effort “for months” to spend time with Leah, reportedly reaching out to the teen via text.
“Obviously, any implication that her daughter wants to be adopted is devastating to Amber,” they claimed. “Her two kids are the reason Amber wakes up in the morning. They are why she continues filming the show and her motivation for everything.
“ … Amber often gets misunderstood because she puts up such a tough front and people think she is so strong, but she’s actually quite sensitive,” the source noted. “This has not been an easy time for Amber on top of dealing with her mental health, which she has been very open about.”
During a recent episode of ‘Teen Mom: The Next Chapter,’ Gary and Kristina spoke on-camera about Gary trying to get Amber to contact Leah. Gary claimed that Amber responded via text that she had been trying. While he read portions of Amber’s long response, the text in its entirety was not shown or discussed, so The Ashley has transcribed what Amber wrote to Gary below:
“I’ve texted and called Leah a million times!” Amber replied to Gary’s request for her to have more contact with their daughter. “No answer nothing ever back! I’ve done everything to be in her life and I’ve gotten s**t on. I never get to spend time with her. I’m excluded from all of her schooling and cross country STILL! I’m tired of being unhappy and fighting for attention from everyone.
“You would think I used to beat the living s**t out of her how I’m excluded from her life,” Amber continued. “All I’ve done is beg for time and I get spit in the face! I’m not a horrible person and I’m a loving mother. I refuse to live a miserable life anymore. I’ve been here and hear absolutely nothing [except] a ‘Merry Christmas’ from Kristina?! Goo!! Amber.”
As The Ashley previously told you, in addition to finding out about Leah’s adoption wishes, Amber is fresh off of a made-for-Dateline broken engagement with ex Gary Wayt.
Just days after the former couple’s engagement news was made public in June, Gary 2.0 disappeared from the North Carolina vacation rental he and Amber were staying in for the weekend, later going on to be listed as a missing person in North Carolina. Days later, Gary 2.0 resurfaced in another state and ultimately contacted law enforcement to confirm that he ghosted left the North Carolina vacation rental on his own volition and wasn’t in danger.
New episodes of ‘Teen Mom: The Next Chapter’ air Thursdays on MTV.
RELATED STORY: Kieffer Delp– Infamous Ex of ‘Teen Mom’ Star Jenelle Evans– Says He’s Now Sober & a New Father
(Photos: MTV; Instagram)
64 Responses
She’s so devastated…from her sofa .
I have mental health issues- but you know what I do? I don’t pretend I am a good mother, I get on with it and I am there for my kids every single day. (They live with me- I know crazy concept Amber!)
Leah probably wants to be adopted, because if anything happens to Gary before she turns 18- she will be sent to live with Amber, and she knows that would be a nightmare. Leah would be ignored, left to fend for herself and have to deal with Ambers mood swings and outbursts. Fingers crossed that it doesn’t come to that and Gary is all good for many years to come and Leah is never put into a situation where she has to go live with Amber.
👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 also sending you love 🩷
Amber needs to put her selfishness aside and also understand that the reality is, Kristina HAS been her mother for the majority of her life. It shouldn’t be about what Amber wants- it should be about what Leah wants. I hope once Leah is of legal age to make her own decisions that she basically flips Amber the bird and claims Kristina as her mom. Kristina didn’t have to take on Leah- but she did and from what we’ve seen, treats her no less than her bio daughter. That says a lot… While her poor excuse for a bio-mother, gets all caught in HER feelings and how she THINKS things should be. Nope.
Bullshit that you have to stoop to say Leah’s looks are unfortunate. Neither Leah nor Amber are anywhere near unattractive or ugly in the looks department. Amber is a piece of shit & horrible person and looks have nothing to do with it.
So what happened to her Purdue Global online education? What a total POS. She can’t stick with anything except random men and drugs.
Well, well, well, if it isn’t the consequences of our own actions, Amber.
Leah wanting to be adopted by Christina is just a way to tell amber to F off imo. She’s old enough now it’s kinda irrelevant legally, there’s no need for insurance reasons ect. She just wants it to be official and it’s a big fu to amber imo. And I support it
Amber is good at shouting the odds but never actually stops to consider the damage she’s doing to her daughter. Leah probably already has or will need some sort of therapy herself to help her deal with the trauma she has from her mother. It’s unfair for Amber to shout and complain she’s been there, she’s only there when it suits her narrative. Otherwise, as Gary has said It can go weeks and months without a word. It makes sense that Leah wants to be adopted by Kristina, she has, in all sense of the word been her Mom.
