Ryan Edwards and his fiancé Amanda Conner are both making amends to their sons after struggling with addiction through most of their oldest kids’ lives.
Last week, Teen Mom: The Next Chapter fans watched as Ryan apologized to his eldest son Bentley for not being there for him while he was growing up, due to his drug use and legal issues. On Sunday, Ryan’s fiancé Amanda reflected on getting another chance at motherhood now that she’s sober. (As fans know, Amanda is the mother of 12-year-old Brandon from a previous marriage, as well as daughter, Presley, whom she welcomed with Ryan in February.)
“Today my heart is full of gratitude as I reflect on the gift of sobriety, and the incredible journey I’ve taken to get here,” Amanda wrote on TikTok over footage of Brandon’s recent birthday party. “Being free from addiction has given me the chance to truly show up, not just for myself but for my son and my family in ways I never could before.”
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As The Ashley previously reported, Amanda regained full custody of Brandon in November, marking the first time she has had custody of him since she lost custody a year or so after his 2013 birth. On last week’s episode of ‘Teen Mom: The Next Chapter,’ Brandon explained that he was happy to be living with his mom for the very first time.
In her TikTok post, Amanda expressed her happiness about being able to make– -and keep plans— with her son now that she’s sober.
“I can now be present, make plans and create memories that once felt out of reach,” she wrote to her son. “I’m so proud to be your parent and I’m so thankful I get to be here, fully and completely for you.”
@amandaa_connerHAPPY BIRTHDAY BRANDON!! 🥳 i love you!!♬ Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) – Green Day
In the birthday party footage, Ryan and Bentley— as well as Ryan’s parents Jen and Larry Edwards can be seen joining in on the festivities for Brandon. (Maci Bookout‘s other kids, Jade and Maverick, can also be seen in the video.)
“I’m so very proud of you too!” Jen wrote to Amanda in the comment section of the post.
Like Ryan, Amanda struggled with drug use and legal issues for years before getting sober. (She met Ryan while both were attending the same rehab in 2023.)
The couple got engaged in 2024 and when they when they get hitched, it will be Ryan’s second marriage and Amanda’s third. She was previously married to a man in Florida (but that marriage only lasted a few months), as well as Brandon’s father (aka Brandon Sr.), whom she filed for divorce from in November 2019.
When Amanda and Brandon Sr. lost custody of their son in 2014, Amanda’s father and stepmom were given temporary custody of the boy. Amanda’s father died in September 2021, leaving Brandon Jr. in the custody of Amanda’s stepmom until Amanda regained custody of him in November.
Amanda gave multiple interviews last year while she was pregnant with Presley, stating that she was excited to get another chance to be a mom, given that she didn’t have custody of her firstborn for the majority of his life.
“For me, I can enjoy this pregnancy and I have a second chance at motherhood,” she told People. “For Ryan, he is in a place that he hasn’t been in for a long time. We are excited to move forward from our past mistakes.”
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Two addicts who didn’t play their role as parents, who messed up their pasts, who came together and got better, grew, and changed could NEVER be a bad thing. Anyone who hates on them for getting better has a lot of inner work to do.
No one has hated on them “for getting better.” They still get grief because they continue to be absolutely vile towards Ryan’s ex-wife AND their two kids. Anyone who glosses over that to pretend that they’ve truly changed has a lot of inner work to do.
Nothing to see here folks, just a couple junkies. Losers on parade. Thanks MTV.
Well yay for her, give her a medal. Meanwhile her son will be traumatized for his entire life for all she has put him through. Same as Bentley. The praise of Ryan and this chick makes me sick. Where’s the praise for all the people who never do anything wrong, never hurt anyone, never do terrible things, never traumatize their children, never take drugs, never break the law, and so on? One terrible person gets sober for a couple months and they practically get a parade. Give me a break. They both should’ve grown up a decade or two ago instead of destroying many people’s lives with their selfishness.
So we shouldn’t support people getting sober? We shouldn’t encourage them to do better? We shouldn’t say “good job” when they make progress? We shouldn’t say only praise the people who never struggle?
Not sure if you know this, but addiction is an illness. Doesn’t matter what they’re addicted to, they’re still sick. Getting clean is actually incredibly difficult. The detox alone (for me, it was opiates and alcohol) is absolute hell. People should be allowed to change and grow without people shitting on them. Not everyone experiences life on your timeline. Not everyone has access to appropriate resources on your timeline. If it takes someone 5 months to get clean, good for them. If it takes them 5 years, good for them. What’s important is that they are actively trying to do better and make amends. I’m by no means justifying their past behavior. I’m simply saying that they’re trying to do better now.
TLDR;-Ryan and Amanda have stagnated on their sobriety journey, and neither seems to intend to go much more beyond where they are now, which isn’t actually sober, only half-assed. They’re on the first rung still and don’t want to go any higher. Encouraging that behavior is enabling their addiction, not encouraging their sobriety.
