Teen Mom 's Maci Shares How She Feels About Ex Ryan's Fiancée Amanda
Amanda Conner wasn't the only one saying yes when Ryan Edwards dropped to his bended knee this January.
Count his former fiancée Maci Bookout—mom to their 16-year-old son Bentley—among those thrilled to see the soon-to-be dad of four commit to forever with her former high school classmate.
"She has been a game-changer, honestly," the Teen Mom star raved of Amanda in an exclusive interview with E! News. "We're very close friends and she's just got really great energy. She's very authentic and she genuninely loves and cares about Ryan and Bentley so obviously that's all I could ever ask for."
And like her husband-to-be, Amanda—who has a son from her previous marriage—is enjoying her own sobriety journey.
"I got kicked out of public schools from drugs and fighting and getting in trouble, getting arrested at a young age," she shared last fall on Teen Mom: The Next Chapter. "I don't know why it took so long to learn, but I went through the wringer and I'm not going back there."
Instead, she's looking ahead to a future that includes the spring arrival of their little girl and making memories with their blended family.
"Bentley really enjoys her," noted Maci, also mom to Jayde, 00, and Maverick, 00, with husband Taylor McKinney. "Even my other two kids, they love her and her son, so having her around has been wonderful."
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Instead, she's looking ahead to a future that includes the spring arrival of her and Ryan's little girl and making memories with their blended family.
"Bentley really enjoys her," noted Maci, also mom to Jayde, 9, and Maverick, 8, with husband Taylor McKinney. "Even my other two kids, they love her and her son, so having her around has been wonderful."
Though, while Bentley is prepared to exercise his considerable eldest sibling skills, Maci joked, "I think he is ready for this to be the last sibling."
Nor is he looking to put his expertise to use on any babies of his own at the moment.
"We've always had those open communications," Maci explained of speaking to her teen about safe sex in the upcoming season of Teen Mom: The Next Chapter, which premieres on MTV Jan. 30 at 8 p.m. "So they're definitely not as awkward as they were in the beginning. I know it sounds odd, but they're normal."
As is, remarkably, her once-contentious (as in restraining order contentious) relationship with ex Ryan.
Having ironed out the considerable kinks in their co-parenting partnership back in 2023, "We are still doing really well," Maci emphasized. "I honestly think it's gotten here because there was no pressure. We've let it naturally take its course and just our communication's better."
And, of course, it doesn't hurt that Ryan—also dad to Jagger, 6, and Stella, 5, with first wife Mackenzie Standifer—has been working to improve himself since his 2023 overdose.
"I think Ryan being sober and healthy has created a fresh air for us to breathe in," acknowledged Maci. "But we also made a commitment to try and stay respectful and to maintain communication even if we're feeling some type of way."
As for how she handled Bentley feeling some type of way as he witnessed Ryan's various legal troubles, "Therapy," Maci shared of their not-so-secret weapon. "Therapy and honestly doing work on myself and understanding the responsibility and the roles that I play, but also understanding what is not my responsibility."
These days, when it comes to her eldest son, "You can almost even physically see how much lighter it is for him," she continued. "There's no tension or awkwardness. It's much less of a chore for all of us, to be honest."
Because their happy quartet also includes Taylor, Maci's husband of eight years.
"Even when we've had a rough year together, I think at the end of the day, I still choose him," she previously explained to E! of her forever teammate. "I like him. And even if I want to punch him in the face sometimes, I'd rather argue with him or have a rough patch with him than never have a rough patch with anybody else."
And she's not the only franchise regular to have found their person. Check out who the rest of the Teen Mom cast is navigating rough seas and calm waters alongside.
Maci Bookout & Taylor McKinneyCory Wharton & Taylor Selfridge
Amber Portwood & Gary ShirleyAmber Portwood & Dimitri GarciaAmber Portwood & Gary Wayt
Leah Messer & Corey Simms
Leah Messer & Jaylan Mobley
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