Fans have been watching Leah Shirley grow up on Teen Mom since parents Amber Portwood and Gary Shirley first welcomed her into the world on 16 & Pregnant, but things have changed a lot in more recent years. Leah has been estranged from her mom, and has even made her desire known for her stepmom, Kristina, to adopt her. And now, Leah’s opening up about the situation to two of her mom’s close friends and costars.
Leah made it clear she didn’t want to run into her mom when traveling to New York for an anniversary celebration for ’16 & Pregnant.’
On Thursday’s episode of Teen Mom: The Next Chapter, Leah was talking to Gary while they were in NYC for the event, admitting that she didn’t “even want to be near” her mom after everything that has happened, including the videos that she’s posted on TikTok in which she’s talking about her family.
“My entire life, and probably before that too, she’s always been like this. She’s always been out to get people and just to make sure all the attention’s on her or something, and always turns herself into the victim of everything,” Leah said.
She admitted she doesn’t think her mom knows how bad her behavior has gotten.
Leah acknowledged that Amber has “mental problems” she’s battling, which might keep her from realizing that she’s “treating people like crap” — a very wise statement coming from a 16-year-old.
“I think maybe she doesn’t really realize that I’m the one that has been actively not wanting a relationship with her,” Leah said. “I feel like maybe I need to text her or something and let her know.”
During the trip, she had the chance to catch up with Maci and Catelynn.
Since they’ve been close with Amber in the past, Gary encouraged Leah to talk to them about the situation with her mom. And when she was able to talk to them alone, she went for it.
“I’m just kind of, like, done because it’s too much on me if she comes around every year once or twice and acts like everything’s perfect and tells me that she loves me and hugs me and stuff. Like, I can’t do that,” Leah admitted.
She added that while she understands her mom has “issues,” she “just can’t handle it myself.”
Maci and Catelynn both said they’re proud of Leah.
Like Gary predicted, Maci Bookout and Catelynn (Lowell) Baltierra were both happy to share their support for Leah, with both of them saying how proud they were of her.
“I just want to let you know it took me way into my adulthood and having my own children to be able to look at my mom and say, ‘I don’t want anything to do with you,'” Catelynn said. “It was one of the hardest things I ever had to do, so to see you at your age making those boundaries to protect your own mental health and your peace, that’s huge.”
She added, “You’re doing hard work and I don’t know if you even realize it, but I’m proud of you.”
