Amber Portwood’sdaughterLeah, who she shares withGary Shirley, apparently wants her stepmom to adopt her. Shirley is withKristina Andersonand, after a huge blow up between Leah and her mother at Leah’s birthday back in November, the two have not spoken since. Because of this, Shirley said on a recent episode ofTeen Mom: The Next Chapterthat Leah talked about her relationship with Anderson instead. All the men are on a trip together when they start to talk about the situation, many of the other fathers expressing to Shirley thatthey don’t understand howPortwood couldn’t talkto her daughter.
“Leah is wanting to be adopted by Kristina,” Shirley told the guys and said thathis partner would adopt his daughter “in a heartbeat.”He went on to talk about how his daughter is over the situation completely. “Leah is kind of like, the damage is all done,” he told the men. “I think [their relationship] is salvageable, but what Leah would need is for her mom there, all the time.” The other fathers all talked about how it was Portwood’s responsibility to talk to her daughter and fix things.
Tyler Baltierra,who has been married toCatelynn Baltierrasince 2015, talked about how this was on Portwood. “You know, there’s no other way to build trust. It’s consistency, consistency, consistency,” he said. Shirley agreed with him. “Amber is the mother. Amber has to try,” he said. “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.” He even tried to say that he tried to be nice to his ex for Leah’s sake throughout the years and his fellow dads said it was time to stop that. “Leah has now realized that she is not No. 1 in her mom’s eyes,”Cory Whartonsaid.
Gary Shirley Is Thankful for Wife Katrina Anderson’s Involvement in His Daughter’s Life
He also talked about how he tried to reason with Portwood and told her that she needed to reach out to Leah to try and fix their relationship. “I messaged Amber recently," he revealed. “I said, ‘You need to reach out to Leah. You need to say hi or something. A text or something.'” He went on to say thatPortwood basically gave up on their relationship. “She messaged me back, ‘I’ve texted and called Leah a million times! No answer, nothing ever back. I’ve done everything to be in her life, I’ve gotten crapped on. I never get to spend time with her. I’m tired of being unhappy and fighting for attention from everyone. I’m not a horrible person,I’m a loving mother. I refuse to live a miserable life anymore.'”
He told the men, though, thathe was grateful that his daughter had Anderson in her life. “She has other people that are there for her,” he said. “Trust me, the best thing that ever happened to Leah was Kristina. Kristina is a loving parent.”
Teen Mom: The Next Chapter
Teen Mom: The Next Chapter follows the lives of moms from the Teen Mom franchise as they face new challenges in their families, careers, and relationships. As they navigate adulthood, these women reflect on their pasts and strive to build better futures for themselves and their children.
Teen Mom: The Next Chapteris available to stream on Paramount+ in the U.S.
