Andrew Glennon made his return to Teen Mom OG Tuesday to officially tell his side of the story after ex Amber Portwood was arrested on July 4 following a fight that allegedly turned violent. After audio leaked of the couple’s fight, during which Portwood berated and threatened Glennon, he explained to Teen Mom producers that he had many recordings of her behavior he had started making when he first thought it crossed the line into abuse.
“I was never given any kind of outlet to share the other side of the story,” Andrew said, admitting he was concerned what his and Portwood’s son, 1-year-old James, would think when he was old enough to read stories in the media. “We all make mistakes — I’ve made mistakes,” he explained, adding he was simply hoping Amber would own her behavior and apologize to him. “I think in this whole process, all I wanted was ownership, honesty — mental illness is real.”
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With the audio circulating publicly, Portwood decided to take a break from social media, telling ex Gary Shirley, “Honestly, when I heard the audio, I was ashamed. I feel disgusted.” The Teen Mom OG star has been vocal this season about her arrest, telling Shirley in an episode last month, “The number one regret that I have is that I did not walk out of that house that night. There are limits to somebody with mental health disorders. There’s only so much somebody like me can handle, and people like me will understand that.”
This wasn’t Portwood’s first brush with domestic violence charges, having attacked Shirley during a fight that led to her 2011 domestic battery conviction. “I just have a lot of guilt of not being aware of myself more than I should have,” she added to Shirley in March. “And I really do feel ashamed that I didn’t have that, because I should after all the things I’ve done to change.”
Teen Mom OG airs on MTV Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET. For more from PopCulture on Portwood’s legal journey, as well as updates on castmates Maci Bookout, Catelynn Lowell, Cheyenne Floyd and Mackenzie McKee, click here.
