<p id=”par-1_72″>Amber Portwood’s relationship with her children is complicated. <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/teen-mom/?swcfpc=1″><em>Teen Mom</em> </a>fans have seen the complex relationships play out on TV for years, but things are about to get even more tense. According to a recent episode, Portwood’s eldest child, <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/the-top-3-biggest-teen-mom-scandals-explained.html/”>Leah Shirley</a>, is interested in adoption. The teen reportedly wants to be adopted by her stepmother, Kristina Shirley. While Portwood hasn’t spoken about the situation, an insider claims she would never allow it.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-amber-portwood-will-not-allow-for-leah-shirley-s-adoption”>Amber Portwood will not allow for Leah Shirley’s adoption</h2>
<p id=”par-2_76″>While Portwood has seemed mostly OK with Kristina taking on the day-to-day tasks of raising Leah Shirley, she is reportedly not interested in giving up any more of her parental rights. An insider insists that Amber would fight against a potential adoption. The insider told <a target=”_blank” href=”https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/amber-portwood-wouldnt-support-gary-shirleys-wife-adopting-leah/” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Us Weekly</a> that the topic is an emotional one for Amber but that the mother of two isn’t going to just step out of the picture so Kristina can adopt Leah.</p>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-full” id=”emb-1″><img decoding=”async” src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Kristina-Shirley-and-Amber-Portwood.webp?strip=all&quality=80″ alt=”Kristina Shirley and Amber Portwood appear together during a ‘Teen Mom’ reunion special to discuss Leah Shirley ” class=”wp-image-3691260″><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Kristina Shirley and Amber Portwood | MTV/YouTube </figcaption></figure>
<p id=”par-3_49″>Several of Portwood’s current co-stars weighed in on the topic. Maci Bookout was especially outspoken about the situation in her own <em>Teen Mom: The Next Chapter</em> confessionals. Bookout insisted that Shirley shouldn’t have spoken about the situation so openly, especially if Portwood was unaware of Leah Shirley’s adoption interest.</p>
<p id=”par-4_37″>Leah has lived primarily with Gary Shirley and his now-wife, Kristina Shirley since he was a toddler. Amber Portwood is also the mother of James Glennon, 6. James Glennon lives in California with his father, <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/teen-mom-og-andrew-glennon-claims-amber-portwood-stood-up-her-son.html/”>Andrew Glennon.</a></p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-how-long-have-gary-and-kristina-shirley-been-married”>How long have Gary and Kristina Shirley been married?</h2>
<p id=”par-5_53″>While Leah Shirley’s interest in adoption might shock Amber Portwood, <em>Teen Mom</em> fans aren’t particularly surprised by the revelation. Kristina Shirley has been in Leah’s life for many years and appears to have picked up parenting duties for her rather seamlessly, but exactly how long has Kristina acted as a parent to Leah?</p>
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<iframe title=”Amber & Kristina’s Relationship Timeline | Teen Mom OG” width=”925″ height=”520″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/25KOkD2KxoY?feature=oembed” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<span class=”related-article-flag”>Related</span>
<p class=”related-article__title”>
<a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/teen-mom-the-next-chapter-are-amber-portwood-and-gary-wayt-still-dating.html/”>
‘Teen Mom: The Next Chapter’: Are Amber Portwood and Gary Wayt Still Dating? </a>
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<p id=”par-6_40″>Gary Shirley and Kristina Shirley’s early dating history is a bit complicated, but it appears they started seeing each other in 2013 while Kristina was still married to her first husband. She later divorced and continued her relationship with Gary.</p>
<p id=”par-7_70″>Things went well, despite the relationship starting as an affair, and they welcomed a child together in 2015. <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/teen-mom-og-amber-portwood-blasts-gary-and-kristina-shirley-over-parenting.html/”>Gary and Kristina Shirley </a>married months after welcoming their daughter, Emilee Shirley, together. So far, the duo have been married for almost nine years and have known each other for 11 years. Leah, now 15, has had Kristina Shirley in her life in some capacity since she was just four years old.</p>