Teen Mom’s Gary Shirley Says Daughter Leah Wants His Wife to Adopt Her Amid Amber Portwood Issues

Teen Mom star Gary Shirley revealed that daughter Leah wants his wife, Kristina Shirley, to adopt her amid her ongoing issues with mom Amber Portwood.

During the Thursday, July 18, episode of Teen Mom: The Next Chapter, Gary, 37, told Kristina, 38, that he recently messaged Amber, 34, about arranging a time to see Leah, 15.

“I said, ‘You need to reach out to Leah. You need to say hi or something. A text or something,’” he said. “She messaged me back, ‘I’ve texted and called Leah a million times! No answer, nothing ever back. I’ve done everything to be in her life, I’ve gotten crapped on. I never get to spend time with her. I’m tired of being unhappy and fighting for attention from everyone. I’m not a horrible person, I’m a loving mother. I refuse to live a miserable life anymore.’”

After Gary and Kristina admitted they were shocked by Amber’s response, they both acknowledged that Leah needed a positive mother figure in her life. Kristina then pointed out that she has played an active maternal role for Leah, though noted she can’t fill the void that Amber has left.

Later on in the episode, Gary continued to express his issues with Amber during a boys’ trip with the other dads.

He explained that Amber hadn’t seen Leah since her birthday, and the teen believed “the damage is all done” with her mother. “I think it’s salvageable but what Leah would need is her mom to be there all the time,” he added.

“As a mother, Amber has to try. No matter what. It’s never going to be Leah’s fault if she’s not talking to you, because Amber, you’re the reason why it’s this way in the first place,” Gary said. “I didn’t want to throw Amber under the bus for so many times.”

Gary added that Leah has “other people that are there for her,” and costar Cory Wharton responded, “Your wife!”

“Trust me, the best thing that ever happened to Leah was Kristina. Kristina is a loving parent,” Gary said. “And Leah’s wanting to be adopted by Kristina.”

The reality star then pointed out that Kristina would happily adopt Leah, though Amber is not currently aware of the situation. He then said it was up to Leah to make the final decision about Kristina adopting her.

“So as far as that goes, it’s kind of letting Leah stew and think about what she wants to do,” he responded, saying he wanted to give her time to think it through.

After Amber and Gary split in 2013, he married Kristina in 2015 and they welcomed their daughter, Emilee, in April of that year. Meanwhile, Amber welcomed a son, James, with ex Andrew Glennon in May 2018. She was most recently linked to Gary Wayt, though it was confirmed they ended their engagement in June after he was reported missing.

“They’ve decided that it’s over between them and their engagement is off,” a source told Us Weekly. “They have too much to overcome to move forward together.”