On Thursday’s episode of Teen Mom: The Next Chapter, Ryan Edwards apologized to his son Bentley for not being in a “good place” for much of the teen’s life.
As fans know, Ryan– who shares 16-year-old Bentley with ex Maci Bookout– hasn’t always been a very present father to Bentley. Although Ryan became sober in 2023 after years of addiction, a series of arrests and multiple trips to rehab, the father and son are still working to repair their once-fractured relationship.
On Thursday, ‘Teen Mom’ fans watched Ryan take accountability for some of his parenting shortcomings after he and fiancée Amanda Conner– whom he welcomed daughter Presley with in February– moved into a new home to accommodate their growing family.
(In addition to Bentley and Presley, Ryan has kids Stella and Jagger with soon-to-be ex-wife Mackenzie Standifer; Meanwhile, Amanda is also a mom to 11-year-old son Brandon, whom she was awarded full custody of in November after having lost custody a year or so after his 2013 birth.)
During Thursday’s episode, Maci told husband Taylor McKinney that when it came to Bentley spending alone time with Ryan, she was fine with it as there’s “a safety level” and “comfort level that’s never been there before. Maci also said she was excited for Bentley to have the opportunity to make new memories with Ryan and Amanda’s growing family, admitting that she always wanted that for Bentley, but “didn’t think it would ever happen.”
Later on, Bentley visited Ryan and Amanda’s new home with his grandparents Jen and Larry Edwards and at one point during the visit, Ryan and Bentley stepped outside to talk. While their conversation began with Ryan making jokes about all the “running around” he was doing at Bentley’s age, Ryan actually went on to take some accountability for his past actions.
“You know, for the longest, I’ve not been in a good place,” Ryan told Bentley. “For a while, your mama didn’t want us together alone at all and I don’t blame her. It made me mad, but I don’t blame her now.”
As the conversation continued, Ryan noted how well everyone gets along now and how much he wished they could’ve gotten to that place sooner; however, Ryan also admitted that he wouldn’t have wanted “to deal with me either,” telling Bentley he didn’t blame Maci or Taylor for “protecting” Bentley during that time.
“ … 16 years later, here we are,” Ryan said. “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,” he continued. “I know we ain’t been able to, but I would enjoy that … .”
In response, Bentley pointed out to Ryan that he’d never really had the opportunity to spend the night at his house, a comment that prompted Ryan to own up to the fact that there were times when he wasn’t there for Bentley, but not before assuring Bentley that if he were “ever uncomfortable with anything,” he could tell his mom if he didn’t want to tell Ryan himself.
“ … I hope I’m showing you it’s a little different,” Ryan added. “I love you, though.”
Thursday’s episode ended with Bentley telling Ryan he loved him too and the father and son sharing a hug.
New episodes of ‘Teen Mom: The Next Chapter’ air Thursdays on MTV.
RELATED STORY: Maci Bookout Defends Her Support of ‘Teen Mom’ Co-Star Amber Portwood: “I’m Not Going to Stop Caring”
(Photos: MTV; Instagram)
27 Responses
I agree with that. I have no idea what goes on between her and their kids. If it were me in that position it would scare the shit out of me to have to approach that. I’m not saying it’s acceptable. He needs to do something about it.
Now that all the hard work is done & you are almost entirely self sufficient I’m not opposed to spending time with you! IF you want to come to my house & do pretty much alllll the leg work to make it happen I am wide open 🙄
Ehhhh at least he is trying. This is probably the farthest I’ve seen him come. I’m actually shocked he apologized on tv. He seems genuine and Bentley seems to have handled it well obviously because of Maci and Taylor. Even when he was with Mac- he never seemed happy and clearly wasn’t sober. That marriage should have never happened but he seems happy with Amanda, I just hope they can stay on the straight and narrow! Don’t do it for each other- do it for the kids! 💜
We can say he’s trying when he apologizes to Mack and his other kids for trashing their home, refusing to pay for any of the damage, and continuing to try to short Mack on child support.
Oh look – Ryan was paid to apologize to his son for being a deadbeat for 16 years. Bentley looks like he doesn’t get paid enough to listen.
So it took him 16 YEARS to aknowledge he was a deadbeat father?! Does he want praise for that or…like you can see even in these stills that Bentley is very skeptical of this sudden apology…he basically had Taylor as a dad figure ever since he and Maci started dating so at least he had ONE stable male figure in his life…your kid is a teen now Ryan, he doesn’t need you that much anymore…(It’s the same thing as I imagine is happening with Gannon and Josh…now that their children have grown up into teens, NOW they want to suddenly talk to them) I hope Bentley is smart enough to see right through him and cuts him off at 18.
