In the preview for next week’s episode of Teen Mom: The Next Chapter, Gary Shirley reveals just how estranged his teenage daughter Leah really is from her mom, Amber Portwood, while also refuting Amber’s recent claims about the situation.
In a clip from the upcoming episode, Gary and wife Kristina Shirley sit down with an attorney, presumably to talk about the possibility of Kristina adopting Leah– something Leah has said that she has wanted for quite some time. During the conversation, Gary explains to the attorney that Amber has had little to no involvement in Leah’s life, particularly within the last year.
“In the past year, Amber’s seen her daughter four days,” Gary tells the attorney, who then informs Gary, “That’s deemed as abandonment.”
Gary’s comments come less than a week after Amber took to TikTok to defend herself against fans who blame her for the “abandonment issues” that 16-year-old Leah has recently opened up about on the show. Amber also fired back at Kristina claiming on a recent episode that it had been more than four months since Amber had contacted them.
While ranting on TikTok Live, Amber denied that her actions– or rather lack thereof– had resulted in Leah having any trauma and insisted that she hadn’t gone no-contact with Leah for months, as Kristina had claimed.
“I didn’t go four months no-contact with my daughter!” Amber argued, before admitting that she did stay away from Leah, but not because she wanted to.
“No, I was told to stay away,” Amber stated. “Not to stay away… but all that stuff. I don’t know what you’re talking about. I would never do that actually. I want to have my daughter with me. I would love to have my daughter with me. I would love to do mom and daughter things.”
Amber assured fans that she was being honest about the situation and maintained that she and Leah have “talked about everything from the past” already. She also insisted that Leah is only bothered because she has seen old clips of the show online, not because she actually remembers the events taking place. According to Amber, what Leah is experiencing is “not trauma,” because she “doesn’t have trauma.”
“ … She’s had a rough life, yeah. But guys, not everything is trauma,” Amber said. “And it’s not denial. You can’t call that trauma.
“I didn’t beat her,” Amber continued. “She’s traumatized about what?! No, she’s not traumatized because of me. I didn’t do anything to her like that.”
As The Ashley reported last summer, Gary shared on social media in August that Amber hadn’t seen Leah since June– the month that Amber’s then-fiancé Gary Wayt (aka Gary 2.0) went “missing” after attending the wedding of Amber’s brother, Shawn Portwood, in North Carolina.
Shortly after it was revealed in November that Gary had accused Amber of not paying child support for Leah “for years” and that he was considering taking Amber to court to get pay back payment for the money she allegedly owes (which Amber has denied, stating she has “receipts” to prove it), Amber told fans on TikTok that she was informed by Gary that she could not see Leah.
“ … not only have I tried to see my daughter, but I was told by her father that I was not allowed to come get her,” Amber claimed, before adding that viewers would see the situation play out on this season of ‘Teen Mom: The Next Chapter.’
“I can’t say anything else,” she added. “I can’t say anything else right now. Even though it’s not out yet … when you watch the show coming out and you guys will be able to see some things you probably never knew.”
Amber has yet to responds to the clip from next week’s episode.
New episodes of ‘Teen Mom: The Next Chapter’ air Thursdays on MTV
(Photos: MTV)
37 Responses
Actually, “Ambie”, beating her would be physical trauma, but you’ve inflicted emotional trauma by being absent in her life so yes, it’s definitely considered trauma… And I’m sorry but everyone’s levels of trauma and definition of trauma, are different. Some children are more resilient and some are not. Regardless, you don’t get to say what has hurt your daughter or not. And just because you’ve talked for what? A half hour? About the “past”, doesn’t mean that Leah’s feelings are resolved and it’s case closed… Good lord. I’m in recovery from alcoholism and while my youngest doesn’t know me drinking because I’ve been sober the majority of his life, and my older two have very little memory of me around that time- It doesn’t mean that subliminally there aren’t issues buried. I own that and we continue to talk about it. Granted, I’ve never beaten them, abandoned them (I have full custody of all three and always have), I also had a job their entire lives, no legal issues, wasn’t glued to a couch and I have dated one man in the last 8 years… but go off (eyeroll). Amber is so delusional and it’s so freaking sad to see poor Leah just want a stable mom yet Amber truly doesn’t think she’s done anything wrong.
Why are they putting this poor child’s issues and business out on national TV? I guess that MTV paycheck is worth more than the dignity of poor leah. The kids of this franchise are probably so damn embarrassed. All of them need to get off TV and give these kids a decent childhood for the remaining 2 years. Its so pitiful.
