#TeenMom star Amber Portwood says she was “in bed for four months” after finding out daughter Leah wants her stepmom Kristina to adopt her
Amber Portwood Says She Was “In Bed For Four Months” After Finding Out Daughter Leah Wants Her Stepmom Kristina to Adopt Her
Amber Portwood was apparently devastated when she heard the news that her daughter Leah wants her stepmom, Kristina Shirley, to legally adopt her and, on Thursday’s episode of Teen Mom: The Next Chapter, Amber claimed she was bed-ridden for months after finding out.
After Amber rises out of bed after 11 a.m., she tells the cameras that she was already depressed even before finding out that Leah wants Kristina to adopt her.
“I thought I was already dark and deep and in a hole from what happened to me from [my fiancée Gary Wayt ditching me] in North Carolina and him leaving me in the mountains,” Amber said. “But when I found out about my daughter saying she wanted to be adopted, it took over everything.”
We then see one of Amber’s many (many) screaming sessions on TikTok Live where she discusses her fractured relationship with her 16-year-old daughter, before Amber reveals that she was “really in bed for four months,” due to the devastation she felt after hearing that Leah wants Kristina to be her mother.
Back in July, Leah’s dad Gary Shirley revealed on the show that Leah wanted Kristina to adopt her. Soon afterward, a “source close to Amber” stated that Amber was “devastated” by the news.
“Obviously, any implication that her daughter wants to be adopted is devastating to Amber,” the source told Us Weekly. “Her two kids are the reason Amber wakes up in the morning. They are why she continues filming the show and her motivation for everything.”
During more-recent episodes of ‘Next Chapter,’ Leah herself has explained why she wants Kristina to adopt her, stating on-camera that Kristina has been there for her since she was a toddler, while Amber has been inconsistent in her life.
During Thursday’s episode, Amber says she emerged from her four-month hibernation after realizing she needed her own mother.
“I just woke up hopeless,” Amber tells her mom, Tonya, on the phone. “I was just feeling, like, hopeless, like, why am I awake?”
Tonya questions if Amber has been staying on top of her medications used to treat her mental illnesses, but Amber assures her that she is.
“You’ve been through a lot of s**t over these past years,” Tonya tells Amber.
“How many times have I called you crying, Mom? In the last couple weeks?” Amber says, to which her mom says she’s “lost count.”
“My life circumstances, and the things with Leah, I’m scared she’s never gonna come around,” Amber told her mom, who stated that Leah will “come around when she’s ready.”
“I know, but I’m scared that’s not going to happen,” Amber replied.
Amber’s mom revealed that Leah keeps in touch with her through text, which makes Amber emotional.
Later, Amber reflects on how much her relationship with her mom has improved over the years, which gives her hope that someday her relationship with Leah can get to a better place.
“I see how my relationship with my mom was completely tumultuous and today, I’m with my mom and love my mom so much,” Amber said. “So, this is why I have hope with Leah. It’s gonna get better; it’s just gonna take me a little while.”
‘Teen Mom: The Next Chapter’ airs Thursdays on MTV.
