Teen Mom’s Ryan Edwards is trying to create an open dialogue about drugs and alcohol with his oldest son, Bentley.
“I would most definitely answer any question he had,” Edwards, 37, shared on the June 15 episode of the “Dad Up” podcast. “If I was to catch him, I mean drinking, you know, I feel like all 16-year-olds are going to experiment and try it and stuff but my feelings would definitely be hurt.”
Edwards and his ex Maci Bookout welcomed Bentley in October 2008 as they filmed MTV’s 16 and Pregnant. Although Edwards was absent for part of Bentley’s life as he battled addiction, he has been able to repair the relationship with his son in recent years.
“It’s not been, like, in-depth conversations [about addiction],” Edwards shared with podcast hosts Bryan and Andrea Ward. “But it was just kind of like, ‘Hey, this is kind of why, you know, I wasn’t there,’ and stuff like that.”
As Edwards continues focusing on his sobriety and relationship with Bentley, he’s also building a stronger coparenting bond with Bookout, 33.
One way the duo has been able to get to a better place is because Bentley remains such a good kid.
“We’re so blessed. Bentley is such an easy, very cool kid but I feel like I don’t even know if we’ve had a disagreement in the last two and half years or so,” Bookout explained. “I have to approach it as it’s not about me, it’s about Bentley, and we can have two separate ideas about something and both of them be ok, both be a solid way to handle it.”
Edwards agreed that he doesn’t have disagreements with his ex. Now, it’s more of a conversation than a confrontation.
“[Bentley’s] older, he’s got his own thing going on and Bentley and Maci have been doing that,” Edwards shared. “When I came back around, I didn’t want to mess any of that up. It had been working for him. He’s older now. He kind of makes his own decisions, and that helps a lot too.”
As Teen Mom: The Next Chapter viewers have witnessed, Bookout and Edwards have been able to create a family unit with people who love and support Bentley.
