‘Teen Mom’ Star Amber Portwood’s Daughter Leah Is in Therapy so She Can ‘Forgive’ Her Mom

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After watching the 16-year-old daughter Teen Mom star Amber Portwood shares with ex Gary Shirley grow up from the time she was born on 16 & Pregnant, it’s hard to believe that she’s already well into her teenage years herself. There have been a lot of ups and downs for Amber over the years, and now, Leah is taking control of the trauma she’s faced as a child by starting therapy in the hopes of learning how to “forgive” her mom.

On the newest episode of Teen Mom: The Next Chapter, Leah said she was hoping to “overcome” the issues that she’s carried over the years because of her mom.

“I just think I have a lot of, like, issues because of Amber in the experiences I’ve had,” Leah told her dad, Gary, in one scene (via Us Weekly). “I want to overcome that so I can be able to forgive her and just move on, and I think that it would help to have someone to guide me on how to forgive someone because it’s hard for me to do that.”

In a confessional scene, Leah admitted she thinks she has “abandonment issues” from Amber not being around so much in her childhood. Leah has mostly lived full time with her dad and his wife, Kristina, while Amber has appeared to be in and out of her daughter’s life – including spending more than a year in prison after she was convicted on drug-related charges.

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“I do know that there’s a lot of things going on that makes it difficult for her to be able to be there for me,” Leah told the MTV cameras. “I feel like it does affect me every day because I’m always scared that Kristina is going to leave me. I’m always scared that people are just going to leave me for no reason.”

Gary also made it clear that he’s supportive of his daughter, telling her, “I just want you to have somebody to talk to that’s a safe space. I want you to be happy. I love you.”

Earlier this month, Amber concerned fans after she went off in a video on TikTok, ranting about a fan who was showing support to Gary.

“You’re gonna stand with Gary? Then stand with him. And burn in h— with him,” she said during the rant.

Meanwhile, a source told The Sun that those in Amber’s life were “particularly upset” about the things she said about Gary in the video. “She’s struggling with her mental health right now, and hasn’t been able to recover from her recent setbacks,” the insider said.