In 2009, MTV viewers were introduced to Amber Portwood and her then-boyfriend, Gary Shirley, in 16 and Pregnant. They went on to star in various iterations of Teen Mom after their daughter, Leah, was born and they split for good. There has been conflicting information, however, about Amber Portwood paying child support through the years – and interestingly, her ex Andrew Glennon recently defended her.
To recap, Leah was born in 2008. After Amber and Gary split in 2010, she dated other people, faced drug and domestic violence charges, served 16 months in prison, and gave birth to a second child. She and her now ex-boyfriend Andrew welcomed a son they named James in 2018. Currently, Andrew has sole legal and primary physical custody of James, and Gary and Amber have shared custody of Leah.
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Recently, an insider said Gary claims Amber Portwood hasn't paid child support for years.
In November 2024, a source spoke to Us Weekly about Gary and Amber’s “rocky” co-parenting relationship.
“He’s claiming that Amber has not paid child support for years and he may want to take her to court for back payments,” the source said. “Because their relationship was so long ago, Gary and Amber never set up formal protocols for payments.”
Amber's ex Andrew Glennon verified Amber has paid.
On December 13, Andrew set the record straight about Amber paying Gary child support.
“My reaction was that it was not true,” he told Us Weekly. “I regularly witnessed Amber paying throughout our relationship. Oftentimes, I would go with her to hand deliver the funds.”
Andrew also offered an update on how co-parenting is going with Amber.
Although Amber and Gary have reportedly faced issues, Andrew and Amber have reportedly been doing well with their co-parenting relationship.
“Our communication has improved dramatically,” Andrew told Us Weekly. “We are able to be on the same page for the sake of our son. [James and Amber] are in constant communication, daily Facetiming and lots of calls.”
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Interestingly, Amber recently re-emerged on Instagram for the first time in a year.
On December 12, 2024, Amber posted on her Instagram grid for the first time in nearly a year. Her most recent update before then was on December 30, 2023.
“Hi loves! it’s been a year long break from social media, but I’m back! Amber🌸,” she captioned an edited photo of herself with a black cat.
Fans flooded the comments with positive messages.
In the comments of her unexpected Instagram update, fans showered Amber with uplifting messages.
“Sending love always, Amber 💜,” one wrote.
“Wanted to show you some love as a fellow borderline 🤍,” someone else shared, referring to Amber’s borderline personality disorder and bipolar disorder diagnoses.
Another commented, “Aww welcome back … Take it day by day and don’t let people bring you down you are stronger then u think. Stay positive girl.”
