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 … .”
