Ryan Edwards continues to grow closer with his son Bentley, now 16, after years of struggling with sobriety and maintaining the peace with the boy's mother, Maci Bookout.
On Thursday's new hour of Teen Mom: The Next Chapter -- as things between him, Maci, her husband Taylor McKinney and his girlfriend Amanda Conner seem more cordial than ever before -- Bookout allowed for a major milestone in the father-son relationship to happen.
The episode kicked off with her actually helping Amanda pack, as she revealed she recently regained full custody of her son. She previously shared on the show that her father was granted custody of him while she was in jail; like Ryan, she also battled substance abuse in the past. With a baby on the way, Ryan's kids with both Maci and Mackenzie, and the arrival of Amanda's son Brandon, it was time for them to move into a new home.
Amanda, however, wondered if Maci would be okay with Bentley sleeping over at their new place.
"This will be the first time where he goes where Ryan is living and be happy about it. It really only happened two times before," Maci said, agreeing it would be a great idea. "They've come such a long way and he adores you."
Speaking with husband Taylor later in the episode, she said there's finally "a safety level, a comfort level that's never been there before" when it comes to Bentley being alone with his dad. She also said she's excited for Bentley to make new memories with Ryan, Amanda and all their children -- adding, "I wanted it so bad for Bentley, but I didn't think it would ever happen."
After checking out the new home with his parents, Ryan and Amanda's son Brandon -- with Brandon adorably telling Bentley, "I'm really looking forward to having a big brother around" -- Ryan then took his son aside for father-son chat outside.
"Don't be sneaking out. I don't want a phone call in the middle of the night saying come get me," he jokingly warned Bentley. "When I was your age, I was definitely running around. But you're a good kid, I don't have to worry about you. When your mom was your age and I was little older, we had kids."
He then got serious.
"You know for the longest, I've not been in a good place," said Edwards, who has a string of arrests and rehab stints under his belt, before working on his sobriety.
"For a while, your momma didn't want us together at all. It made me mad, but I don't blame her now," he said, reflecting on how "great" they get along now while wishing they could have gotten to this place "a lot sooner."
"But I wouldn't want to deal with me either, I don't blame 'em. Your momma was just protecting you and I don't blame her either," he continued. "16 years later, here we are. I'm sorry it took this long, but it's better now than ever."
"I'd love to spend time with you whenever you want to come over here. I know we ain't been able to, but I would enjoy that," he said, adding that he should always feel okay telling him or his mother if he felt "uncomfortable" with any situation as they move forward.
"I never really got to like spend the night at a house you've been in," Bentley remarked, before Ryan acknowledged that "there were times I wasn't there for you." The episode ended with him adding, "but I hope I'm showing you it's a little different. I love you though."
As Bentley told his father he loved him too, the pair hugged it out.
Teen Mom airs Thursdays on MTV.
