Amber Portwood seems to no longer have the support of some of her Teen Mom: The Next Chapter co-stars.
During Thursday’s episode, Jade Cline and Cheyenne Floyd spoke out about how Amber’s treatment of her 16-year-old daughter Leah has made them angry and, seemingly, made them question if they want to be associated with the couch aficionado.
Jade– who invited Leah, as well as Leah’s dad Gary Shirley and their family to her daughter Khloie’s birthday party— stated that she doesn’t invite Amber to events, despite living only about 30 minutes from her, due to Amber never leaving her house or making plans to do anything. Jade also stated that she was none-too-pleased with Amber after watching her actions on the previous season of ‘Next Chapter.’
Jade went on to explain how seeing Amber devote herself to her then-fiancé Gary Wyat — instead of focusing on trying to fix the estranged relationship she has with Leah– made her angry. She also stated that she was disgusted watching how devastated Amber was when Gary ghosted her because Amber seemed to be more upset about the loss of Gary 2.0 than the loss of her relationship with her daughter.
“After all that energy put into a man instead of a child, to me, that’s what don’t sit right with me,” Jade told Cheyenne Floyd— who was visiting– and her friend Chau.
“That whole situation was crazy,” Cheyenne said of Amber’s fiancé going “missing” to get away from Amber. “It was hard to watch.”
Jade stated that— due to her strained relationship with her own mother, Christy Smith— she understood how Leah felt, seeing her mom focusing more on herself (and men) than her daughter.
“It was triggering for me because I have a mother who is, like, so in herself, and herself is what is Number 1,” Jade said. “And it makes me sick to my f**king stomach!”
“It’s hard to watch the behavior towards Leah,” Cheyenne agreed. “And then it’s hard to see [Amber] blame…”
Jade has been estranged from her mom Christy on-and-off for years, due to Christy’s substance abuse and other issues, so she could relate to Leah’s situation with Amber.
“I feel like I used to be Leah, wondering why I wasn’t Number 1 for my mom,” Jade said, before turning back to how emotional Amber was on-screen over her engagement to Gary ending.
“The whole energy that was put into this dude— the crying, the meltdown— I’m like, that should be put into your family, because at the end of the day, you can always get a new man but you can never replace your children,” Jade said.
“The kid should be Number 1, always,” Jade added.
Later in the episode, Cheyenne sat down with Leah, who shared that she has to deal with people at her school coming up to her and talking about Amber. She also mentioned that it had been a long time since she had spoken to her mom (whom she called “Amber”).
“I haven’t really talked to her in a while, or seen her in a while,” Leah said. “It’s fine. I don’t really care anymore. Amber, when I do see her, she acts like everything is perfectly fine. It’s like, ‘I haven’t seen you in months. Why are you talking to me like this?'”
Cheyenne told the cameras in a confessional later that she feels Amber’s relationship with Leah is “really unfortunate and sad,” and that she doesn’t understand how a mom could be OK with not being around for her daughter.
“I could not imagine not showing up for [my daughter] Ryder,” Cheyenne said. “There’s nobody who could keep me from showing up for Ryder. Nobody. Nothing!
“…it’s really hard to understand,” she continued. “I would be at [Gary’s house] damn near every day trying to fight for my relationship with my child.”
Jade and Cheyenne aren’t the first ‘Teen Mom’ cast members to publicly slam Amber for her treatment of Leah. Back in September, Taylor Selfridge stated in a video posted to social media that one of her co-stars makes her want to “rip my hair out watching them because I don’t get how it’s that difficult to be a good parent. Kids just need love.”
While Taylor didn’t call out Amber by name, she did go on to praise a certain stepmom for being so patient with the birth mom, leading fans to conclude that Taylor was almost certainly talking about Kristina Shirley.
“I get mad at it too. Like, I don’t watch the episodes but I see, like, clips here and there,” Taylor said. “There’s nothing that makes me more mad than when a child is suffering from things that a parent does.”
Around the same time, Ashley Jones wrote on social media that Amber’s parenting is “very hard to watch…along with all the pacifying and coddling.”
Briana DeJesus has also given her thoughts on the situation, reposting one of The Ashley’s stories in September that discussed how Gary had confirmed that Amber had not seen Leah for months after Amber’s engagement to Gary 2.0 ended in June.
“That’s terrible,” Briana wrote in her post.
Amber has not yet publicly responded to Jade and Cheyenne’s latest comments.
