Those who have followed Maci Bookout and Ryan Edwards' story since their 16 and Pregnant days know the Teen Mom stars have had a tumultuous relationship through the years. From welcoming their son, Bentley, when Maci was still in high school to a brief engagement, to breaking up for good, and an eventual restraining order, it's been a wild ride. But things might have just gotten even wilder.
During an exclusive interview with E! Online, Maci offered an update on how co-parenting with Ryan is going today. And longtime Teen Mom fans might be surprised by her comments. Let's take a closer look at their relationship today.
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Maci and Ryan spent time together with their son and partners on Easter.
Maci shared a photo via Instagram on March 31 that likely prompted Teen Mom fans' jaws to drop. "Easter Shenanigans ," she captioned a group photo. The image featured herself and her husband, Taylor McKinney, 15-year-old Bentley, Ryan, and Ryan's girlfriend, Amanda Conner.
Even Maci didn't see it coming.
"Who would have thought?" Maci told E! Online in an interview published on April 7. "It's definitely been hard. But I think we have been able to maintain this mutual respect."
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Communication between her and Ryan as co-parents is a lot more open these days.
"If one of us has a question, we are not afraid to call each other and the other pick up the phone," Maci explained. "It's like, 'What do you want to do about that? How do you want to handle this?' The communication is just so much more respectful. And I would say it's just easier."
Maci said she and Ryan 'got back to a place where we're actually just friends.'
In the latest chapter of their co-parenting journey, Maci and Ryan have gone back to the basics and developed a friendship. She credits being "just a bit more caring about how" they talk to each other and handle situations for the improvements. "We enter those conversations in a more gentle way, in a more understanding way," she told E! Online.
That doesn't mean things are perfect all the time.
Maci noted there can be bumps in the road even with the positive steps they've taken. "Still got a long way to go — don't get me wrong," she said. "But I can't believe we're, like, a year and some months into it and things are still very good."
The mom of three, who also shares Jayde, 8, and Maverick, 7, with Taylor continued: "We've still got a long way to go for where I think a normal co-parenting relationship could be, but I think naturally it's moving in a way that works for everybody, especially Bentley."
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