Amber Portwood is continuing to process her strained relationship with her daughter Leah.
The mom of two appears on the Thursday, April 17 episode of Teen Mom: Next Chapter, where she shares an update about struggling personally after hearing the news that daughter Leah, 16, whom she shares with ex Gary Shirley, wants to be adopted so that Gary’s wife, Kristina, will legally be her mother.
“I thought I was already dark and deep in a hole from what happened to me, from the incident in North Carolina, and him leaving me in the mountains,” Amber begins in a confessional, acknowledging her breakup from fiancé Gary Wayt.
“When I found out about my daughter saying that she wanted to be adopted, it took over everything,” Amber tells producers in a confessional. “I was really just in bed for over four months. But I just realized that I truly just needed my mommy.”
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In the scene, Amber calls her mom, Tonya, who she’s shared a rocky relationship with in the past.
“I just woke up, and I was just like hopeless, just feeling like hopeless and just like, ‘F—, why am I awake?’ ” she tells her mom, who asked if Amber is taking her medication.
“My relationship with my mom when I was around 16 was a little tumultuous,” she says, as past arguments with them on the show play in flashback scenes.
“Me and my mom were fighting so bad, like I had to leave the house and live with my father,” she explains. “I’ve seen my mom three times, these last few weeks, when I hadn’t seen her almost a year.”
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Later, Amber and Tonya meet for lunch, where Amber acknowledges that “this morning was heavy.”
“But when I wake up crying like now, all I do is call you,” she adds.
“I’ve always been there for you. You know that you always get my baby, no matter how old you are. So, no matter what it is, I’m still trying to understand what you’re going through,” Tonya tells her.
Amber then asks Tonya about going to a psychiatrist appointment with her, explaining, “Because I’m not just bipolar. I have four major mental illnesses that I would like to have them explain it to you.”
“I would think by now that they would have your medications straightened out by now, after eight years of them seeing you,” Tonya replies. Amber tries to explain, before Tonya continues, “I know, that’s the question that I have asked to ask him, to explain that to me.”
“And he won’t take offense to it,” Amber says.
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“I just think this has gone on too long,” Tonya says, later adding, “I just don’t see you progressing.”
“What has gone on too long, mama? There’s no cure.”
Changing the subject, Amber brings up Leah, explaining, “With my life circumstances and the things with Leah, I’m scared she’s never gonna come around.”
“She’ll come around when she’s ready,” Tonya says.
“I know, but I’m scared that’s not gonna happen,” Amber says. She then asks, “Does Leah call you?”
“Texts. She tells me goodnight, that she loves me. Stuff like that.”
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Amber cries as Tonya reassures her, “It’ll be fine. We can’t force her.”
In her confessional, Amber says, “I see how my relationship with my mom was completely tumultuous, and today I’m with my mom. I love my mom so much. So, this is why I have hope with Leah. It’s gonna get better. It’s gonna take me a little while.”
Teen Mom: The Next Chapter airs on Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on MTV.
Sasha Farber
is done dancing around all the rumors surrounding his dating life.
After fans speculated that the former Dancing With the Stars pro could be dating Kaitlyn Bristowe, Julianne Hough
or Francia Raisa, Farber, 41, decided to set the record straight.
“First of all, it’s so funny. I’ve known Kaitlyn for so many years,” he shared in an interview with E! News’
On November 7, Farber uploaded an Instagram video in which he and the former
While celebrating Dancing With the Stars’ 20th Birthday Party episode on Tuesday, November 11, Bristowe, 40, laughed off any dating rumors.
“I didn’t see the reactions. Were people being like, ‘Hard launch,’ or something?” Bristowe asked
Farber also talked to E! News about Hough, 37, who recently spent some time dancing with her former colleague.
In a joint Instagram post earlier this month, the pair danced to “Tambourine” by
“New trick unlocked!!!! TRY IT!!!” Farber wrote via Instagram on Sunday, November 9. “We don’t have fun at all, also this is right before I stepped in dog s*** @juleshough.”
Before fans start speculating that something could be going on romantically between this pair, Farber shut the chatter down.
“With Jules, the same thing. I’ve known Jules for over so many years,” he said in his latest interview with
Farber added, “So to answer your question, no hard launches. They are all friends, and [I’m] still looking.”
Farber was previously married to fellow Dancing With the Stars pro Emma Slater
from 2018 to 2022. The duo have remained friends and frequently see each other while filming ABC’s competition show.
“We’re still like family, so it isn’t really like the love is not there, it’s actually not that at all,” Slater revealed in an August 2023 episode of the “Viall Files” podcast. “We’re just at potentially two different places. But the hard part was that the love actually didn’t go [away].”
At the time, she explained, “It’s really the kid thing. It’s interesting because I do want to have kids, I just don’t want to delay Sasha’s path in having kids because I know that he is ready for that. I don’t want to talk about him too much because that’s really for him to say, but it’s about kids.”