From holidaying with their exes to sticking up for their old co-star, it’s been another busy week for the stars/former stars of the Teen Mom franchise! In an effort to bring you up-to-date on the latest Teen Mom Family Reunion, Teen Mom OG and Teen Mom 2 news, The Ashley brings you the Teen Mom News Pile.
Here are some of the major (and minor but interesting) ‘Teen Mom’-related things that happened over the last week or so…
Maci Bookout Explains Why She Invited Her Ex Ryan Edwards (and His Girlfriend Amanda Conner) to Easter Dinner
Ryan Edwards (and his met-in-rehab girlfriend Amanda Connor) spent Sunday breaking bread with Ryan’s baby mama Maci Bookout and her husband Taylor McKinney.
No, this isn’t an April Fool’s Joke…
The Teen Mom stars posed for an Easter Day portrait, along with Maci and Ryan’s son Bentley, and the photo was posted to Instagram by both Maci and Amanda.
In an interview with Us Weekly on Monday, Maci discussed her holiday meet-up with Ryan and Amanda.
“Ryan is doing really well,” she said. “I believe in a week, he’ll be a year sober, which I have never seen since his act of addiction really began. But he’s doing really well, doing the work.
“I feel like him and Bentley are in a really good place,” Maci continued. “All I say is hope and expectations are two different things. I’m still very, very hopeful every day. But I will also say that over the last year, I think expectations have changed a little bit too. He’s doing really well. It was really nice being able to have — for Bentley — all of his family in one spot. It was cool. It was great.”
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While some fans were surprised that Maci and Taylor would invite Ryan and his galpal into their home for Easter dinner, others– including several of Maci’s ‘Teen Mom Family Reunion’ co-stars– applauded them for their co-parenting growth.
“Love this for Bentley,” wrote Sean Austin (whom Maci commended in a later comment for being “rock solid for Bentley” stating, “he really looks forward to getting to hang with him.)
“Love this,” wrote Kayla Sessler.
As The Ashley has previously reported, Maci and Ryan have worked in the last year or so on repairing their once very strained relationship. Maci attended a few of Ryan’s many court dates in 2023, and, in a July 2023 interview, explained why she refuses to give up on her baby daddy, despite his recent legal and relationship issues (which include, but are not limited to, a divorce, numerous drug arrests and more).
“Ryan made bad decisions, but at the end of the day, his whole world has just completely fallen apart, and I just wanted him to know that just because this has all happened, it doesn’t mean I’m just going to quit on him,” Maci said, adding that she was doing it “mainly for Bentley. I felt like it was important for him to see me support his dad.”
In her interview on Monday with Us Weekly, Maci credited her husband Taylor for helping her and Bentley pursue a healthy relationship with Ryan.
“I feel like Bentley especially wouldn’t have had the courage to really keep pursuing and stay hopeful in certain situations, but I think Taylor provides that constant for Bentley and for me,” she said. “We can kind of dip our toe in the water here even if it’s scary because we always know this guy’s gonna be there. And it’s a lot of pressure on him, but he’s always there.”
Ryan began seeing Amanda last year, and Amanda and Maci seem to have a good relationship. In fact, last week Maci defended Amanda on Instagram after Amanda posted old photos of herself that appeared to be from an escorting site.
In the Instagram post, Amanda stated that someone was trying to expose details of her past by “finding old pics of me & trying to extort me.” Although Amanda didn’t name the person allegedly doing this, she did write that she decided to ‘expose’ the information herself before the other person could.
“So this is me airing out my past and keeping it real with everyone,” Amanda wrote.
Maci commented on the post, writing, “I don’t know anything about whatever ‘this’ drama is, but I do think being supportive of a woman trying to be better than her past self also makes the world a better place.”
‘Teen Mom Family Reunion’ Tanks Again in Ratings; Chelsea’s Houska’s Show Gets Ratings Boost
More and more ‘Teen Mom’ cast members are joining in on the ‘Teen Mom Family Reunion’ festivities, with Mackenzie McKee and her boyfriend Khessy Hall entering into the Dojo Mojo Casa house on the most-recent episode. Unfortunately (for MTV), more and more viewers aren’t really joining in.
Last week’s episode of ‘Teen Mom Family Reunion’ brought more abyssal ratings, with only 151,000 viewers tuning in to watch Maci, Catelynn & Co. slurp down margaritas and twerk in Spandex outfits. These ratings are slightly higher than those of the previous week’s episode. (That episode clocked in at only 135,000 viewers, making it the lowest-rated episode of a ‘Teen Mom’ show of all time.)
