On a recent episode of the Dad Up podcast, Maci Bookout and Ryan Edwards opened up about the ups and downs of their co-parenting relationship, revealing that there have been a lot more ups than downs since Ryan became sober in 2023 following a(nother) stint in rehab.
Earlier this month, the Teen Mom: The Next Chapter stars, who share 16-year-old son Bentley, spoke to host Bryan Ward and Bryan’s wife, Andrea, about the steps they took to improve their co-parenting dynamic, with Ryan confirming that for him, the first step to making things right was to get sober and become “someone that someone even wanted to be around or speak to.”
While Maci agreed that Ryan’s sobriety did, in fact, play a “massive role” in improving their co-parenting relationship, she revealed that getting to a positive place required her to make some changes in her life, as well.
“ … I had to do a lot of work, too, through Al-Anon and understanding what my role as Bentley’s mom is … ,” she explained, admitting that, for a long time, she felt as though she “had nothing to do” with Ryan’s relationship with their son, as it was ultimately between Ryan and Bentley and not her.
“ … That was untrue, that was very [much] not the case,” Maci said. “So I just had to do a lot of work on myself and figure out what I could control and what I couldn’t and find out who I wanted to be as a mom and a co-parent and honestly, I had to get mentally healthy, too. I had to work through a lot of anger … .”
Maci said that once she and Ryan had “done a little bit of work” on themselves, it became easier for them to co-parent together. (As you know, in addition to Bentley, Ryan is a father to son Jagger and daughter Stella with soon-to-be ex-wife Mackenzie Standifer; he also shares daughter Presley with fiancee Amanda Conner.)
Fans got to see some of Ryan and Maci’s co-parenting in action during the most recent season of ‘Teen Mom: The Next Chapter,’ including when Ryan and Amanda accompanied Maci and husband Taylor McKinney to purchase a vehicle for Bentley’s sixteenth birthday. Maci and Ryan were asked about this moment during their Dad Up interview, with the hosts acknowledging that the outing showed all four adults working together for Bentley’s sake.
While she agreed with the observation, Maci noted that Bentley has “always deserved” this kind of co-parenting from her and Ryan, and for the first time, it’s being done with a solid foundation.
“I feel like even when things were decent or OK in the past, I didn’t necessarily feel like the foundation of [our co-parenting] was solid and it was kind of like, ‘OK, when is the rug going to get pulled out from under us,’” she said. “ … I feel like we’ve both put in a lot of work to make sure that we take our time and let this co-parenting thing happen authentically and only really taking steps and moving forward in directions that we’re comfortable taking instead of like, rushing it … .”
When it comes to handling co-parenting disagreements, Maci said that she and Ryan don’t face this issue often, as Bentley is an easy kid to parent.
“I don’t know that we’ve even had like, a disagreement in the last two and a half years or so … ,” Maci said, explaining that for her, when a co-parenting disagreement does arise, she approaches it knowing that it’s not about her or Ryan, it’s about Bentley.
Ryan and Maci also spoke about their ability to effectively co-parent Bentley from two separate households, with Ryan explaining that when he “started to come back around” in Bentley’s life, he didn’t want to mess up what Maci (and Taylor) had already built.
“I think Ryan’s done a good job of creating that space for him and Bentley together where maybe that wasn’t there for them before,” Maci said. “So Bentley kind of goes to Ryan and talks to Ryan about things in a completely different way than Bentley and I’s relationship, which is great, because they’ve been able to actually bond and build their relationship together without everybody else getting in the way all the time or like babysitting them.
“They’re still very much, I feel, getting to know their dynamic and Bentley is growing rapidly, so he’s figuring out his own self everyday, too,” she continued. “But Ryan’s done a really good job … of giving Bentley that safe space with him … .”
Click here to listen to Maci and Ryan’s full interview on Dad Up.
RELATED STORY: Farrah Abraham Says MTV Should Offer “Intensive Trauma Healing” to ‘Teen Mom’ Cast & Families: “They’ve Just Been Dropped in Disarray”
(Photos: Instagram; MTV)
39 Responses
Is he gonna come in once Jagger and Stella are 16 and pretend to coparent them too?
