Maci Bookout Celebrates Son’s ‘Senior Night’, Ryan Edwards Not Mentioned
Teen Mom: The Next Chapter might be on an indefinite pause right now, but that’s not stopping the cast from celebrating major milestones publicly. Maci Bookout took to Instagram last week to celebrate her son, Bentley Edwards’ senior night. The heartfelt tribute hit fans hard, as they watched Bentley grow up on television. Those same fans also noticed someone was conspicuously absent from the celebration. Bentley’s biological father, Ryan Edwards, did not appear at the event, and he wasn’t mentioned during Bentley’s introduction, either.
Bentley’s Big Night, and What’s Next
Maci Bookout took to Instagram on August 31 to celebrate a major milestone for her firstborn. In a video captioned “The Last Dance,” Maci shared a video of Bentley’s senior night. In the video, Maci and her husband, Taylor McKinney, walked the 17-year-old across the football field while an announcer shared a quick bio on the teen.
The announcer revealed that Bentley has maintained a 3.5 GPA while excelling across three sports: he’s been a starter on his varsity golf team and a two-time golf all-district selection. The announcer noted that he was a 2024 wrestling state place finisher and earned a 2026 baseball all-region selection before sharing that Bentley will attend Motlow State Community College in Lynchburg, Tennessee, next year, where he intends to continue playing baseball while majoring in business.
One key fact about Bentley, at the start of the video, struck followers as interesting. The teen was introduced as the son of Maci and Taylor McKinney. Ryan Edwards, his biological father, was not mentioned, nor did he appear anywhere in the video. The snub comes amid the ongoing custody turmoil surrounding Ryan’s household.
Ryan Edwards’ Custody Battle With Mackenzie Standifer
Edwards’ absence from the senior night tribute comes as he’s currently entangled in a separate, more pressing custody fight. Mackenzie Standifer, the mother of Ryan’s two middle children, was recently granted an emergency modification to their existing custody agreement after filing an ex parte emergency restraining order against Ryan’s current wife, Amanda Conner. Under the new terms, Amanda is barred from any contact with Jagger and Stella. In addition to the new rules imposed on Amanda, Ryan can no longer spend unsupervised time with the kids. They are not allowed in his home, and he was stripped of the right to overnight stays.
The motivation behind the emergency filing remains unclear, but it does come just a few months after Amanda was arrested near Chattanooga for child abuse and DUI. A judge overseeing her criminal case has since ordered her to submit to weekly drug screenings. She’s due back in court October 21. While Ryan was not arrested during the incident, Amanda has alluded to trouble in the marriage. The pair, who met in court-ordered rehab, share a 1-year-old daughter. They married in September 2025.
It is unclear if Standifer’s order and Maci’s decision to not mention Ryan in her post about Bentley are related. Still, Ryan’s relationship with Bentley has been complicated for years. Ryan’s relationship with Maci and her husband has been equally complicated. While the married couple once had a restraining order against Ryan, they appeared in photos together as recently as last year. At the time, they claimed to be navigating their co-parenting relationship better. That appears to have changed.
