Getting emotional. Amber Portwood broke down in tears while describing her strained relationship with her 12-year-old daughter, Leah, whom she shares with ex Gary Shirley. The reality star, 31, revealed during the Tuesday, September 14, episode of Teen Mom OGthat Leah refused to go to therapy with her in an attempt to mend their relationship.
“It truly breaks my heart that Leah and I are drifting apart,” the 16 & Pregnant alum said. “For the past six years, I’ve been seeing a psychiatrist. I really think if I could go to therapy with Leah, it would bring us closer together. But Gary and his wif Kristina Anderson feel differently.”
She added, ”We’ve already talked about therapy for Leah, but Gary wasn’t for it at all. Therapy is a good thing to get you and your mother back together and having that mediator can get you to open up and understand a bit. I think she’ll be happier in life to understand a bit more of what the past was and how I am today.
It’s okay to have a mom that has been through these things. You shouldn’t be ashamed about it. Therapy is something that needs to happen, but there’s nothing I can do about it because Gary does have primary custody of her.” Later in the episode, Gary, 34, and his wife spoke about Leah’s hesitance to mend her relationship with the Never Too Late author.
“I talked to Leah last night about seeing if she was open to going to therapy,” Gary explained. “I know she’s against it, but I told her to think about if it’d be beneficial for her. I’m not going to sit here and make Leah go somewhere because it’ll help Amber. How can I encourage Leah to do something she doesn’t want to do if her mom’s not doing what she needs to do?”
