Amber Portwood isn’t taking ex Gary Shirley and his wife Kristina up on their offer to move onto their land anytime soon. The Teen Mom OG star opened up to PopCulture.com about her experience ahead of the Tuesday, Jan. 26 return of the MTV show, saying quite definitively that the move “is not happening.” Portwood, who shares 12-year-old daughter Leah with Gary, said fans will have to watch the season to learn more about how a strain in the relationship with her oldest child led to the offer from her former fiancรฉ, and stressed she appreciated the offer, even if she turned it down.
“It was so sweet to be asked to be asked to make the move onto Gary and Kristina’s property,” she told PopCulture, noting that even though her breakup with Gary is years in the past, “it takes a lot of guts” for Kristina especially to be on board with the offer. “I really felt like they were there for me, because they understood I was in a tough situation,” she explained, joking that she would much rather get a call or text from Gary than a knock on her front door. “The relationship we’re in right now, I don’t want to hurt it or strain it,” she said. “We have a good relationship, but we’re exes for a reason.”
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Spending time with Leah and son James, 2, whom she shares with ex Andrew Glennon, has been difficult, Portwood admitted, as the drive from one child to the other is about four hours. “If it wasn’t for a good reason, I wouldn’t do [the drive] whatsoever,” the MTV star shared. “I would be lying if I said it wasn’t annoying, but when you miss someone so much, it makes it worth it when you see their face light up.”
As for her relationship with Leah, Portwood said the preteen has been “getting older and understanding a lot of different things,” including the different dynamics in her family. There’s a lot of love even through those growing pains, the mother-of-two said: “It’s still the same way if she’s mad at me for my past. We’ll get through it, and we are.” For more of Portwood’s story, as well as those of co-stars Catelynn Lowell, Maci Bookout, Mackenzie McKee and Cheyenne Floyd, don’t miss the return of Teen Mom OG on Tuesday, Jan. 26 at 8 p.m. ET on MTV.
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