Oh Amber. She’s traumatized from having you as a biological mother. You’re an embarrassment.
Amber your own daughter , Gary & castmates are all saying the same thing about your parenting so at this point it must be true & not the way MTV portrays you. Your a pathological liar & you need to accept some responsibility by getting real with yourself. Your own brother even tells you to be a better parent to Leah.
I try hard to avoid this particular “TM OG” because I grew up with a mom who was frighteningly identical to Amber and Leah’s situation, and it really brings up a ton of anger, resentment and hurt to watch Amber be so nonchalant and deny every single chance she gets to take responsibility, say “no” to men, drugs and money, then gaslight her daughter with delusional stories and excuses. My heart hurts for Leah, I do not gaf that she’s got Kristina, (thank God for Kristina!) But nobody replaces MOM. And yes Leah is traumatized, she’s been hurt, lied to, abandoned and mentally and emotionally abused by the monster that was supposed to be her protector and champion. And moms are so, so important, as flawed as we ALL are as moms, the worst thing we can do is lie to ourselves and say our kids don’t know or didn’t see, didn’t realize what was REALLY happening. There’s just so much that Amber is in denial about and it’s unfathomable to me to see this woman NEVER confronted about being a POS, where is her parents, family, friends? Does nobody have the balls to be honest to her?! It’s insane to think this unhinged woman is in such denial. I give Gary all the credit and praise because 16, 17 yrs ago when my friends gathered in my living room to watch that weeks episode, we all thought Gary wasn’t going to be sh*t, he was way older and seemed to be a loser. Boy did he get himself together and blow everyone’s mind. He’s one hell of a great dad, Amber doesn’t deserve him but thank God Leah has him. I really hope Amber grows up and snaps out of her unmanagable selfish, constant state of playing victim and denial. As long as there is breath in her lungs it’s not too late to turn things around with her daughter. Im mid 40s and didn’t have a relationship with my mom until I had my first son 9 yrs ago, and it really got ugly, having a child and experiencing that indescribable love for my kids really drove a huge, bitter wedge between us because for the first time I felt what my mom obviously didn’t feel. And she died a couple months ago without us having much closure because even at 60 something, she couldn’t take responsibility for her actions. I hope Leah gets better from her mother, I wouldn’t wish this hurt and rage on anyone.
Amber should just give in and give Leah what she wants. She won’t, but she should. She’s not actively involved in her life. Blames everybody else for why she isn’t in her life. “I was told to stay away”. That is YOUR child! This isn’t a Cate and Tyler situation where you should absolutely leave your daughter alone! Amber has consistently chosen men over her children, gaslit Leah in EVERY situation, and continues to cause so much trauma and heartache to her oldest child. The best thing ever done for James, was Andrew running the fuck away with him. Gary should have done the same with Leah.
Never gonna happen, no way in hell is Amber going to give up that MTV paycheck
Thank God she’s barely been on this season. I think the only time she’s been aired was the fake pregnancy, I have not seen her in any episodes since. Fingers crossed they let this bitch go and keep Gary on.
At this point, it would not be a bad idea for someone to step up and do a Britney Spears style conservatorship on her. Hopefully Gary stays alive until at least Leah’s 18th b day. The chances are good he will but again you never know. Things happen but chances are he will. Then she can have Kristina adopt her on her 18th b day which is what is sounds like she is going to do anyway.
I’m so sick of her “It’s not me! It was never me!” mentality, no, IT WAS YOU and IT IS STILL YOU who brought so much hurt into your daughter’s life. (I still think she doesn’t like her cuz she is looking more and more like here and that’s just sad…) Thank god for Kristina who you continuosly want to trash but she has been a consistent mother figure in Leah’s life, you were never that.
I wonder how long it takes for her to find another man. Prob not long. There’s idiots everywhere (or maybe even fame whore guys like Matt was) And I still love what Gary 2.0 did. “I’m not missing!” That’s gotta hurt her fragile ego, Ambien doesn’t get abandoned like that.
At this point, I would think that since Leah is 16, the courts would basically go by what she wants. Or she can become emancipated and just stay living where she is at.
I live in Mn. There really isn’t a set age. They take the child’s maturity and why the kid doesn’t want to be with one parent. I mean, is it bad or the kid just doesn’t like the rules thing. I’m sure that happens. I don’t know the laws in IN. I would hope they are similar. Leah absolutely should be able to stay in her home. With her mother and sister. It makes me want to cry thinking about amber taking her.