(Photos: MTV)
35 Responses
I have BPD (although I believe both of my parent’s love(d) me to death. My dad passed in 2021. I miss him. They went through a very HEATED divorce and the main battle was over my brothers and I so we were constantly being pulled back and forth and my dad was an addict (although to prescribed pills which back in the 90’s, wasn’t considered a problem ). Anyway- I have always struggled mentally. I am in recovery now from alcoholism/addiction and I have twin 12 year olds and a 5 year old- all boys. I have NEVER been away from them longer than a week. My youngest I don’t even think that long. I have always had full custody of all of them (the twins dad has always been involved and we are close- we just did not work out romantically. I have full custody mainly because of his work schedule). Whenever I have had a bad bout with depression and anxiety, I have been proactive in getting help. I know when I need it. My point it, there is NO excuse to not be a mom. None. Especially when Amber is sitting on her butt. I have always also had a full time job and supported my sons. I do not date either. The only person I dated since my divorce was the man I had my youngest with and that was 6 years ago now… Amber needs to get help for herself and in an effort to reconcile/fix anything that is left with Leah or she will lose her forever- although I think she already has. If there is nothing- it would behoove her to just walk away and let Kristina adopt Leah seeing as she HAS been there most of her life and has been a mother to her. I sympathize with Leah so much and am grateful she has Gary and Kristina and really, it should be all about Leah but Amber wants the title of “mom” without doing ANY of the work at all, so she refuses to relent and let Kristina adopt her. It’s crazy! I literally cannot imagine not seeing or being with my sons.
Amber has had enough time to complete DBT. She should have her meds under control and have been able to find a therapist. Who isn’t a child therapist. It’s not her mental illness she’s just a shit person. There were times I was psychotic in the depressed swing. I couldn’t find the energy to get out of bed or even speak. I somehow got out of bed and helped my kids. I have mixed episodes/rapid cycling. Believe it or not, I don’t yell or scream or neglect my kids. Being raised with abuse has made me more aware of the things I say. Amber loves being the “victim.”
With the money Amber receives from MTV you would think she could have access to the best of the best treatment facilities, she could go away into a facitlity work night and day on her mental health and getting on the right cocktail of meds and get her head right, and show her children she is trying!
Im glad Leah has Christina in her corner showing her what a true mothers love and attention feels like, and i hope that Leah can limit the damage Ambers lack of mothering has done and will do to her future!
I didn’t think to add this to my previous post, but this is mine and my friends idea for how to close out the season – season finale. MTV, take notes.
All of the producers, cameramen, anyone who realizes that there’s cast members who are hurt and angry with Amber and her absence and mental health and puppets and a house that smells like pee, and her seeing a child psychiatrist as a full grown adult, just basically sit anyone who is in charge of this shitshow down in a very large room, and watch every single episode of Teen Mom from start to finish, no interruptions. The first few seasons are brutal, especially Amber yelling at Leah for crying and other human emotions she was using to express herself because at 7 months old to a year old LEAH COULDN’T TALK TO EXPRESS HER NEEDS AND WANTS. I noticed that right up until Leah was getting ready to start kindergarten, she used crying and other sympathy getting behaviors, extreme behavior with Leah bursting into tears in one episode because Amber was ignoring her to do drugs and have randoms in and out and of course beat the shit out of Gary for standing up for himself and his daughter. I have it burned into my brain, Amber beating on Gary, he was just trying to get his stuff and leave, he told her to stop beating on him in front of Leah, and Gary told her that he was going to load up the van and come back into Amber’s apartment to get Leah. Leah was just standing there, looking confused and sad, and the second Amber would go anywhere near Leah’s “space” she would instantly start crying, a scared cry. Gary and Kristina have more than enough evidence, go file for Amber’s parental rights to be terminated, have an attorney serve Amber with a NDA so we can all be spared of her social media rants, get a restraining order against Amber for Leah. I know that Leah will be an adult in 2-3 years, but the way that Amber is spiraling and now trying to get people to believe that she is Mother Teresa? Go protect your daughter, Gary and Kristina!!!
I saw a few of the early episodes of Teen Mom today for the first time in years. Watching how Amber treated Leah even back then made me really sad, very angry, and made my heart hurt so much for Leah. I know what Amber claims to be diagnosed with, but it’s obvious she had post partum after she had both of her kids. She never even tried with Leah, there was always an excuse, and she made it pretty obvious that she never really wanted to be a Mom, she just wanted the recognition, she never wanted to do the work that women who actually want to be Mom’s have to do. Again, my Mama heart hurts so much for Leah. I could never imagine NOT being present in my sons lives, those two souls are my whole heart and world. Leah is very blessed to have Kristina in her life, if Kristina adopting Leah is an option, Gary and Kristina need to make that happen for Leah sooner rather than later.
I grew up with screwed up parents, addicts and alcoholics who at times treated me horribly and neglected me until my grandparents stepped in, and then finally got their respective s**ts together when I made my first attempt at unaliving myself when I was 15. I’m 45 now, and I still battle with some of the things I was put through as a child. But I thank God every single day for my sons.❤️ I just hope that Leah doesn’t have to live an adult life like mine (dealing with depression and insecurities) because of Amber’s faults and mistakes as a Mother. It’s a hell of a cross to bear, but I think with Kristina there to guide her, she will be just fine.
