‘Teen Mom’: Amber Portwood Has a New Boyfriend

Love is in the air for Amber Portwood. The Teen Mom cast member has a new beau. And she says he’s perfect for the family woman she’s dedicated to being. “His name is Gary. She met him on a dating app four months ago. They are taking their time getting to know each other, but it’s getting serious,” a source close to the MTV staple told Us Weekly. 

He also lives in Portwood’s hometown of Indianapolis. The two have only been dating for a few months but the source says they are serious about one another. Like Portwood, Gary is in his 30s, unlike her last string of public relationships have been with men a little older. The source notes that Gary is “family-oriented” and takes care of his parents. He’s also never watched the reality series Portwood has been a star on since she was 16. That may be a plus for Portwood whose motherhood and co-parenting struggles, mental health woes, and substance use have been chronicled on the show. Some men have also been obsessed with the fame that comes with dating Portwood.

“All the guys Amber has dated before she met on social media were fans of the show,” the source added. “This new man in her life has actually never seen Teen Mom so she feels she can finally date in the way she’s always wanted to.” Portwood’s relationship drama has been a major storyline on the show. When fans first met her, she was pregnant with her first child, Leah, whom she shares with her ex-fiance, Gary Shirley. 

After their split and a few years of contentious co-parenting, Portwood and Shirley are co-parenting Leah, now 14, “amicably,” the source noted. Leah and Portwood’s complicated mother/daughter relationship has also been a central storyline.

Portwood welcomed her second child, son James, with ex Andrew Glennon in May 2018. They split the following year after a domestic dispute, and history repeated itself when Glennon won full custody of James in 2022. Glennon and James moved to California. With limited visitation, Portwood is focused on moving forward and bettering her relationship with her children.

“I’ve worked so hard to better myself and improve my relationships with my children,” the reality star said in a statement to Us at the time of the custody ruling for James. “While I’ve always been candid about my past substance abuse and struggles with mental illness, a person should have the chance to redeem themselves and not be tethered to their problems from the past.”