Amber’s version of hands on parenting is being court ordered to pay child support, seeing your kid maybe 3 times a year and being late to every meet up. And calling her children names, and starting fights with him.
Amber needs to just go hands off with both her kids. Pay child support, and don’t bother either of them. They are both better off without her.
Well said. I hope Gary;s wife can adopt Leah, because she is old enough to tell the judge what she wants. Amber is not a good mom anymore at all. We all kind of forgave her due to mental health issues, but she continues to screw things up with everyone. She can’t even keep a boyfriend, so she sure isn’t able to take care of Leah. She can’t take care of herself, so why would she fight it? Leah will hate her even more.
I highly doubt it will happen before Leah turns 18.
Amber will contest it, Amber currently pays child support. So Gary would have to lose the child support and also pay all the legal fees to fight Amber in court. I highly doubt Gary is keen to go through all that.
Leah is 15, and about to turn 16 years old later this year. She has little to no relationship with her mother, and based on her mother’s criminal record, if Amber tried to fight for custody at most she would get a day maybe per week, not even an overnight. If Leah said she wanted to sleep in her own bed. So I don’t think Gary has to worry about Amber getting any custody.
It could take a year at least to fight in court, especially because Amber is a bitter petty woman and would drag it out on purpose to hurt Leah and Gary, so by then she’ll be 17.
If Leah wants Kristina to adopt her, she should just do it at 18, when she can do it without needing to fight Amber in court.
I guess this finally solidifies who is the worst person in the entire Teen Mom franchise. There was some really good competition in this coveted title but our girl Amber has risen to the challenge.
Congrats, you earned it!
stay lit
Amber’s a close second…I think Farrah’s the worst…yes she’s present in her kid’s life BUT the things she is teaching Sophia makes me wonder if Sophia wouldn’t be better off if Farrah wasn’t in the picture?
Nibsy! It’s been awhile. Hope you’re staying lit, wherever you are. 🥲
Even Farrah is a better mother
Also you stay lit too sir glad to see you’re still on here a decade later ✌🏼
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m convinced this couch manatee is more selfish, narcissistic and a bigger piece of shit than Jenelle. Now THAT is pathetic.
And yet I think Jenelle/Farrah is worse still, bc they insist on making sure their kids are neglected despite being in their lives daily. Jenelle’s kids have dads even shittier than JE, and Sophia hasn’t had the experience of having a father or father figure at any point in her life. At least Leah has Gary & Kristina, and she hasn’t lacked in love, guidance and support. Although I disagree with Gary’s previous stance of attempting to shove Amber into Leah’s life despite Leah saying many times she doesn’t want Amber there, at least he tried to have her “mother” be involved. Leah won’t be able to blame either of her parents for not having done all they could. JE’s kids and Farrah’s Sophia are all SOL, left with only their “mom” to parent them – they’ll need to write their Tell All books just to pay for the lifelong therapy they’re on track to need to process all the trauma those women have willingly inflicted on their children.
So while I agree that Amber is a couch sloth who only cares about the optics of her being a “damn good mom” instead of genuinely being one, I actually think her absence somewhat spares Leah and it makes me feel even worse for Jace, Kaiser, Ensley and Sophia. They have been alienated from any family members who love them and could be there for them, bc their POS parents can’t be assed to think about anyone besides themselves and dick, and they make sure their kids are aware of how low they place on their momtjer’s priority list.
Not a couch manatee 😭😂
She is living on the island of Delusion. She is their Queen.
Amber you’re a real POS, read these comments no one likes you. Lmao. MTV, why in the fk do you pay this chic to do nothing, she lays around, has no real job, all the other teen moms are working, they have podcasts and side hustles, and there’s Ambien, laying on the couch or bed again… she’s pathetic! Amber let Kristina do the mothering, all you were was an egg donor… Leah you deserve the world!
I just realized something. What the hell is Amber’s obvious fascination with guys named Gary.
First there was Gary Shirley, then another Gary right after GS, then there was Matt, then Andrew and ANOTHER Gary (Gary Hoyt). That’s 3 Gary’s out of 5 guys
And lives in GARY Indiana !!!
Oh shit that’s right!!! Man she is obsessed with Gary’s
She lives about 3 hours away from Gary, IN…
Sara, she actually lives in Anderson, Indiana
So DM is correct, not us
So maybe the next guy she latches on to will be named Gary Anderson?
UglyWhisperCry, 😂😂😂😂😂 maybe!!
