‘Teen Mom OG’s’ Amber Portwood Breaks Down After Daughter Leah Chooses Ex, Gary Shirley, Over Her


Amber Portwood can’t seem to catch a break, and recently she was seen breaking down crying after she interpreted daughter Leah, eight, to have picked her ex over her. In a sneak peek for a new episode of Teen Mom OG, a heartbreaking scene occurs in which Leah reveals that during Christmas-time, she can only make one ornament in art class. With her parents not living together, the ornament can only go on one tree–and it isn’t going on Amber’s.

During the scene, which is difficult to watch, Amber Portwood asks her daughter if they had made an ornament in art class. When Leah announces she had made only one and insinuated it would go to her father’s house, Amber Portwood broke down in tears.

“Doesn’t mommy matter?” she repeatedly asked her eight-year-old child.

Leah was unsure of how to handle the situation, as she clearly didn’t want to hurt either parents’ feelings. Being diplomatic, and the most mature person in the group, she told her mother she would bring the ornament to Amber Portwood’s house the following year and it could sit on her tree then.

This didn’t seem to please Amber Portwood, as she broke down in tears, using a napkin to wipe her eyes.

“Do you have an eyelash in your eye?” Leah asked her mother innocently, hoping that she hadn’t actually hurt her mother’s feelings that badly.

“Yeah,” Amber responded.

She then suggested that Leah could make her an ornament when she visited her house.

Many say that Amber Portwood’s reaction was petty and out of control for a grown woman. Eight-year-old Leah has spent most of her life with Amber’s ex and Leah’s father, Gary Shirley. This is due to the fact that Amber Portwood has suffered from drug addiction and recently got clean and sober. The mom of one, unable to kick her drug habit, chose to go to prison for five years instead of another stint in rehab. While this may have helped her overcome her drug addiction, it certainly damaged her relationship with Leah in the crucial first years of her life.

Amber Portwood’s response might have also been over the top because she suffers from several mental disorders, and recently revealed that she was re-diagnosed with bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder.

In 2016, Amber Portwood became severely depressed, to the point that her fiancé had to drag her out of bed some days. She also stated that at first, she was embarrassed to admit she had been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder.

“When I got the diagnosis I wanted to keep it a secret. While everyone knew about my other diagnoses — I’ve had anxiety since I was a kid, for as long as I can remember — I guess it was tragic to think I had another mental disorder,” she confessed.

And while her disorders may have played a role in her overreaction to Leah not providing her with an ornament, she still could have handled the situation in a much more productive manner. Instead of forcing an eight-year-old to placate both of her parents, she could have simply suggested that the pair make a special ornament for Amber Portwood’s tree first, which would mean both sets of parents get to have something from Leah on their tree.

Amber Portwood has also recently admitted that she is not having more kids anytime soon, and may never do so. She says that in order to get pregnant, she would need to get off of her meds, something she’s not willing to do. Instead, she says she is prioritizing her mental health.

[Featured Image by Rich Polk/Getty Images]

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