Amber Portwood took viewers (and at least one producer) on a rollercoaster ride during Thursday’s episode of Teen Mom: The Next Chapter after admitting that she faked a pregnancy scare just to get out of filming the MTV reality series.
Thursday marked the second episode of the new season and the first to feature Amber. While “Amber’s” segments largely focused on Amber’s ex Gary Shirley, Gary’s wife Kristina and Amber and Gary’s teenage daughter Leah, Gary hinted that Amber’s mental health issues may have something to do with Amber’s distant behavior, claiming that he had messaged her “a few times,” but hadn’t received a reply.
“A person with bipolar disorder, there’s ups and downs,” Gary said.
Gary went on to speak about Leah and Amber’s ongoing estrangement and how Amber’s diagnosis has seemingly contributed to that, as well.
“ … When [Amber’s] up, she’s feeling good, she might think everything’s perfect and want things a certain way, like, ‘Oh, I really am sorry, but now I want you to instantly forgive me for years and years of abandonment,’” he said. “It don’t work that way. I want Leah to have a relationship with her mother … but at this point, it’s really not even enough to feel like it’s worth it.”
As the episode continued, viewers watched as ‘Teen Mom’ producers and a camera crew showed up at Amber’s house to film with her, only for Amber to request that a producer bring her a pregnancy test and for filming to be postponed to the following day.
“ … [I] don’t want all of them in here,” Amber told the producer in a conversation that was picked up by a microphone. In response, the producer asked if Amber really believed she was pregnant.
“It’s possible,” she claimed. “It was an ex. I’m freaking out right now. I’m scared. Just pray for me that I wasn’t too much of a jackass.”
Later on, viewers watched as the producer and film crew returned to Amber’s home where the producer pointed out that the pregnancy test that had been brought to Amber remained unopened. When questioned about this, Amber admitted that she hadn’t taken the pregnancy test before going on to reveal that she never actually needed one in the first place.
“ … There’s been many times in my life where I’ve had to lie in order to get out of doing things because I’m not able to get ready, get dressed, move around, do anything,” she explained. “You just lie to people and say, ‘I’m busy, I have this sickness.’ You want to make up something to where they’re like, ‘We’re not going to do anything,’ [or] ‘You don’t have to film.’”
Amber confirmed that she wasn’t pregnant before suggesting that her actions were a result of her being in a dark place.
“When you start lying in order to be alone, that’s me in the darkest,” she said.
When asked if her (very dramatic) split from fiancé Gary Wayt (aka Gary 2.0) had anything to do with the way she was feeling, Amber confirmed that it did, noting that the situation had left her “more than heartbroken.”
“I’m f**ked up from what he did to me,” she told the producer. “We’re talking trauma. Being told you’re a murderer and thinking your fiancé is dead. I did not sleep for four days, I did not eat.”
(As The Ashley previously reported, Gary 2.0 went “missing” in June after attending the wedding of Amber’s brother, Shawn Portwood, in North Carolina. Days after Gary 2.0’s disappearance, Amber tearfully begged fans for prayers for her fiancé, who reportedly stormed out of their vacation rental home without his phone and without contacting Amber or his family. The search for Gary 2.0 went on for several days– with Gary 2.0 even being listed as a missing person in North Carolina– before he was spotted in Oklahoma and New Mexico. Gary 2.0 later contacted police to let them know he was “missing” by choice and not in any danger.)
Amber claimed on Thursday’s episode that she didn’t know “what’s going to happen” with Leah or James– the son she shares with ex Andrew Glennon– noting that the situation with both children is different, as her relationship with James is “magic.”
“ … With my daughter, she doesn’t even want to be around me,” Amber said. “I’m understanding right now that I don’t have a choice.”
Amber vowed to “wait” for Leah to come around and to also focus on not being “a horrifically depressed person.”
“I’ve never been a mom that didn’t care,” Amber insisted during the episode. “Just a f**ked up mom.”
New episodes of ‘Teen Mom: The Next Chapter’ air Thursdays on MTV.
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