I 100% support people who want to get sober and take the steps to do so. I do this knowing full well that the odds are over 90% of them will falter at multiple points in their life, sometimes falling even lower than they once were at what they thought was their lowest. It’s the getting back up and on that saddle, while limiting the damage done to others, which matters most in those moments. Neither one of them has gotten to the point where the latter is really possible. They are both still damaging people around them, they just don’t want to admit or accept that. That’s called stagnation, they are stuck on that rung of the ladder and it’s not by circumstance, but choice.
What I don’t support is people that go into it from the beginning half-assed, get to a certain point, go stagnate and say “see, I’m better now” and *intentionally* make themselves falter by refusing to go any further. This is where Ryan and Amanda are now. They seem sober, because their most damaging vices are seemingly “gone” from their lives, and they try to act as if they are better, but that’s really all it is, an act. Neither is willing to *fully* admit and accept responsibility for both past and present actions (that word present is important here). They are not actually sober, because they both still drink-which is a huge red flag. Ryan is still damaging his kids and his ex, intentionally, and Amanda not only does not care one iota, she’s joined in. That isn’t them continuing to try to do better, that is them coming to a full halt and reversing, on purpose.
Do I hope they get better and get past this stagnation in their sobriety journey? Of course I do. Do I think it’ll happen anytime soon? Nope. Will I like them any better as people if they continue? Nope. What Ryan did to those kids, and their home, wasn’t a product of his addiction-that was a product of Ryan, full stop. The addiction merely let the monster that already existed out. That monster still exists, Ryan has done nothing to admit it, Amanda has done nothing but continue to enable it.
I support sobriety journeys 100%, in all their glory and gloom, but that means I also support, encourage, and expect accountability and responsibility on the part of the addict. You can’t half-ass either one of those and expect to be even remotely successful in sobriety. I won’t coddle an addict because they’re “trying”. I will encourage and support them while they’re trying, but I’ll still hold them responsible and accountable for all past and present words/actions. I will also hold them responsible when they stop trying. That’s how you support an addict, not by tiptoeing around the nitty gritty and pretending half-assed is enough, it’s never enough. Also, both Ryan and Amanda had and have far more resources at their disposal than the vast majority of addicts, let’s not play that game, lol.
Sobriety takes a lifetime, period, there is no quick fix, there is no quick solution, there is no set timeline, but there also is no sobriety without full accountability.
I always enjoy the serious comments on here regarding sobriety, recovery and taking responsibility. A few of the addicts I’ve known (whether the vice was alcohol, opioids, meth or a combination) who didn’t take accountability for their actions and the pain they’ve caused loved ones eventually wound up dead. OTOH, one friend who owns her past mistakes and has been active in her recovery for over 20 years lives a good life.
One difference is my friend is a good person, and the other addicts in my life were $hitty people to begin with like Ryan, even before addiction. Also, my friend’s parents gave her a strong dose of tough love and literally kicked her out into the streets when she was in the throes of addiction. Rhine’s parents keep enabling him and all that’s done is left him stunted.
For the sake of the children involved and for the safety of their community (especially on the roads), I hope Rhine and Amanda ultimately have a successful recovery journey. But there’s still a lot of work to be done with a lot of soul searching for both of them.
Well said. I have 2 sons that were in and out of jail and they finally got sober, so yes addicts do recover. You have to fight for your sobriety as much as you fought to use drugs. I am happy for her and the whole family. Bentley will be a great big brother and they will both be great parents.
Everyone bitching that Rhine hasn’t apologised to Mack or is making it up to his children. How do you know this? You’re only seeing what’s shown in a few minutes of footage. And Mack wouldn’t say so. She would be seething right now that she didn’t get him well and ride the MTV gravy train. Like she planned.
Mack was a total bitch to everyone. She didn’t deserve what happened to her but Rhine and Amanda don’t deserve to live in misery forever either.
I hope they ALL can be truly happy and move forward with their lives for ALL the kids involved.
I hear ya. I hope Mack is doing good with the children. Rhine made amends to his son but it will never enough for some people.
Well, that’s an easy one to answer. We know from their divorce proceedings. Ryan was ordered to pay child support only a couple of months ago, after almost two years of not paying. He only sees his children for part of a day every other weekend at his parents’ house. Instead of having reimbursed Mack one red cent for the damage he inflicted on the house and his children’s belongings, he is claiming that she owes him money for items that were in the house he trashed that he claims she must have sold or lost. So, instead of trying to amicably give her a divorce, voluntarily agree to child support, and compensate her for the thousands of dollars of damage, he didn’t support his kids until a court made him while simultaneously claiming that he was the one that was owed money.
This is all a matter of public record. So, which part of that sounds like a guy who is making it up to Mack and his kids?
Amanda’s step mom must be a angel.