How do you know he’s not already coparenting Stella and Jagger…they aren’t in the public eye and haven’t been for a while now
The Ashley has reported on this. He sees the kids every other weekend at his parents’ house. He spends part of the day with them. That’s it. He was also fighting against having to pay child support for them and didn’t pay a dime for over a year. Stop pretending like this guy may be secretly not a POS.
I think Maci is still in love with Ryan…yikes.
A few things…
A) Maci doesn’t need to just be in Al-Anon, she is what we call a dually- she needs to be in both. It’s clear she drinks to excess and often.
B) Sure, it’s easy to co-parent Bentley now… He’s pretty much an adult and has always been a good kid. Ryan does not deserve any type of pat on the back for “co-parenting” him well. IMO it’s easier to co-parent an older child (especially if they are well rounded like Bentley is – which is honestly surprising) as he’s pretty much self sufficient and has developed control over his emotions and actions.
C) Ryan doesn’t really need to place THAT much focus on co-parenting Bentley right now- what he needs to worry about it is creating a co-parenting relationship with Mack, apologizing and taking responsibility for destroying his children’s home, not paying child support and not having any active role in his younger children’s lives. Some accountability. He needs to focus on being there also for the children that are in their formative years- these years are crucial. When he does that, I will give him a pat on the back.
D) Mack isn’t responsible for Ryan’s poor choices. Should she have had him pull the car over on their way to get married? Sure! Should she have not married him? Maybe. Should she have walked away sooner? Possibly. But that doesn’t make her deserve any of the crap he’s put her or their children through in any way.
With all that said…
I’m glad Ryan is sober. I’m glad he’s created this co-parenting relationship with Maci and is there for Bentley now- but that doesn’t negate the fact that he has other children he needs to also make up time with. Mack also isn’t pushing him to be there for his kids- she’s leaving it up to him. Maci has always pushed for this relationship to the point where she’s probably had Ryan in Bentley in his life when he shouldn’t have been.
Bingo!
Mack knew what she was getting into but like a lot of young girls she probably thought she could fix him. Her wrongs don’t negate his wrongs. He has to take accountability for the things he has done. None of that is her fault or her kids. He’s a POS. Mack is doing good for herself and Maci is still in love with Ryan. Ryan needs to take care of his kids & Amanda thinks she’s the next captain save a junkie. He is not a good father. He wasn’t to the other kids and he won’t be to this one.
Remember while everyone hates Mackenzie, she was going through hell with an addict in active addiction.. none of this was her fault really. Sure she was young and naive when she married him, we all were at 20 I think. They’re trying to make this look like it was her fault and it’s not. She still has two kids with this man and has to deal with all this crap and I think it’s totally inappropriate
She had a lot to do with it, she didn’t have to marry him and put her kids through hell knowing that he was so damn unpredictable…she should have walked away 4-5 years earlier than she did but she didn’t (that’s on her)…I’m not gonna argue, I know I’m right.
Yes Ryan did his share of the wrong but so did Mack
Where do you keep coming off with this “I know I am right shit? From what I have read you are 99% wrong, 2% right.
You are irrelevant so sthu
You STFU!
Make me
As my dearly departed mom used to say to people that told her to stfu “if you feel froggy then jump”
Good gravy these ppl are insufferable.
Forever trying to make him look like a decent person doesn’t change the fact that he isn’t.
When Rhine’s got a peaceful co-parenting relationship with Mackenzie, it will be news. This is just Maci trying to solely film around the Edward’s family, so she doesn’t have to focus on what goes on in her household.
Autocorrect messed up my Edwards’.
How do you know he doesn’t have a peaceful coparenting relationship with Mack?
Because of the court records?
They are still praising Ryan for doing the absolutely bare minimum. Co-parenting? Bentley is 16, Ryan was pretty much absent from parenting him for most of his life. I’d like to know how tf is he parenting Jagger and Stella, the 2 kids that actually need parenting and he completely messed up their lives
Exactly. Ryan is getting a pat on the back for what he should’ve been doing this whole time with Bentley. As far as his other two kids…I have yet to hear him acknowledge the trauma he put those kids through.
