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This week’s episode of Teen Mom: The Next Chapter is bringing the tears — happy and sad.
We get the return of Kailyn Lowry in this mini Teen Mom family reunion as Maci Bookout’s husband, Taylor McKinney, makes amends with Ryan Edwards’ family after everything they’ve been through.
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Meanwhile, Amber Portwood has a total breakdown when her daughter Leah doesn’t want her to celebrate her 16th birthday with her after the disaster that was last year’s party. Spoiler-filled recap ahead for Season 2, Episode 24 of Teen Mom: The Next Chapter, “Throw Me In The Deep End”.
Amber Portwood Gets Shut Out of Leah’s Sweet 16
Let’s start with the birthday girl. Leah Shirley is turning 16 and while she may be going back to the same restaurant she celebrated at last year, she is not looking for a repeat with mom Amber Portwood. If you remember, Amber ruined Leah’s 15th birthday by calling her a “dick” and monopolizing the conversation with talk of her boyfriend, so it makes sense that she’s not getting another invitation. (Honestly, Leah just seems really done with her mom at this point, and I don’t blame her.)
Meanwhile, Amber is really upset that her daughter doesn’t want her to celebrate her Sweet 16 without her, and she breaks down on the phone with her brother about wishing she could be forgiven for all her absent years.
She tries to mend fences by sending a present and a card to Leah, but those just end up upsetting her, so Amber probably should have just stayed away from this one. Luckily, Leah has a really loving stepmom in Kristina Shirley, who presents her with a beautiful ring as a gift as she promises to always be there for her. You could really tell how much this meant to Leah, and it was a moment that had me reaching for the tissues.
Kailyn Lowry Returns to ‘Teen Mom’
Now grab your mic, because we’re going on a podcast road trip with Catelynn Lowell, Tyler Baltierra, Maci Bookout and former Teen Mom 2 star Kailyn Lowry! These guys all meet up in Chattanooga for a little podcast swap session, and I’ve gotta say, it was good to have Kail back on Teen Mom after her 2022 exit.
I know she’s living her best life as a podcaster and mom of seven now, but she lifted the episode a little bit with her cameo. Although she looked a little tentative about having returned after listening to Catelynn and Tyler once again complain about being blocked by daughter Carly’s adoptive parents as they say they won’t be backing down from sharing their feelings on the situation openly. Looks like the conversation they had with their adoption counselor earlier this season about keeping things off of social media didn’t quite get through to them.
Taylor McKinney and Ryan Edwards Work It Out
Elsewhere, Maci’s husband Taylor is working through his own feelings about Ryan now that they’re all kumbayah as a family. Taylor is obviously glad that Ryan has gotten sober and that their family war seems to be over, but he tells Tyler that he wishes he could at least get an apology after everything that’s happened.
And he looks like he’s going to get that apology sooner rather than later. After Ryan’s dad Larry kind of facilitates a heart-to-heart between the two guys at Amanda Conner’s baby show, Taylor and Ryan agree to go golfing and hash things out — probably off camera and probably for the best.
Leah Messer Celebrates Her Recovery
And speaking of sobriety, Leah Messer made a brief appearance in this week’s episode as she gave a speech about her own journey with addiction at a recovery awareness event, even shouting out her father for getting sober and repairing their relationship after so many tough years. A heartwarming moment to end the recap!