I’ll believe Ryan has fully changed when he aknowledges all the sh*t he did to Mackenzie as well.
Yep.
He hasn’t changed. He still blames Mack for his drug use and behavior.
And he always will.
And I bet he’s about 2 seconds away from hitting the pipe again anyways.
He’s the male Jenelle and Amber of TM.
I’d rather see him apologise to his other kids for destroying there house, possessions and smearing shit on the walls. Saying sorry to one of his kids doesn’t mean he isn’t a vile excuse of a human still.
At least Ryan and Amanda are more interesting than Maci and Taylor.
I can appreciate the fact that he’s trying to do better now and I hope his actions continue to show change
I guess Amanda and Ryan really turned things around, good for them!! I hope they make it and keep making a better tomorrow.
Great, now his other two children just need to wait 16 years for him to apologize for being a violent junkie that completely trashed their home and belongings.
I’m sorry, are we supposed to congratulate Ryan for being a POS for 16 years and apologizing now? Gtfoh
I wish them all well.
Would you rather Ryan not change?
My comment makes no sesnse lol, i was trting to reply to the post by “my name” below and i didnt hit the right reply button.
He hasn’t changed though.
See, but you don’t know that though. You’re not around him talking to him or something. I did a lot of things in my younger years that I’m not proud of. I wasn’t a drug addict and never destroyed a house. But I hurt people around me with my actions and words. I have severe mental health issues and they went untreated for a long time. A lot of drug addicts are people who struggle with mental health. I’m sure you know they self medicate.
I think people would like him to take accountability for what he did to Mackenzie’s home, where his other two children live, and the trauma he’s caused them before believing he’s changed
As a teenager I would have been mortified to have very personal moments filmed for tv, opening yourself up for the world to judge. I understand not everyone is like that and I’m sure Bentley being filmed his entire life makes him more comfortable with the cameras. But I am a little surprised that the majority of teen mom kids allow their teen years to be filmed. I know the parents are way overpaid to do the show, did they ever say how much the kids make?
Relax, I thought it was a nice moment for Bentley. Also, the other baby momma may not be as conducive in the process as Maci has been. Plus, Ryan looks and sounds great for once.
The ‘other baby mama’ had her entire house trashed by Ryan. Ryan, who brought a loaded gun waiting for her and their children to come home. Ryan, who has a fulltime job plus an income of 35K an episode, and won’t pay child support for his children he helped create.
Sounds like a great guy..
Exactly. How quick people forget what was done to the “other baby mama” and THEIR innocent children. I hope he has apologized to them when he sees them the handful of times a year at Jen and Larry’s. I hope he has apologized to Mackenzie. In my opinion, Amanda has put a lot of effort in creating/maintaining a relationship with Maci. Why not put that kind of effort into creating one with Mackenzie- creating a healthy coparenting relationship for the “other two kids”. They deserve it more than anything. It’s sad.
“Conductive”? Maci has no dignity and she’s an enabler. I sure hope Mackenzie is not like her
I agree, this was a nice moment. I would guess he will try to make amends with his other children also, just might not be the right time for all involved.
I do agree it was a nice moment for Bentley. Beyond that, however, you’re way off the mark.
It is absolutely no one else’s job to be “conducive to the process” when it comes to Ryan taking accountability for his life choices, possibly mending relationships that he-alone-shattered and employing personal responsibility. It doesn’t matter which “baby momma” we’re talking about, or even which person. It’s not even on Bentley to be “conducive to the process”. it is 100% on Ryan. He’s not even “conducive to the process” himself, because he’s only half-assing this accountability thing. Having one feel-good moment, beneficial as it is for Bentley, doesn’t change any of that.
Looking and sounding good doesn’t actually mean someone IS good, though. I’ve seen many an addict (and that’s nto taking ANY of his myriad of other issues into account) go even years sounding and looking good. But until they really start fixing things they’ve broken, it’s just a temporary paint job….not a repair. He won’t ever be better, until he actually starts doing better. How he looks and sounds is the absolutely tiniest piece of that very large and chaotic puzzle, almost negligent.
When’s this conversation gonna happen with his other 2 kids?
Yeah, that’s what I thought.
Get that check Junkie deadbeat