A Look Back at Amber Portwood’s Custody Situation
Amber Portwood’s explosive final moments on Teen Mom: The Next Chapter have everyone talking. Portwood, who recently revealed she had quit the long-running MTV series, crashed out after her teen daughter, Leah Shirley, sent her a text message detailing her feelings of abandonment and her desire to take space from her biological mother. Let’s journey back and look at how Amber Portwood’s custody situation came to be.
Amber Portwood and Gary Shirley’s custody journey explained
Amber Potwood gave birth to her daughter, Leah Shirley, on November 12, 2008. Portwood was 18 when she welcomed Leah with then-fiance Gary Shirley. The couple’s relationship was never solid, and things between them devolved before Leah’s first birthday. Portwood’s domestic violence arrest, as well as her substance abuse issues and mental health concerns, have led to a complicated custody situation when it comes to Leah. Leah hasn’t resided with her mother since she was two years old.
In December 2011, amid her legal issues, Portwood lost custody of Leah to Gary Shirley. He took custody of the then-toddler while Portwood served time behind bars. While she was initially slated to spend five years in an Indiana state prison, she was released after just 16 months.
After her release from prison, Portwood and Shirley agreed to split custody, with Leah primarily residing with her father. Still, Leah stayed almost exclusively with Shirley, while Portwood visited with her when convenient. Portwood’s lack of stability and unpredictable nature have negatively impacted her relationship with Leah. In recent years, Leah, now 16, has shared her desire to be adopted by her stepmother, Kristina Shirley. The teen has also revealed she has struggled with abandonment issues because of her mother. Her feelings led to Amber Portwood’s presumed final meltdown on MTV.
Why doesn’t the former ‘Teen Mom’ star have custody of her son?
Leah Shirley is Amber Portwood’s eldest child, but not her only child. Portwood also has a son. She doesn’t have custody of him, either.
Amber Portwood’s second child, James Glennon, was born in 2018. James arrived just a year after Portwood met Andrew Glennon on the set of Marriage Bootcamp. Glennon was on the film crew, while Portwood appeared on the series with her then-fiance, Matt Baier.
While Portwood and Glennon insisted they were happy together, the relationship didn’t last long. In July 2019, Portwood was arrested for domestic battery after a fight with Glennon. He was holding James when Amber Portwood attacked him; the arrest led to yet another custody battle for the Teen Mom star. She pleaded guilty to two felony charges. She didn’t serve jail time. Instead, she received probation. Still, a judge awarded emergency custody of James to Glennon.
In July 2022, a judge awarded sole custody of James to Glennon, citing concerns about Portwood’s history of substance abuse, mental health issues, and inconsistent behavior. He moved back to California with his son, citing family support. They live in Malibu. Portwood is said to have contact with James, but Glennon has blocked the boy from appearing on MTV.
Does Amber Portwood pay child support?
While Amber Portwood doesn’t have physical custody of her children, she must contribute to their care financially. While Gary Shirley has had custody of Leah Shirley since 2011, they did not come to a court-ordered agreement on child support until 2016. According to court records, Portwood must pay Gary Shirley $1,200 monthly in child support. She claims she agreed to the terms and has made payments ever since. Shirley has suggested that she hasn’t always lived up to her obligation and is in arrears.
While Gary Shirley suggested Amber hasn’t been paying for her daughter, the father of her son tells a different story. According to court records, Portwood was ordered to pay Andrew Glennon around $2500 per month in child support. A judge also ordered the reality TV star to pay $50,000 in retroactive support. Glennon spoke to Us Weekly in 2024 and revealed Amber Portwood has been living up to her end of the custody agreement, including regular chats with her school-aged son and child support payments.