Me too. Can you imagine? She would be going through horrible grief losing her dad and then be taken away from her mom and little sister and have communication cut off. The plus side is she is 16. Like has been said with Caitlyn and Carly, the child can find a way to contact if she so desires. But hopefully it does not come to that.
The Amber Portwood’s of the world deserve to be permanently banished from their biological children’s lives.
Amber Potwood needs to remember Leah is doing mother/daughter things with the one she calls Mom, Kristina. My heart burst for Gary, Kristina, and Leah when they gave her the car and she told Kristina come on Mom, we do everything together now (something along this line). I believe Leah may have a big voice in the decision a court could make if they do proceed with Kristina adopted her
Abandonment IS TRAUMA AMBER!
She has no idea because she is NOT A MUM.
They need to have formal custodian rights for Leah with Kristina. Or Gary needs something in a Will to state Leah is to remain in Kristina’s care with her sister.
Leah is done.
When you look at the photo of amber and Leah, the body language says it all.
They are both pulling away from each other, so clearly there’s no closeness on both sides.
And if Kristina does get to adopt her MTV needs to fire Amber ASAP. If Amber reads this comment watch how fast she tries to get back into her daughter’s life because she doesn’t want to lose that big MTV paycheck. I heard they make #300,000 a year, anyone know if that is true?
Last I knew, it was $325k, but that was before it went to this new format with all shows combined…they’re paid by appearance, so if they don’t have a storyline, they’re not gonna be used.
The original OGs including Ryan and Gary get $35 thousand per episode.
I’m a birthmother and I dont go one WEEK without checking in on my son, I chose his adoptive parentd and did an open adoption. He is now a 19 year old marine and we talk all the time. How could amber not even try?! I am just horrified.
there’s no gag order like there was during the james custody case so if there really was more to the story that would “clear her name” she would’ve said it by now
Isn’t there another mom on this show who says the same thing? Maybe I’m not remembering correctly. Always with the, “truth” will come out.
Jenelle.
Sounds right!
Thanks
They need to get Amber’s parental rights terminated by the courts. I actually don’t know how that hasn’t happened yet, Amber has given them plenty of material over the last 16 years. I feel so terrible for both of her kids, having been through something similar I feel their pain. I hope and pray that they filed to have Kristina adopt Leah, and I hope that they absolutely DOG WALK her in court. #TeamShirley
Her parental rights were terminated when she went to prison. As far as I remember, Amber never regained them. She’s never had scheduled visitation privileges. I think she’s been allowed to have Leah overnight a few times over the years but never actual visitation. She still has to pay cs bc no matter if parental rights are stripped away or surrendered, cs still has to be paid until the child is adopted by someone else who will accept financial responsibility.
She didn’t have her parental rights terminated. If she had, Kristina & Leah & Gary could’ve already done the adoption with no concern for Amber. However, she would have to consent to it while Leah is still a minor, which is why it hasn’t been done yet (as far as we are aware at least). Once she turns 18 Leah can consent for herself.
She lost custody, not her parental rights. Gary has sole physical and legal custody of Leah, but Amber still has parental rights. Terminating parental rights has a really high bar (more than just going to prison for a few years) and even then, they rarely do it unless there is someone ready to step in to adopt.
But yeah, all the fighting in court for getting custody and visitation of James? She has never bothered to do that with Leah. She’s talked about visitation, and complained about Gary not “letting” her see Leah, but she has never actually tried to get visitation rights.
But she’s a “damn good mom”.🥴
I hope that Gary pursues Kristina formally adopting Leah. As Kristina pointed out before if Gary were to pass away Kristina would technically have no legal rights when it comes to Leah. Leah needs that security. She has talked about feelings of abandonment and being terrified that Kristina will leave. Bless her, such a sweet kid. She shouldn’t have to worry about any of that.
If, God forbid, something happened to Gary, Amber would swoop in immediately and take that girl and cut off all communication with Kristina out of spite.
She 100% would do that in a heartbeat. It scares me for Leah honestly.
Absolutely. Leah would become her cash cow and tool to manipulate others.
That was one of my biggest fears with my oldest three kids and their Amber-like biological father. It was a huge relief when the step-parent adoption went through. I imagine it’s something that’s probably been in the back of Kristina’s mind for years and is a legitimate fear for Leah now that she’s old enough to understand how custody works. A child with abandonment issues losing her father and then being snatched from the only real mother she’s ever had and placed with a damn sorry woman like Amber would be beyond devastating.
I’m so glad it worked out for you! And yeah, Kristina should adopt Leah, it’s what SHE WANTS and honestly, she wouldn’t have lost anything. Ambien doesn’t like her daughter at all.