‘Teen Mom’ Star Ryan Edwards Engaged to Amanda Conner
Amanda Conner wasn't the lone 1 saying yes erstwhile Ryan Edwards dropped to his bended genu this January.
Count his erstwhile fiancée Maci Bookout—mom to their 16-year-old lad Bentley—among those thrilled to spot the soon-to-be dada of four perpetrate to everlastingly with her erstwhile precocious schoolhouse classmate.
"She has been a game-changer, honestly," the Teen Mom prima raved of Amanda successful an exclusive interrogation with E! News. "We're precise adjacent friends and she's conscionable got truly large energy. She's precise authentic and she genuninely loves and cares astir Ryan and Bentley truthful evidently that's each I could ever inquire for."
And similar her husband-to-be, Amanda—who has a lad from her erstwhile marriage—is enjoying her ain sobriety journey.
"I got kicked retired of nationalist schools from drugs and warring and getting successful trouble, getting arrested astatine a young age," she shared past fall connected Teen Mom: The Next Chapter. "I don't cognize wherefore it took truthful agelong to learn, but I went done the wringer and I'm not going backmost there."
Instead, she's looking up to a aboriginal that includes the outpouring accomplishment of her and Ryan's small girl and making memories with their blended family.
"Bentley truly enjoys her," noted Maci, besides ma to Jayde, 9, and Maverick, 8, with hubby Taylor McKinney. "Even my different 2 kids, they emotion her and her son, truthful having her astir has been wonderful."
Maci Bookout/Instagram
Though, portion Bentley is prepared to workout his sizeable eldest sibling skills, Maci joked, "I deliberation helium is acceptable for this to beryllium the past sibling."
Nor is helium looking to enactment his expertise to usage on immoderate babies of his ain astatine the moment.
"We've ever had those unfastened communications," Maci explained of speaking to her teen astir harmless enactment successful the upcoming play of Teen Mom: The Next Chapter, which premieres connected MTV Jan. 30 astatine 8 p.m. "So they're decidedly not arsenic awkward arsenic they were successful the beginning. I cognize it sounds odd, but they're normal."
As is, remarkably, her once-contentious (as successful restraining bid contentious) narration with ex Ryan.
Having ironed retired the sizeable kinks in their co-parenting partnership backmost successful 2023, "We are inactive doing truly well," Maci emphasized. "I honestly deliberation it's gotten present due to the fact that determination was nary pressure. We've fto it people instrumentality its people and conscionable our communication's better."
And, of course, it doesn't wounded that Ryan—also dada to Jagger, 6, and Stella, 5, with archetypal woman Mackenzie Standifer—has been moving to amended himself since his 2023 overdose.
"I deliberation Ryan being sober and steadfast has created a caller aerial for america to respire in," acknowledged Maci. "But we besides made a committedness to effort and enactment respectful and to support connection adjacent if we're feeling immoderate benignant of way."
Instagram/Maci Bookout
As for however she handled Bentley feeling immoderate benignant of mode arsenic helium witnessed Ryan's assorted ineligible troubles, "Therapy," Maci shared of their not-so-secret weapon. "Therapy and honestly doing enactment connected myself and knowing the work and the roles that I play, but besides knowing what is not my responsibility."
These days, erstwhile it comes to her eldest son, "You tin astir adjacent physically spot however overmuch lighter it is for him," she continued. "There's nary hostility oregon awkwardness. It's overmuch little of a chore for each of us, to beryllium honest."
Because their blessed quartet besides includes Taylor, Maci's hubby of 8 years.
"Even erstwhile we've had a unsmooth twelvemonth together, I deliberation astatine the extremity of the day, I inactive take him," she previously explained to E! of her everlastingly teammate. "I similar him. And adjacent if I privation to punch him successful the look sometimes, I'd alternatively reason with him oregon person a unsmooth spot with him than ne'er person a unsmooth spot with anybody else."
And she's not the lone franchise regular to person recovered their person. Check retired who the remainder of the Teen Mom formed is navigating unsmooth seas and calm waters alongside.