Sara, I believe you may be thinking of Michael Jackson…he’s from Gary, IN
Was from Gary, IN I should say
Amber needs to let go of her pride and do what’s best for Leah. If, god forbid, something happened to Gary and he passed away, Leah would have to go with Amber. Amber is not able to care for a teenager, especially a grieving one. She doesn’t know Leah’s routine. Kristina would be the best legal guardian.
She isn’t looking to hand off responsibility??? What???? She literally has zero responsibility. ZERO!!!! If I was not able to have my daughter live with me I would be early, prepared, ecstatic for any and every time I got to see her. The kids are the reason she wakes up in the morning 🙄 girl please a MOTHER doesn’t go weeks, months wi tbh out seeing their kids
Kristina had already proven she parents. Truly loving the kid doesn’t need paperwork to show she’s mom. They’re throwing this crap around to purposely start crap. Otherwise Leah would have said this herself on teen mom not have Gary blast it. I do believe Leah wants this to be done but she knows Amber wont do it.
I wish Amber and Gary would just leave the poor girl alone. The way they both keep blasting her private info on tv I’m afraid she’s going to wind up worse off one of these days.
Mental health is a condition. Not an excuse! She needs to grasp that fact.
Also Amber has had basically 0 day to day responsibilities or obligations for years! she acts like she’s had to neglect her mental health because she’s been juggling so many other things.
A loving mother doesn’t call her daughter a dick on her birthday and make her cry. A loving mother does everything she can to be a good mother. That will never be Amber Portwood.
“If you love them set them free”
If Leah wants Kristina to adopt her then Amber should let her.
It’s about Leah not amber so amber needs to do the right thing and put her daughter’s needs first.
It obvious when Leah is old enough she’s gonna remove amber from her life anyway
If it walks like a duck & quacks like a duck- then it’s sure as hell a shitty fucking person by the name of Amber Portwood. Shawn is just as deluded as she is. They both need to fuck FAR off from poor Leah.
And yes, Ambie is a pathetic excuse of a ‘mother’. Best thing she could do for Leah is disappear & let Kristina adopt her.
Shawn is in the words of Dr now~ you are an enabler!!
I also want to just add here that when Kristina adopts Leah, and it’s just a question of when because it WILL happen, I cannot wait to see Amber fly into a fucking tailspin over it. She’s such a shit wad.
“She wants to be in Leah’s life. She is not looking to hand off parental responsibility to somebody else.” Uh, Amber, we’ve watched you choose not to be in Leah’s life and hand over parental responsibility for YEARS now.
Her only reasons for not signing Leah over is spite and pride. Kristina is already Leah’s mother in every way except on paper.
Amber is a loser. She’s not a mother, she’s an egg donor. The best thing that could happen for Leah and James would be for Amber to go far away and let their real parents raise them in peace.
“She is not looking to hand off parental responsibility to somebody else.”
LOL thanks for the laugh, Shawn (or Amber). She’s already handed off parental responsibility years ago. She hasn’t even seen her kids in 9 months.
In less than three years, Amber’s opinion won’t matter at all. Kristina can adopt Amber when she’s 18 and there won’t be anything Amber can do about it.
True…but watch Amber try to still stop it
I used to actually KINDA like Amber
And while I give her props for not getting into legal trouble for the last 5 years (as well as getting off probation…early I believe) she isn’t exactly “Mama of the Year’ by a long shot.
My boys my aggravate the hell out of me by thinking I’m obligated to do EVERYTHING for them because “I’m the mom and it’s my job” (their words not mine), but I still do almost everything for them (i draw the line at wiping their butts and they have asked me to do that) even though their arrogance is often times OVERWHELMING AS F**K and I get zero help from their dad who is just as arrogant as they are (maybe more so).
Why you so mad at Shawn?
I’m just guessing that this source is Shawn or Amber. He routinely defends her even when the facts are smacking him in the face.
She already handed off parental responsibilities of leah years ago.
Is the “source” Amber of her brother? Lol
She’s a POS and she’s damaged her relationship with Leah beyond repair. With or without adoption, her mother will always be Kristina.
And I hope James has a mother figure in his life too.
Amber needs to understand that she can’t use her mental health as an excuse. It may be the reason but it doesn’t make her daughter any less hurt. She needs to genuinely apologize without excuses when her mental illness harms those she loves. Don’t even bring up your mental illness, just say, “I’m really sorry that I hurt you. I understand why you’re upset, you deserved better than the way I treated you.” But she never will because she considers herself a victim. And Leah had every right to place boundaries and show the woman who acts as her mother the love and respect she deserves.
