Amber Portwood had a rough time after hearing her daughter was done with her. A REAL rough time.
As you may know, Leah Shirley revealed on a recent episode of Teen Mom: The Next Chapter that she wants to be adopted by her stepmom Kristina Shirley. The teenager said her stepmom has “been there” for her whole life — unlike Amber. The two have had a rocky relationship for years, with the reality star sometimes going months without seeing or talking to Leah. The 16-year-old has even had to seek therapy to address her “abandonment issues from her not being around.” Now, Leah is ready to take another step in her healing journey and have her dad Gary Shirley‘s wife legally adopt her.
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The teen knew Amber wouldn’t react well to the decision — and she didn’t! After finding out about Leah’s decision, the 34-year-old television personality struggled to cope with the news. In fact, she was so depressed she couldn’t get out of bed for months! Amber revealed on the latest episode of The Next Chapter on Thursday:
“I thought I was already dark and deep in a hole from what happened to me from the incident in North Carolina from him [fiancé Gary Wayt,] leaving me. But when I found out about my daughter saying that she wanted to be adopted it took over everything. I was really in bed for over four months.”
Oof…
Eventually, the MTV star realized she needed help from her own mom. Tonya Portwood met up with Amber to talk through the difficult situation. During the conversation, the 16 and Pregnant alum got real about how much of a toll the adoption news had on her, sharing:
“I just woke up and I was, like, hopeless. Just feeling like hopeless, and just, why am I awake.”
So sad. Looking back, Amber noted she also didn’t have the best relationship with her mom at 16. Just like Leah, she also moved in with her dad. She recalled in a confessional:
“My relationship with my mom when I was around 16 was a little tumultuous. Me and my mom were fighting so bad that I had to leave the house and go live with my father.”
Tonya and Amber managed to work on their relationship and reconcile after years of turmoil. Can Amber and Leah do the same one day? Who knows? Amber is worried it won’t happen, though. She confessed:
“My life circumstances and the things with Leah, I’m scared she’s never going to come around.”
However, Tonya isn’t giving up hope that her daughter and granddaughter will work things out. She encouraged:
“She’ll come around when she’s ready. It’ll be fine. You can’t force her.”
Following the conversation, Amber’s spirits seemed to be up. She added in the confessional:
“I love my mom so much. So, this is why I have hope with Leah. It’s going to get better. It’s just going to take me a little while.”
It’ll take a lot of work to rebuild that trust with Leah, but we hope Amber can have a better relationship with her daughter one day. Thoughts, Perezcious readers? Let us know in the comments.
[Image via Gary Shirley/Instagram, MTV’s Teen Mom/YouTube]
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