It’s hard to believe that viewers watched as Amber Portwood and Gary Shirley’s daughter, Leah, was born on “16 & Pregnant” over a decade and a half ago. Now, Leah is 16 years old and navigating her childhood trauma in real time on “Teen Mom: The Next Chapter.”
During the MTV spin-off’s latest episode, she opened up about beginning therapy in order to one day forgive her mother, Amber.
“I just think I have a lot of, like, issues because of Amber in the experiences I’ve had. 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 guide me on how to forgive someone because it’s hard for me to do that,” Leah shared.
Throughout most of her childhood, she primarily lived with her father, Gary, and his wife, Kristina. Leah suggested she had “abandonment issues” from Amber being in and out of her life.
Now 34 years old, Amber was previously convicted of drug-related charges in 2012 and spent 16 months behind bars. Gary had received full custody of Leah shortly beforehand in December 2011.
“I do know that there’s a lot of things going on that make it difficult for her to be able to be there for me,” Leah admitted.
“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.”
Coupled with these feelings of abandonment are the challenges of growing up on screen. In the “Teen Mom: The Next Chapter” episode, Leah spoke to her father about how friends and classmates have learned she’s on TV.
Moreover, she’s encountered TikTok videos with old “16 & Pregnant” clips, some of which include domestic violence.
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Leah told Gary that she feels as though she has “a lot of issues” due to Amber and her childhood experiences.
“I know. Honestly, Leah, no joke, I wish I would have done more. I wish I would have taken you and left instantly and not like left you there. It wasn’t like she [Amber] technically had custody,” he responded.
Gary ultimately asked Leah if she wanted to attend therapy, and she said yes. Later in the episode, viewers followed along as Gary drove Leah to her therapy appointment and offered his support, saying, “That’s your space, so I want you to have a bond and a trust with the therapist.”
His wife, Kristina, also posed the question of whether it might be beneficial for Leah and Amber to attend therapy together. Gary didn’t think so.
“No. Now, it’s to a point where you’re giving up on somebody who’s given up on you. There’s a difference there. She built a boundary where, you know, ‘I’m not going to allow myself to keep getting hurt because it’s hurting me. It’s messing with me.'”
According to Kristina, it has been “four months again with no contact” from Amber. That’s why, moving forward, Kristina and Gary intend to follow Leah’s lead in the situation and “go with what [she] wants.”