The March 27 episode of ‘Teen Mom Family Reunion’ had a .08 ratings share for the coveted 18-49 age group. Despite the low ratings, MTV has opted to keep the show on-air, and in its original Wednesday night slot.
Chelsea Houska’s show, meanwhile, climbed in the ratings a bit with its most-recent episode. ‘Down Home Fab’ clocked 602,000 same-day viewers (up from Episode 1’s ratings of 569,000 same-day viewers.)
Briana DeJesus Defends Jenelle Evans Against Haters; Says Jenelle Probably Needs Help Right Now
Jenelle has a friend in her former ‘Teen Mom 2’ co-star Briana DeJesus.
The fired ‘Teen Mom 2’ star— who is currently on the outs with her husband David Eason, as well as her mom Barbara Evans and just about everyone else who was once in her life circle— received some support from Briana on Twitter on Monday. After several accounts on Twitter replied to a post Bri made about wanting to buy a second house (mockingly suggesting that Briana buy Jenelle’s house on The Land if it goes on the market), Briana hit back, defending Jenelle in a series of statements.
“I’ll never understand how u guys can hate someone so much that u have to constantly talk crap about them…” Briana wrote. “I’ve had my fair share of saying mean things but I’ve learned a thing or two and I keep certain s**t to myself. Pls do better.”
When some of Jenelle’s online haters pushed back, mentioning Jenelle’s alleged neglect of her kids/animals, Briana doubled down, writing that Jenelle probably needs help right now.
“But the thing is…nobody really actually cares… actions speak louder than words… have u personally asked her if she needed any help?” Briana wrote to one account. “I’m sure rn she needs the most help. Instead of talking s**t maybe take some action in helping her move forward and help w/a safe environment?
“Being kind may actually help her… talking s**t and pointing out all her flaws does nothing but only make u feel better so how does that help the situation? Anyways I said enough! lol.”
Briana also blasted the social media users who create accounts to mock Jenelle.
“I see so many ppl say the craziest things about her and the kids and other former castmates,” Briana said. “I understand ppl dont agree with things but to constantly talk s**t or even make fake pages and dedicate their time to be so mean is just wild!”
Jenelle– who has had an on-and-off friendship with Briana over the years— has yet to comment on Briana coming to her defense.
Kail Lowry Reveals What She & Her Baby Daddies Did With the Money Their Kids Earned on ‘Teen Mom 2’
Kail recently hopped on TikTok to discuss the drama regarding Mama June Shannon allegedly spending all/most of her daughter Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson‘s reality TV money. (You can read about that here.)
During that same video, though, Kail gave her followers insight into the financial mistakes she made with the money from her early years on ‘Teen Mom 2.’ She also revealed how she and some of her baby daddies daddii have managed their kids’ TV money in more-recent years.
“I had no guidance. My mom is an addict and former drug user. I never met my dad until I was 18 and had no relationship. I had no financial guidance,” Kail said about her first years on the show. “I have made so much money and have nothing to show for the beginning dollars that I made.”
Kail said that she eventually got smart with her reality TV earnings.
“At some point I had to make changes and, in this industry, you eventually make connections that help you invest your money, make more-responsible choices… ultimately, for me, I wanted to see my money grow,” she said. “At some point I was like, ‘OK, we need to do something about this. Changes need to happen if I want this money to last longer, if I want it to increase, double, whatever.'”
Kail said that she eventually hired a good accounting firm and financial advisor to help her manage her money. She also made lucrative decisions when it came to managing her sons’ MTV earnings. (Only the first four of Kail’s seven kids have appeared on TV. Her last three– Rio, Verse and Valley– have not.)
“When I started TV, Jo and I were already split up— we split up that same first year— he was in control of half of [our son] Isaac’s money,” she said. “I’m in control of the other half of Isaac’s money. And, somebody from [MTV] had to come with us to set up these custodial accounts [which you can’t take money out of].”
(The Ashley wants to interject here and state that each of the ‘Teen Mom’ girls had a different financial situation for the money earned by their kids, as each state has its own rules.)
Kail said that, for her second son Lincoln, she and Lincoln’s dad Javi Marroquin each managed half their son’s money after they got divorced.