No one of sound mind has EVER made the claim that Amber is strong, ffs. She does not “put on a tough front”, she’s an absentee incubator, she’s not even a parent. She can’t be assed to do any sort of actual parenting and she hasn’t done so at all, throughout both Leah and James’ lives.
If she wanted to be a parent, she could, there is literally nothing but her own arrogance stopping her. That she CHOOSES not to be a parent, speaks volumes. Add in everything else she’s done to both of those kids, and, well, she’s just an abusive asshole who thinks of no one other than herself pretty much 24/7, plain and simple. Mental health issues don’t stop you from being even semi-present for your kids. You can’t blame everything on her mental health issues (some of which may be exaggerated in order to excuse away her behavior…or non-behavior anyway).
But we all knew she’d never let Leah be adopted, it’s pretty much a given.
I dont know Indiana laws but since Leah’s 15 shouldn’t SHE have the final say…not Amber, not Gary and not Kristina?
According to Indiana law, she already meets the requirements to be adopted by Kristina. Whether or not anyone in the court system will allow it is an entirely different story, though. Courts do, often, take the child’s opinion into consideration, but it is rarely ever (in any state) a deciding factor, sadly (and this also happens outside of the US too, so, it’s an issue loads of places).
What about emancipation?
Can’t Leah divorce Amber and then get adopted by Kristina?
Amber can’t fight it then…right?
And why the f**k isn’t Gary putting his foot down, he knows what’s best for Leah so why doesn’t he just say “I’m allowing this” he’s the parent that’s been there since day 1 so why is he letting Amber dictate the decision when she hasn’t even been there very much?
I added the words “very much” because despite the fact she isn’t present 24/7 she isn’t completely absent. Amber seems to want to be more like a friend than a mama.
Emancipation is from BOTH biological parents or guardians, not just one.
It is a lengthy court process, which for Leah would make no sense. Gary and Kristina are already her primary guardians/parents.
Imo, it’d be easier just to ignore Amber for about 3 years until she can graduate high school and ghost Amber.
Oh okay
Well, I guess it would it would be in Leah’s best interest to just wait the 3 years.
Unless of course they can find a judge who is willing to terminate Amber’s parental rights
Amber is 100% checked out, she is absolutely absent, completely. She is not a mother and hasn’t been to Leah or James since either one of them was a baby. There is no saying she isn’t there very much, she is literally never there unless it’s out of personal interest (filming for the show is why she showed up to the dinner, and that is literally the only reason).
Emancipation doesn’t work here, because as someone else stated, that means both biological parents.
Gary, although he has been a good dad to his girls, also shows a serious lack of balls-that is precisely why he doesn’t truly stand up to Amber (never has). He is not without fault, he has plenty of his own issues, but he’s relatively spineless too. He should’ve put his foot down years ago when he met Kristina. He’s had ample opportunity since and still chosen to try and keep some kind of relationship between Amber and Leah going, but has also backed off at times when it was clear Leah needed that. At some point there was merit to his effort, but that time has long since left.
They absolutely SHOULD just go forward with the adoption. Amber will get her say, if she can get off her ass long enough to actually have one and show up (she won’t, we all know it). But ultimately, it’s not even up to Gary, Kristina, or Amber. Leah expressing a desire, and Kristina being willing is all it takes (because they already meet other criteria, legally speaking). It’s not an easy process though, and that might also contribute to why they aren’t. It won’t be easy on Leah, Amber will make certain of that. Gary’s spineless nature, combined with a need to also protect Leah (especially after the dinner) will likely lead to her waiting until she’s 18 when literally only her and Kristina’s signatures matter.
As a mom I agree she is 100% absent. I meant physically absent, up until the last like 9 months, she has sporadically been physically present.
But more like a friend than a parent.
My son stopped seeing his father at 14. In mn there’s really no age. They take the child’s maturity into consideration. I hope Illinois is the same. Leah is very mature and well mannered.
Ambers an idiot. I had a soft spot for her years ago but not anymore. Shes just a joke. All this money and she does nothing with her life but fuck up her young kids lives
Ambien, you’re the fuc**** di**! Let your intelligent daughter being adopted by the only “rill mother” she’s had in her life.
Amber needs to learn that a mom is much more than the person who carried the baby for the first nine months. Sadly after all these years she still turns the tables and makes every conversation about herself. Kristina has been much more of a mother to Leah than she will ever be.