Did you hear the audio recordings from when amber attacked Andrew? She openly stated the she never “wanted” James. I do believe he’ll end up hearing it eventually. Very sad.
Also, who is down voting these comments?
It’s brilliant to see the other girls in the cast like Jade & Cheyenne start to call out this behaviour too, because previously we’ve only seen people like Maci & Cate coddling Amber & tip toeing around her.
I get that Amber has some very serious mental health issues, but she should be taking all that energy she puts into hunting for men into her children, I’m not sure how the relationship with her son is but I can imagine it being similar to the situation with Leah where she disappears for months at a time.
Amber has no one to blame but herself for the fact Leah wants nothing to do with her. My heart goes out to Leah it must be hard being in school & having other teens approach you about certain things they’ve seen or heard about Amber.
Thankfully she has a very healthy, loving & proactive relationship with her mom Kristina, I really hope Gary looks into the adoption process for her & gets that ball rolling if that’s that Kristina & Leah both want.
Amber will cry wolf when it happens & go full victim mode but she needs to remember she did this, she put men, relationships & everything else in front of her child and quite frankly half the time when she’s live she looks high as hell.
I have said it before and I’ll say it again,Amber needs to GO!!!
She does nothing but make viewers angry with her poor me BS.
I do not feel sorry for her I never have.Leah is who has suffered for 16 yrs.
I never had my father nor a step dad in my life to care.
It hurts.It changes your life.I makes a void for the rest of your life.
Fire her and move on from the Amber show.
I respect Kristina for stepping in and being there for Leah.If she wants to be adopted that is what should happen.
Amber has some very serious mental health issues…I’m not a psychologist or psychiatrist but I know a malignant narcissist with bipolar mania when I see one…my late mother had these disorders and refused to get treatment. Her life crashed and burned and she ended up living alone and until she passed away at 90 after falling in her apartment…the neighbors noticed her newspapers and mail piling up and had the landlord go in where he found her dead. She had refused to see or talk to anyone, especially her family for years. She missed out on spending time with her grandchildren and great grandchildren…including my kids and my grandkids…she never even sent them birthday cards.
Amber continues to see a child psychologist when she really needs to see an adult psychologist…she also should be seeing a psychiatrist for a specfic diagnosis and treatment program. She is not actively even trying to get control of her life and help herself. What happened to her college classes? That seemed to just be a passing fancy…she’s never held a job, she has no friends, she alienates her daughter and her own family…wouldn’t it be better to get treatment for her disorders before it gets more out of control? Honestly, there is no quick fix for this…it’s going to be hard work to get her life in order. People with malignant narcissistic disorder only think of themselves and have no ownership of their destructive behaviors whether it be ignoring their children or continuing to be in unhealthy relationships that crash and burn.
Leah is a sweet girl that deserves to have a great future ahead of her. Gary and Christina have been great parents and have been there for her…however, it might be time for Leah to have a private life and not be on this show anymore. Gary should move on and put Leah’s privacy as a teenager first instead of that hefty paycheck from MTV. Amber is a lost cause until she gets the help she needs and puts her mental health first instead of having another loser boyfriend and just moping around her house…and bravo to the other “teen” moms for cutting her loose and have stopped enabling her.
Amber has had way more time than needed for DBT. I have absolutely zero sympathy for her. A lot of people can look back after an episode and think “that wasn’t right.” Some people are completely oblivious to it. When I was psychotic, I didn’t realize it. People started telling me that what I was thinking wasn’t “reality.” It felt “real” to me.” But I started to listen and got help. Amber can see herself on tv for god sakes. She is also a perpetual victim. Yes, malignant narcissist too.
I agree with everything you say. You can’t tell a narcissist they’re a narcissist…
Just realized that Amber is a younger version of Christy, Jades mom, but with MTv money. Good on Jade for calling that out.
Finally! As someone with a crap mother but a phenomenal dad and stepmom, I’m so glad that Leah has Kristina & Gary. With a little therapy and as little contact with Ambien as possible, she should be fine.
amber isn’t gonna say anything to briana or jade because she knows they’ll actually fight amber back with brittney in tow, that’s why it’s easier for her to call out taylor because she knows taylor isn’t gonna do anything. i can also see catelynn and maci facetiming each other right now and saying to each other “i don’t condone amber’s behavior but they don’t know amber that well and what she’s been through to judge her, this is a trigger for her”
Lol lol I said the same thing!! Amber wouldnt get her ass stomped and dragged if she wants to say anything to Jade or Cheyenne!! But Macy and Cate are deathly afraid of Amber!! But funny so far this season they haven’t even said one word about Amber !! Íts also funny that her mom or brother isn’t on tv anymore with her! I think her family also has had enough of Ambers lying and being a horrible mother to her kids!!!!