I know what Ryan did to Mack but this is what drug recovery is about. Eventually, you have to forgive yourself to get better. I love seeing these two with each other. I bet Maci is seething with anger.
Imagine being Mack’s kids and seeing these people playing house while they are totally forgotten, not included in anything, Ryan doesn’t even pay child support and didn’t pay a dime to fix the home and belongings he trashed. He didn’t even apologize or acknowledge what he did. Ryan is a POS and Amanda was petty AF to Mack even while pregnant and sober so she’s just a sh*tty person without the dr*gs
Buying Bentley a very expensive first vehicle. Granted Bentley is the reason ALL OF THEM have money to buy a expensive first vehicle.
Pretty sure Bentleys mtv money bought that jeep . He earned it being on tv since birth without consent .
Mack was sober and didn’t get the grace this junkie gets. It’s ridiculous. She never lost custody of her oldest child and she was absolutely hated.
Amanda and Ryan absolutely turn my
stomach. And Maci. She’s disgusting too.
Mack enabled Ryan and actually made things worse by doing so. She definitely didn’t deserve everything that he put her through but she’s not a saint either. She let him drive while high and yall act like she was the best person ever 😂
Yes that’s what I said. I said “Mack is the BeSt PeRsOn EvEr”.
“Let him”??
I can tell you’ve never met an adult before, bc adults don’t need permission to do anything.
He chose to drive high.
Amanda enabled Ryan even more than Mack did. Do you consider that not as big of an issue because she, too, is an addict? Amanda STILL enables Ryan, she’s the one currently with him and seemingly has no qualms with the fact that he’s stagnated on his journey to sobriety (ftr, I’m talking about his inability to admit and accept responsibility and take steps to remedy the things he’s done…you know, amends, and such). One would think someone who understands sobriety, on any level, would be able to recognize someone who is still in the throes of enabling behavior-which doesn’t always come with drug/vice use.
I’m not saying Mack did absolutely nothing wrong, or that she’s the best person ever (she clearly did not have her head on straight back then either). But she DID remedy her own issues, without compromising or harming others further, without needing to be coddled along the way. Is she perfect? Hell no, it’s just not something any human can or ever will be. But she’s a fuck ton better than both Ryan and Amanda combined. Sobriety is a lifelong journey. These two are still at the very beginning stage-and good for them on that one-but they have a long, long way to go. Now they’ve stagnated because “we’re better”-which is a very, very slippery slope.
The things Amanda and Ryan have done, even just one tiny incident, far surpass anything Mack has ever done on the “is this a bad thing” scale.
and Amanda “lets him” not pay his child support when he makes enough to do so. And shes a grown woman in her 30’s. Mack was like 20 at the most.
Little Brandon always look so uncomfortable, like he is forceing himself to smile. I hope he just doesn’t like being in pictures, but I don’t know..
Uh huh girl.
Mother of the Year.
Let me know when either acknowledges Mack or what the junkie asshole put her through.
I feel like she put herself thru it. She was an adult and chose to publicly marry a junkie. Ryan should make an amends with her. But noone else owes her anything, and she has to blame herself as well.
and amanda stays with a deadbeat that doesnt pay his childsupport. He couldnt even make sure his kids were ok after he put them through hell before knocking up some girl from rehab.
Oh look! Another publication up Ryan’s ass. The Ashley, absolutely love your site, but this article was not needed at all. Especially when Ryan has only sucked up to his one child that’s filming a tv show, making him money. We will believe it when he takes accountability for ALL his children. Amanda is a nobody and only talked about because she’s Ryan’s baby mama.
You know Jenelle is seething watching Amanda and Ryan make thousands of dollars per episode for their redemption story. If Jenelle had went this route and didn’t try to push her new man on MTV she could have had this story line. People even like MacKenzie now.
you know what? good for her, i always found it very weird how people pray on her and ryan’s downfall like they don’t have young children who were also affected that horrible disease and why wouldn’t people want kids to have good healthy parents
Yeah, Ryan destroying the home his children lived in and making death threats CONSTANTLY to multiple people should totally be forgiven. Hi, I’m over a decade sober. Fun fact: most addicts don’t behave like that unless they were assholes BEFORE the addictions. We’re usually content just to hurt ourselves and be horrible with money and honesty. But keep living in your fantasy world.
Fun Fact: Um that’s a lie. Addicts only hurt themselves?! Ha
💯
nobody ever said any of that, i’m literally talking about what the kids deserve, u chose to add all that extra stuff 😂
I hope she stays sober, but she went after Mack and was petty to someone she doesn’t actually know (e.g. her Halloween post). People rag on Amanda and Ryan because they just don’t seem to be good people even when they’re sober.
They drink so not totally sober.
Not everyone follows the 12 step route…I drink, I’m clean off hard drugs for over 2 years. Everyone’s route to recovery looks different. Same story with all these comments about “making amends”. Not everybody follows that path.