Teen Mom: The Next Chapter's Leah Shirley—the daughter of Amber Portwood and Gary Shirley—is 16 and wise beyond her years. On the March 13 episode, she shares why she wants her stepmom to adopt her.
Sometimes you actually can choose your family.
Or, at least, Teen Mom offspring Leah Shirley is hoping that's the case as the 16-year-old daughter of OG star Amber Portwood explores the process of having stepmom Kristina Shirley officially adopt her.
"I want to be adopted because Kristina's been there my whole life," the Indiana-based teen explained on the March 13 episode of Teen Mom: The Next Chapter. "I just feel like it should be official. And it's more than a piece of paper to me."
But the high schooler also knows that it'd require more than just filling out some forms.
After her dad Gary Shirley—who ended his three-year engagement to Amber in 2011—visited with an attorney to learn their options, he explained that the process could be long and arduous.
"If everything was to go smoothly, after filing paperwork, which you would have to sign some stuff, too, it could take three months," he explained to his daughter on the MTV series. "If Amber contests, then it could take, like, a year. It could take longer."
Which means they could be signing up for a brutal battle.
"If we say something or do something, she might try to do stuff and make it harder," responded Leah, who lives with Gary, Kristina and their 9-year-old daughter Emilee. "And by then it might take two years. And then at that point, there’s no point in even going through all the trouble for it. So, I don’t know. I’ll have to think about it."
MTV/Teen Mom: The Next ChapterAmong the issues the teen is mulling over was how her mom—who doesn't have custody of her or her 6-year-old son James with former fiancé Andrew Glennon—might react to the legal maneuver.
"I really want to do it," Leah told cameras, "but I'm scared it would make Amber mad. I don't like being mean to people."
Which is why her father suggested discussing the issue with her therapist and "kind of see what would emotionally be best for you," Gary told Leah. "I know that your mom loves you, but for some reason she doesn’t know how to show it. But I want you to know that we’re here to help you and to be with you. I’m what you call your ride or die."
According to Gary, though, Amber has been more of an infrequent passenger.
During his meeting with lawyer Trina Saunders, Gary claimed that Amber "is not really involved," claiming that "in the past year, she has seen her daughter four days."
And while he knows Amber would contest a potential adoption—which would make Kristina Leah's mother, even placing her on the birth certificate—he believes it's worth the battle.
"If something happens to me, I don't see Amber being what Leah needs," Gary explained. "I need to know if something happens to me, Leah is safe."
Because while Leah and Amber have had a strained relationship in recent years, her bond with Kristina is rock solid, regardless of what it might say on paper.
"Leah's going to weigh her options, talk to her therapist and decide what route she wants to go," Kristina shared on the episode. "I will do whatever she wants. Nothing will change the way that I love that girl."
Of course, she's not the only franchise star to have found the loves of her life. Check out the other Teen Mom standouts who have found their happily ever after.