When I met my youngest son’s father he had about he had 15 months sobriety under his belt. He relapsed around his 2 year mark. I stood by him throughout. He got sober again for 18 months. We got pregnant and 6 months into my pregnancy he relapsed again. I made a choice to choose my unborn child and said if he doesn’t want to stay sober that’s his choice, but I can’t stick around this time. I had our son alone he has never met him he turns 11 in May. He was in and out of jail and finally went to prison for 2.5 years. We got back in contact while he was in prison, but I moved out of our home state. He was supposed to parole to the state I moved to. He got released got his gate money never made it us. He’s been living on skid row in LA. I never moved on relationship wise and only been focused on our son and my son I had previously who is 25 now grown and out living his best life. So it’s really sad when women choose men over the most important people in their lives their children. Ain’t nothing wrong with being a born again virgin 😬🤣🤣
“She understands how Leah was felt” need to do better proof reading The Ashley!!
Look y’all, the grammar police are here. Do you know how obnoxious comments like these are? Go create your own website since you’re so perfect.
This is a snark site, not a major publication with editors. People make mistakes and that wasn’t even a big one. Plus, The Ashley does more fact-checking that anybody else in the press, so I think we can let a few grammatical errors slide.
I have a lot of issues with my phone adding in words automatically. I do try to check it. Sometimes I don’t see it. The people I msg know what I mean. Or even when I comment on here. It happens.
Mine does the same and I almost never notice until it’s too late. Happens on here all the time and I hate that we can’t edit comments because I accidentally post some Farrah/Jenelle Speak. Lol.
Wth is Amber actually doing that she can’t see her child?
Making tiktoks about how her child is at fault, her ex is at fault… her other ex, then another, and another are all at fault. She’s a victim of NAME HERE. She’s mentally ill. It’s editing. She’s lying. She never lies. Everyone else is lying.
Admits what she’s done, says she never did any of the things she’s done.
That she’s changed… totally. She’s old and wise now.
She’s a great mom. Therapists and doctors are wrong. They are right and she’s all better.
Things with Leah are better they just don’t film that stuff. Leah is a butthead and needs to be accountable.
Swiping on the dating sites.
Lounging.
Buying swords.
Substance sleeping.
You know. All of that important ranting is a full time job.
Nothing…sitting on the couch in her house watching TV. Her yard is a mess and I can only imagine how the house looks…shes always been lazy.
Amber is too busy living her best life as an Asian Egyptian to watch Teen Mom right now.
All these non-OG people in the cast speaking up….FINALLY, is all very telling. Maci and Cate are clearly either hanging onto their relationship with this criminal for the sake of keeping the show, having zero other career prospects, OR, MTV have some sort of deal with them, keep your friendship with Amber for the show, or it’s over. Dunno. Something is up, and it’s very, very wrong.
The show is all they have.
Maci and C&T are very limited in career prospects, which is a shame bc they had time and money to pursue anything they wanted to.
They chose not to. They did nothing the past 15 years.
So ofc they’ll support whatever they’re told to support, whether it be a violent abusive drug addict.. or a violent and lazy abusive drug addict. Smh.
IDK why that didn’t click in my head! Cheyenne doesn’t NEED MTV money and Jade has her own business she’s running behind the scenes. They don’t NEED MTV, at this point. Maci and Cate have done jack shit with their lives, they’re already drowning in debt. They wouldn’t survive a month without MTV paychecks. No wonder they coddle Amber. Makes them even shittier people.
Well they can’t all be Macis and Cates. Thank God.
I completely understand. My mom allowed me to be in an extremely traumatic childhood. She lied to me about who my birth father is. When I asked her why, she told me I never “asked.”
She told me she loved her bf’s more than she loved me. And she did. She is a true narcissist. I know that word is thrown around a lot. I have a myriad of mental illnesses. One of them being BPD. Which my therapist told me it’s “common “ among children of narcissists. Leah is absolutely right in staying away from amber. She is toxic af.
I can relate and am similarly experienced and afflicted. Was in my 30s before I got help. Hang in there 💚
❤️
It’s funny how it’s all the non OGs who have something to say. But the OGs are so far up Ambers butt, saying she’s a good mum and refuse to call her out.
Wonder how long til Amber is on TikTok live losing her shit over this.
But glad someone said it, I feel so bad for Leah. But thankfully she has Kristina, Amber needs to either stay out of her life for good, or step it up and keep it up. But I feel it’s been too long, there’s irreparable damage done.
Good.
MTV pay attention!!
Castmates are walking away from Amber.
It’s only a matter of time before more viewers turn away from her too, like they did Jenelle.