Amanda Conner is about to give birth to her second child, and the pregnant fiancee of Ryan Edwards just scored a major win in court that will bring her firstborn back into her care.
On Monday, Amanda– who appeared on the most-recent season of Teen Mom: The Next Chapter with Ryan— announced on TikTok that she was awarded full custody of her son, Brandon, whom she lost custody of a year or so after his 2013 birth. Amanda stated that she had been working to get custody of Brandon back for a long time, and that she had completed all the requirements given to her by the court.
“I filed a petition last month for full custody,” Amanda– who, like Ryan, is a recovering addict who has an extensive arrest history– said. “I’ve done every requirement they’ve asked: completed probation, completed rehabilitation— inpatient and outpatient– [done] parenting, [classes], hair follicles [drug testing]. I have been on a roll just trying to get custody back of my kid.
“I wasn’t ready to talk about it in the beginning just because it bothered me not having custody of him,” she added.
@amandaa_conner🥳 WORKED SO HARD FOR THIS!!♬ Everyday We Lit (feat. PnB Rock) – YFN Lucci
Amanda returned to the video after her court hearing to announce that she had been awarded full legal custody of Brandon. A court order posted by Amanda revealed that she now has the authority to consent to “any educational, medical, surgical or hospital procedure necessary in the best interest of said child.”
As The Ashley previously reported, Amanda is due to give birth to Ryan’s daughter in February. (Amanda and Ryan are reportedly engaged; however, neither has publicly spoken about the engagement, most likely because Ryan is still currently legally married to his ex, Mackenzie.)
When they do get hitched, this will be Ryan’s second marriage and Amanda’s third. She was previously married to Brandon’s father (aka Brandon Sr.), whom she filed for divorce from in November 2019. Their son, Brandon Jr. was born in 2013 but Amanda and Brandon Sr. lost custody of him in 2014. Amanda’s father and stepmom were given temporary custody of the boy. An order from Juvenile Court issued in May 2014 revealed that, at the time, both Amanda and Brandon Sr. were incarcerated.
“The court found [Brandon Jr.] dependent and neglected based upon both parents being incarcerated and leaving the child in Hamilton County without a legal guardian,” the order read. “Therefore, in the best interest of the child, the Court awarded legal custody of the petitioners [Amanda’s dad and stepmom].”
Amanda’s request for a divorce from Brandon Sr. was finally granted in May 2020, after a judge found Brandon— who had not responded to Amanda’s divorce filing— guilty of inappropriate marital conduct. Brandon Jr. remained in the care of Amanda’s dad and stepmom Lisa during this time.
Sadly, Amanda’s father died in September 2021, leaving Brandon Jr. in the custody of Amanda’s stepmom.
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Before marrying Brandon Sr., Amanda was briefly married to a man in Florida. Their marriage lasted only four months, and their divorce was finalized in January 2011.
Amanda’s son Brandon was present at Amanda and Ryan’s baby shower over the weekend. He was photographed wearing a shirt that said, “Big Brother,” alongside Ryan’s oldest son Bentley (whose mom is Maci Bookout). Ryan’s other two kids— Stella and Jagger, whom he shares with Mackenzie— did not appear to be at the baby shower.
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The baby shower was filmed for the upcoming season of ‘Teen Mom: The Next Chapter.’
Last month, Amanda gave multiple interviews about her pregnancy, in which she stated that she was excited to get another chance to be a mom, given that she didn’t have custody of her firstborn for the majority of his life. (She did, however, have visitation.)
“For me, I can enjoy this pregnancy and I have a second chance at motherhood,” she told People. “For Ryan, he is in a place that he hasn’t been in for a long time. We are excited to move forward from our past mistakes.”
RELATED STORY: Ryan Edwards’ Pregnant Girlfriend Amanda Conner Seemingly Confirms She & the ‘Teen Mom’ Star Are Engaged
(Photos: Instagram; TikTok)
4 Responses
Poor kid, he now has to leave the mother that raised him after having lost the only father figure he knew so Amanda can play house with Ryan.
You can’t trust junkies and felons to raise and care for kids.
So she’s going to take the kid out of the only house he’s ever really known so she can play happy families. Hopefully he’s not as messed up as Jace is after going through basically the same situation
Always a great idea to have a kid to replace the one you lost custody of
It’s great seeing Amanda do so well in recovery. She (and Ryan) look fabulous. I bet she is a great employee at the rehab center she works at too. Ryan/Amanda should make Tik Tok’s sharing their sobriety journey. These two have charisma and could get through to some addicts who are at “rock bottom”.