Teen Mom’s Gary Shirley Says Amber Portwood’s Daughter Leah Wants to Be Adopted by Her Stepmom

Gary Shirley is shining a light on how distant Amber Portwood’s relationship with daughter Leah has become.

On the Thursday, July 18, episode of Teen Mom: The Next Chapter, Gary, 37, claimed his 15-year-old daughter has expressed interest in being adopted by stepmom Kristina Shirley.

“Trust me, the best thing that ever happened to Leah was Kristina,” Gary told his costars during a guy’s cast trip to Michigan. “Kristina is a loving parent and Leah’s wanting to be adopted by Kristina.”

During his candid chat, Gary expressed hopes that Amber, 34, and Leah’s relationship is still “salvageable.” At the same time, he believes his daughter needs her mom “to be there all the time.”

“As a mother, Amber has to try,” Gary explained. “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. I didn’t want to throw Amber under the bus for so many times.”

While Gary admitted that Amber is not aware of the discussions surrounding a possible adoption, Tyler Baltierra quickly called his wife, Catelynn Lowell, to share highlights from the conversation. She proceeded to talk with Maci Bookout McKinney, who wondered if she would end up giving her close friend a heads-up.

In 2022, Amber acknowledged to Us Weekly that she was giving Leah “space” for nearly two years. At the same time, she expressed love for her daughter as she inched closer to becoming a teenager.

“People weren’t understanding what I was doing … that I wasn’t just stepping away from her,” the Never Too Late author told Us. “I always let her know that I was there. I would come over even if she was upstairs, and I would just let her do her thing. At least she knew that I was there for her.”

Fast-forward to today and there still appears to be space between the mother-daughter duo. In the latest episode of Teen Mom: The Next Chapter, Gary said he reached out to Amber asking if she could say hi to their daughter via text message.

“She messaged me back, ‘I’ve texted and called Leah a million times! No answer, nothing ever back,’” Gary said when reading Amber’s message 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.’”

Despite the family drama, Gary firmly believes that Leah needs her mom no matter what.

“Even if your kid is pushing you away, you have to show interest,” he told his wife, Kristina. “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.”

Us Weekly has reached out to Amber’s team for comment. Teen Mom: The Next Chapter airs Thursday nights on MTV at 8 p.m. ET.