“We split [Lincoln’s] money in half where [Javi] has control of half and I have control of half,” Kail said.
Kail went on to state that she invested all of Lincoln’s money from the show that she had control of. When she showed Javi what she invested it in, he agreed to invest the other half of Lincoln’s money as well. (Kail stated that she has invested all of the money her sons Creed and Lux earned on ‘Teen Mom 2.’)
Kail went on to talk about the importance of keeping the kids’ money safe, adding that, if she found out that one of her baby daddies took their kids’ money, she would help her kid sue that parent.
Kail is not the only person from the ‘Teen Mom’ franchise to discuss publicly what they did with their kids’ MTV money. During a 2020 podcast interview, Tyler Baltierra revealed that his daughters are “set up for life” financially, thanks to the money they earned by appearing on ‘Teen Mom.’
“As far as [the kids] getting compensated for the show, my kids are totally set, they’re totally set up for life,” Tyler said. “They’re great. College is paid for. That was mine and Catelynn’s main thing; that each of our children have trust funds that their [MTV] money goes into and they can’t touch.”
To catch up on more recent ‘Teen Mom’ news, click here!
(Photos: MTV; Instagram)
Ryan nor his little addict gf are sober, Maci needs to quit lying. They have made it very clear that they are still using by their psycho actions towards Mack. And to sit there and smile and wave with someone’s abuser simply because she doesn’t like the victim just makes Maci even more unlikeable. Just fucking disgusting.
“I’ll never understand how u guys can hate someone so much that u have to constantly talk crap about them…” Briana wrote. Well, that’s ironic considering she can’t keep Kailyn’s name out of her mouth and even went as far as sending her exercise equipment implying Kail’s fat.
What I find funny is when Kail explained why she had a hard time losing weight and that she had the same thing Maci has. Bri claims she has it too. I’m glad Kail handle the whole thing good. And on top of that Bri got made when Kail’s ex Javi went to the podcast when he was dating Bri but Bri went to Kail’s ex Chris’s podcast. Kind of sounds like Bri is a jealous witch.
That was years ago. Karl started it and couldn’t handle someone clapping back. She deserved it.
People grow and change. Sounds like Bri might’ve also.
Also, isn’t talking shit exactly what ALL of us are doing here? 😂
I mean how many more times are they gonna make the tm crew go on vacation,acting a fool, and doing therapy sessions another entire season. It’s getting repetitive and old. Just cancel it and move on
Maci’s comment about Bentley’s whole family being together for Easter is slimy af. Maci is just totally erasing that Bentley has two other half-siblings.
My thoughts exactly
Omg I could NEVER go this hard for my ex like Maci does. At this point it’s stupid. Bentley is at an age where you’re doing more damage than good for forcing this damned relationship. The guy is a loser. He can figure his life out on his own.
Jesus Christ my son slowly but surely (when he was ready) pulled away from his father. He is 15. I never fought hard to make him be the father he should be. Why? Because I had enough stress on myself as a single mother raising 2 kids on my own. Why burden myself with my ex? My kids are thriving and happy and they see their dad for who he is without my help or “brainwashing” as he likes to call it. The guy has 4 kids 3 mothers and always moves, no stability, always broke and moochin off his latest victim. My kids are over it. They get all the love and have a father figure now and are healthy. I do know there is a void they feel and that’s when I step in and allow them to express all feelings good and bad and reassure them they’ll be okay and that we are always there. Maci will regret this one day. Poor kid.
Maci is 100% fake. This has zero to do with her fostering a relationship with Rhine for Bentley’s sake. She acts like a martyr. She is still years later doing this to get under Mackenzie’s skin. I can’t stand Mackenzie either but it is interesting that she lives rent free in Maci’s head.
I also spy with my little eye bruising on the inside of Rhine’s new girls arm. Kind of looks like track marks to me.🧐
Oh absolutely. This is totally about Mackenzie.
“Look how cool I am with your new gf who is not Mackenzie teehee”
“Hey Mackenzie look at me being cool with the new gf who is not YOU!! (also teehee)”
Maci only cares about $$$$ and is buddying up to Rhine because she thinks it will get people interested and keep her relevant. That’s all. She doesn’t care about anything else or how this affects anyone else.
I completely despise Brianna and her family. They are so vulgar and have no manners. That family is just trash, but I guess thats what this teen mom show is made of.
Jenelle should just go away, change her ugly name and everything else about her while she is at it.
