Teen Mom's Gary Shirley Says Daughter Leah Wants His Wife to Adopt Her After Amber Portwood Refuses to See Her

Gary Shirley is opening up about his daughter Leah's rocky relationship with her mom, Amber Portwood.

On this week's episode of Teen Mom: The Next Chapter, Shirley talks with his wife Kristina about his 15-year-old daughter Leah, whom he shares with Portwood. In a scene in their kitchen, Shirley says that he recently messaged his ex and asked her to try reaching out to Leah again.

“I messaged Amber recently," Gary begins. "I said, 'You need to reach out to Leah. You need to say hi or something. A text or something.'"

“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.'” 

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Kristina says that Portwood's response is shocking to her, and Shirley agrees.

“That’s what I’m saying and I haven’t even told Leah about this. I don’t want to,” he says. “Because that right there, if I say, ‘Hey by the way…’” 

“That’s her giving confirmation that her mom’s just not wanting to be there,” Kristina says.

“She’s already at that point and I know what Leah needs. She needs her mom," Shirley explains. "Even if your kid is pushing you away, you have to show the interest. And if she’s not coming around, or putting forth that effort, it’s just going to make it much harder. She wants to have a mom that’s there that you can depend on. Somebody that doesn’t always make it about herself.”

Kristina goes on to explain that she does a lot of the parenting for Leah, from attending her cross-country games to doing her schooling. But she f -

Taylor Swift Flashes Double Peace Signs ,...

eels like she can't fill the void in Leah's heart from the loss of spending time with Portwood.

Later in the episode, Shirley goes on a boys' trip with the other dads. He starts explaining to them that Leah's relationship with Portwood has become more fraught.

“Actually, Leah hasn’t seen Amber since her birthday,” Shirley says when asked how it's going with Portwood.

“Oh that’s crazy,” castmate Cory Wharton responds. “Is that Leah’s choice?” 

“No. So Leah is kind of like, the damage is all done," Shirley responds. "I think it’s salvageable but what Leah would need is her mom to be there all the time."

“As a mother, Amber has to try. No matter what. It’s never going to be Leah’s fault if she’s not talking to you, because Amber, you’re the reason why it’s this way in the first place," Shirley continues. "I didn’t want to throw Amber under the bus for so many times.”  

“And she has other people that are there for her,” Shirley says, to which Wharton responds, “Your wife!” 

“Trust me, the best thing that ever happened to Leah was Kristina. Kristina is a loving parent,” Shirley says. “And Leah’s wanting to be adopted by Kristina.” 

He goes on to say that Kristina would adopt Leah in a heartbeat, but Portwood isn't aware of the situation.

As the episode continues, the dads circle back to continue talking about Leah and Portwood.

“Are you going to fill Amber in on the situation?” Shirley is asked.

“So as far as that goes, it’s kind of letting Leah stew and think about what she wants to do," he responds. He goes on to say that he knows what his daughter wants to do, but he wants to make sure she's thought it through first.

Teen Mom: The Next Chapterairs on Thursdays at 8:00 p.m. on MTV.

Related Articles

Follow Us

Carlos Marqués-Marcet Orchestrates a Del,...