Teen Mom star Amber Portwood's relationship with her daughter is taking a turn for the better. Leah Shirley has decided that she wants to talk with a therapist to find a way to forgive her mother in the future. On a recent episode of Teen Mom: The Next Chapter, Leah was speaking with her father, Gary Shirley, when she shared that she felt like her issues with her mother had weighed her down, and that she wanted to work on them so that she could move forward and have a relationship with Portwood.
During the new episode, Leah said. "I just think I have a lot of, like, issues because of Amber in the experiences I’ve had." She went on to explain how she hoped that this would help her relationship with her mother in the future. “I want to overcome that so I can be able to forgive her and just move on, and I think that it would help to have someone to guide me on how to forgive someone because it’s hard for me to do that." Leah has primarily lived with Shirley and his wife, Kristina Shirley. Earlier this season, Portwood shared that Leah "doesn't want to be around" her. “I’ve never been a mom that didn’t care. Just a f—ed up mom."
Leah shared with Shirley that she didn't know when she realized Portwood wasn't around, but that the situation did give her “abandonment issues from her not being around.” She went on to give Portwood grace after her mental health diagnosis. “I do know that there’s a lot of things going on that makes it difficult for her to be able to be there for me,” Leah said. “I feel like it does affect me every day because I’m always scared that Kristina is going to leave me. I’m always scared that people are just going to leave me for no reason. Shirley shared his support for her, saying "I just want you to have somebody to talk to that’s a safe space. I want you to be happy. I love you."
Leah Shirley Has Other 'Teen Mom' Support
During the episode, Shirley spoke with fellow dad, Tyler Baltierra, about his daughter wanting to talk to a therapist, with Baltierra sharing his support for Leah's decision. Baltierra said that therapy at a young age helped him grow. Shirley shared that his daughter was a "good kid" and that he knows she is going through a lot of issues with her mother. "She’s a good kid and has a great head on her shoulders,” he said. “She’s going through a lot."