Maci never got over Ryan. She doesn’t like McKenzie (I don’t blame her) so she is trying to get under her skin, she and loves the compliments she gets from people who for whatever the reason feels like she is worth to follow on SM. Also, I don’t believe that she is happy in her marriage. She begged, belittled and bullied Taylor into marring her MULTIPLE times she attempted to forcing him with this behavior until he finally did. In the back of her mind she got to know she wasn’t his soulmate, or his choice. All around toxicity.
Should also go away …
Man, Ryan’s girlfriend looks like she was rode hard and put away wet. Super awkward. I get that Maci wants to foster a relationship between Ryan and Bentley but she should let him pursue that. And while I can see inviting Ryan, I don’t understand why his girlfriend needs to be invited as well. Maci and Ryan’s dynamic is very… strange. And I agree that the main one being disrespected is Taylor.
I understood her fostering their relationship when he was little but I have a kid his age and I am not all up in his interpersonal relationships. This is weird.
Poor Beer Taylor, he doesn’t deserve this. He’s been the constant father-figure in Bentley’s life for a decade. He’s put in the hard work of parenting, day in and day out, and has treated him just like his biological children. Ryan threatened to shoot Taylor and now Maci has invited him into their home to spend Easter around their children and fawn over how great Ryan is for finally being a half-ass presence in Bentley’s life while he’s in and out of jail.
Don’t get this twisted.. Maci is NOT doing this to help Bentley and Ryan’s relationship, Bentley is a teen now, those two can work as men one on one without maci! This is about sticking it and disrespecting Mack.. Maci is not the nice sweet good person she pretends to be.
Dang Maci and the new chick really do look like sisters!
I am sorry to say this but I think the only reason why Maci gets along with Ryan now is because she never liked Mack. You can dislike someone all you want but when it comes to domestic violence, you have to listen to the victim. What would a good relationship with his dad do to Bentley if he will be in and out of jail? Same enabling as Jen and Larry are doing. You should have listened to your husband when he said this is not a good idea.
As soon as I saw the maci pic I knew exactly what her intentions were. Ryan can be sober all he wants but that doesn’t erase the fact that he literally tried to kill McKenzie and destroyed the house his small children lived in. “He’s been doing better” .. great. Someone can be doing better but you have to ESPECIALLY protect your kids from someone who has done horrible, dangerous things in the very recent past.
Her comment about “all his family being together” is a total snub at McKenzie. Bentley has half siblings from Ryan/mckenzie so no, his family was not all together. She absolutely didn’t have to phrase it that way but, Maci knows exactly what she’s doing.
Sure, I believe she wants the best for her son but girl to play it off like you all jolly and happy is insane when Ryan hasn’t even been remorseful for the violence and destruction he’s caused the other mother of his young children.
Yes, Maci, Rhyne is definitely the victim here.
Smh.
You can hate a person all you want but you can also be a bigger person by not dogging them and just continue living your own life. Hate someone go ahead, move on or you’ll just make yourself sound as bad or worse.
Brianna!
STFU!
That is all.
Exactly!!! She is the one who needs help on the psych ward and if Jenelle wants help, she will get it whenever she wants so the psychopath needs to mind her own business and worry about herself!!!
Maci can want Bentley to have a relationship with his father without this level of enabling.
This whole world fell apart bs. Yeah Rhine did that. He tried to kill his wife. He threatened to kill her multiple times, he destroyed the home of his kids. He made bad choices again and again and again.
The accountability taken by Rhine in the last year is a joke.
And inviting the drug-addict girlfriend who is a mess herself into her home with her child.
But most of all I can’t believe the disrespect to Taylor in all this. Rhine threatened to put a bullet in his head. Larry has made threats against Taylor. Taylor has been Bentley’s father for most of Bentley’s life. He coaches his sport teams, he is an active role of good in Bentley’s life and to invite the man who threatened him into the house under the guise of its good for Bentley is cruel. And then saying that its okay for Rhine to be a loser father because Taylor as been such a good father is just another layer of cruelty.
I think she is a narcissist. “All eyes on me now praise meeee!!! ”
It’s a move to improve the ratings, nothing more. Maci wants to keep getting the paycheck. Does anyone think their stupid t-shirts are selling? No, they need their MTV paychecks.
Maci has a total pick me girl energy. She never got over Ryan and that’s why she keeps enabling and supporting his behavior. Taylor deserves better.