Portwood was charged with three felonies after the July incident, and it played out on Monday’s ‘Teen Mom OG’ season finale.
There were clear warning signs prior to Amber Portwood’s alleged assault of her boyfriend, Andrew Glennon. On Monday’s season finale of MTV's Teen Mom OG, Amber is continuing to struggle with anxiety and depression.
After last week’s episode, where she told her therapist that she was at a breaking point, saying, “I’m there, man. I’m right there,” Amber tries to talk with Andrew in their car after the session.
“I know there’s those mornings where you’re upset, and there’s no real reason for it,” Andrew says of Amber’s mood swings.
“All you can really do is just be there for me and be happy,” she replies.
Amber goes on to talk about her struggles with mental health, saying, “I’ve just gotta keep working on it and understand that it’s not just bipolar. It’s not just borderline or anxiety, it’s also things that have happened in your life. When I start to get in my head at night when I can’t sleep, this kind of just amplifies it, I guess.”
Amber, who has been charged on domestic violence counts in the past, acknowledges her issues with anger, adding, “I’ve just seen how I blow up because I don’t draw that line. I don’t have that boundary, I guess.”
Though Andrew encourages her to “walk away” when she feels like she’s in “that state of mind,” the mother of two notes, “But I’m not choosing, you know? I let things frustrate me to the point where I get so angry. It’s like I’m exploding.”
Later in the episode, Amber talks to her cousin, Krystal, and opens up about her struggles with Andrew.
“There’s parts that he just doesn’t understand. He’ll joke when it’s not time to joke,” she says. “I just think that when he jokes when we’re talking about things that bother me, that bothers me. I know it’s hard for people to understand.”
The show then notes that on July 4, Andrew texted 9-1-1 saying that his and his 1-year-old son, James’, lives were in danger.
Amber is not shown again and neither is Andrew, but Amber’s ex and the father of her daughter, Leah, Gary Shirley, and his wife, Kristina, openly talk about the alleged incident on camera.
After confirming that Leah was not there during the incident, Gary says, “If anything is true from what I heard, there needs to be some sort of repercussions for something. He’s saying one thing. She’s saying one thing. A hit’s a hit, whether you’re doing it with a flip flop or a hammer. Nobody should put their hands on anyone.”
Amber previously pleaded guilty to domestic violence charges against Gary, which was documented on past seasons of Teen Mom. He has sole custody of Leah and took care of her while Amber was serving a prison sentence in 2012.
“How do we continue to co-parent with the legal issues involved and Leah’s emotions, and I know that you’re taking it pretty rough too,” Kristina says to Gary.
“My heart breaks for the kids. I went through this with her. Leah went through this with her and now it sounds like James is going to have to go through this,” Gary replies.
“Ultimately, Leah is almost 11. She knows a lot of what’s going on. I think the only thing she’s said to me though is, ‘If Mommy goes back to prison, what will happen to James? Will James be taken away from me as well?’” Kristina reveals of Leah’s baby half-brother. “I don’t have those answers. I don’t know how to answer her. She deserves to be a kid and these are adult situations.”
It’s unknown whether Amber will appear in the show’s reunion episode. She has been silent on social media since the alleged incident apart from sharing sponsored posts.
According to court documents, police were dispatched to the scene of the alleged incident between Amber and Andrew after Andrew sent the text saying his and his son’s lives were in danger. He claimed that he and Amber got into a verbal altercation before it escalated and she allegedly struck him with her shoe while he was holding James.
In a later interview with the Department of Child Services, according to court documents, Andrew stated that Amber threatened to kill herself and also picked up a machete toward him and James. He then said he locked himself and their son in an office and Amber allegedly hit the door with the machete and kicked the door and broke the handle, prompting his call to the police.
Andrew is now seeking custody of James.
For more Teen Mom drama, watch the clip below:
RELATED CONTENT:
