{"id":152838,"date":"2025-02-28T02:01:58","date_gmt":"2025-02-28T02:01:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/28\/amber-portwoods-daughter-leah-wants-to-be-adopted-by-kristina-shirley\/"},"modified":"2025-02-28T02:01:58","modified_gmt":"2025-02-28T02:01:58","slug":"amber-portwoods-daughter-leah-wants-to-be-adopted-by-kristina-shirley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/28\/amber-portwoods-daughter-leah-wants-to-be-adopted-by-kristina-shirley\/","title":{"rendered":"Amber Portwood’s Daughter Leah Wants to Be Adopted by Kristina Shirley"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Courtesy of Gary Shirley\/Instagram<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Amber Portwood<\/strong><\/a>\u2019s relationship with daughter Leah appears to be more distant than ever before.<\/p>\n

On the Thursday, February 27, episode of Teen Mom: The Next Chapter<\/i><\/a>, Leah, 16, opened up to Cheyenne Floyd<\/strong><\/a> about the possibility of being adopted by Kristina Shirley<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t really talked to [Amber] or seen her in awhile. It\u2019s fine,\u201d Leah said. \u201cI don\u2019t really care anymore. I kind of want Kristina to adopt me. I\u2019ve been wanting it for awhile just because Kristina\u2019s been there for me since I was, like, in kindergarten and before that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Amber, 34, welcomed Leah in 2009 with ex Gary Shirley<\/strong> and documented her pregnancy journey on 16 and Pregnant<\/i>. After the pair broke up, both Amber and Gary, 38, continued to allow MTV to document their lives as part of the Teen Mom<\/i> franchise.<\/p>\n

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\n Related: <\/span>What Amber Portwood Thinks of Gary Shirley\u2019s Wife Possibly Adopting Leah<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tJon Kopaloff\/FilmMagic ; Courtesy of Gary Shirley\/Instagram Amber Portwood isn\u2019t on board with the idea that her daughter Leah could be adopted by Gary Shirley\u2019s wife Kristina. \u201cHaving Kristina adopt Leah would never happen on Amber\u2019s watch,\u201d a source exclusively shared with Us Weekly. \u201cShe wants to be in Leah\u2019s life. She is not looking [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Gary and Kristina, 37, got married<\/a> in November 2015 and welcomed a daughter named Emilee that same year. Over the years, Leah began to spend more and more time with her dad and stepmom.<\/p>\n

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In recent episodes, Amber admitted that her relationship with Leah wasn\u2019t as tight as she hoped it would be. At the same time, she acknowledged her mental health struggles \u2014 including a bipolar disorder diagnosis \u2014 have prevented her from being the best possible mom.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith my daughter, she doesn\u2019t want to be around me,\u201d Amber said on the February 6 episode<\/a> of Teen Mom: The Next Chapter<\/i>. \u201cI\u2019ve never been a mom that didn\u2019t care. Just a f\u2014ed up mom.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Gary previously discussed the idea<\/a> of Kristina adopting Leah, a source told Us Weekly<\/em> Amber would not be onboard. \u00a0\u201cHaving Kristina adopt Leah would never happen on Amber\u2019s watch,\u201d an insider shared<\/a> in July 2024. \u201cShe wants to be in Leah\u2019s life. She is not looking to hand off parental responsibility to somebody else.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Courtesy of Kristina Shirley\/Instagram<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In her candid talk with Cheyenne, 32, Leah described the rare occasions when she hangs out with her mom.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I do see her, she acts like everything is perfectly fine, and I haven\u2019t seen you in months. Why are you talking to me like this?\u201d Leah asked. \u201cObviously she has a lot of things going on, lots of difficulties, but I feel like I can\u2019t handle it. I wish I could but I can\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Leah admitted that \u201cit would be good\u201d to one day meet up and have a sit down with Amber, she doesn\u2019t know when would be a good time.<\/p>\n

After listening to Leah\u2019s experience, Cheyenne called the whole situation \u201cunfortunate and sad.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s nobody that could keep me from showing up for [my daughter] Ryder,\u201d she said in a confessional interview. \u201cIt\u2019s really hard to understand. I would be at their house damn near every day trying to fight for my relationship with my child.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Related: <\/span>Teen Mom OG’s Amber Portwood, Daughter Leah’s Ups and Downs Over the Years<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tAmber Portwood\u2019s fraught relationship with daughter Leah has been documented on Teen Mom OG over the years. Portwood gave birth to her baby girl in 2008 with then-boyfriend Gary Shirley. The former couple split three years later, with Shirley going on to wed Kristina Anderson, with whom he shares daughter Emilee. As for Portwood, the [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

After speaking with Cheyenne, Leah reiterated her hopes that she could one day be adopted by Kristina. While her dad agreed to speak with an attorney to get information on what steps he would need to take, he warned his oldest daughter about the possible heartache it would cause.<\/p>\n

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