I think Amanda is helping him stay relatively clean. I never once seen Ryan smiling so much with his ex’s. They really do seem happy together. With the show canceled I see Maci’s marriage ending (Tyler will have had enough) and that may pose a problem for them.
Maci married Tyler?! 😮 That’s a twist, does Catelynn know?!
JK I think you meant Taylor.
Nice that the podcast hosts let him ignore the fact that he was a father to MULTIPLE KIDS while in active addiction. Bravo, Dad Up!
Exactly. Isn’t he a father to five kids?
4…1 with Maci, 2 with Mack and 1 with this Amanda chick
Maci, the biggest alcoholic on Teen Mom is a fing Lier, both her and Taylor HATE Ryan’s guts, this was a last ditch effort to keep that MTV paycheck coming in, it is all fake as hell. If it weren’t for Taylor, Maci would still be known as the cheap alcoholic hoe on MTV. I have to admit I thought it was funny when Maci was trying to get that one guy to marry her, by the way, he said no way and took off, anyway Ryan asked Maci if the guy was SLOW in the head.
How do you know the whole thing was faked? I’m honestly asking. I’m not trying to be sarcastic. I’m just curious about whether there is some news about this that I missed.
The show was finished, Maci had no story lines, you do remember her “We are going to adopt” another fake story line and word was out the show was going to be cancelled, oh, and before I forget let’s not forget about her car being shot up. Why is this story line fake? Remember when Ryan said he had a bullet with Taylor’s name on it and he was going to shoot him in the head, yep, sure does sound like someone you would want to hang around with and be BFF’S with, doesn’t it.
God, the bar is so low he stumbles over it.
I bet it is really easy to “parent” Bentley, now that he is 16, about the same age Maci was when she got pregnant.
Bentley has a car and Rhine doesn’t actually have to do any parenting because Bentley lives full time with Maci and sees Rhine as much as you see an uncle or grandparents.
Super easy to be doing a good job when the child is more responsible than you.
Honestly, I would pick Bentley to baby sit over Rhine everyday.
Where are his other two kids, you know, the one he smeared his feces over the walls of their home? Is he doing a really good job for them?!?!
Is Ryan doing a “real good job” with his other two children? Unless he’s making amends for the hurt he caused them and active in their lives, he will remain a useless sack of $h1t and a sorry excuse for a man.
You and several others seem to want to put the blame squarely on Ryan’s shoulders when imo Mack had a hand in what her kids went through, I mean he drove high to their wedding (and if memory serves me correctly she was pregnant at the time) yet she still married him…she could’ve said “pull the car over”, got out and never looked back but she didn’t, so to me she’s partly to blame
Mack had nothing to do with Ryan destroying the house and refusing to pay for damages and trying to get out of paying child support. Ryan is demented and won’t truly be in recovery until he does the right thing with that situation. For now, he’s just a sober POS.
She had a lot to do with it, she didn’t have to marry him and put her kids through hell knowing that he was so damn unpredictable…she should have walked away 4-5 years earlier than she did but she didn’t (that’s on her)…I’m not gonna argue, I know I’m right.
Yes Ryan did his share of the wrong but so did Mack
Mack is in charge of Mack. Ryan is in charge of Ryan. Mack didn’t make him do anything and she isn’t responsible for the shitty choices that he’s made. Mack and the kids did not deserve anything Ryan has done to them (or doesn’t do for them) because she didn’t walk away earlier… that is insane.
Didn’t say they deserved it…just said that if Mack had left Ryan early on (instead of marrying him and having a second kid with him) then the kids wouldn’t have had to put up with what all they did have to go through, her leaving and them having no dad around at all would have been better than what staying around put them through…part of thois is her fault and you’ll never convince me otherwise
Did Mackenzie drive high? Did she get arrested and jailed multiple times for drug use? Did she destroy her own home with her children inside and then threaten and stalk her estranged spouse?
No, but she married a guy who did…so she share in the responsibility and take accountability as well
I really believe that is Mackenzie in the comments defending her own honor lol 🤣. Hey girl 👋🏼 u did cheat or nah ?