Amber Portwood’s ex, Gary Shirley, is taking the first steps for their daughter Leah to become adopted by her stepmother.
On Thursday’s episode of Teen Mom: The Next Chapter, Gary met with a lawyer to discuss the possibility of Leah getting adopted by his wife, Kristina, after his daughter expressed how she wants to be adopted by her stepmom amid her estrangement from Amber.
And according to the attorney, they have “really a good case for adoption.”
Before Gary and Kristina went to visit the attorney, Trina Saunders, Gary shared his thoughts and concerns in a confessional.
“With the possibility of Kristina adopting Leah, I’m totally on board. It’s not as easy as signing a check or snapping your fingers; there’s a lot involved,” said Gary, who was granted full custody of Leah in 2011.
“We have to go to court. That puts a lot of pressure on her,” he continued. “And then, what if her mom just all of a sudden starts to take her, you know? It’s a strain on me. It’s a strain on poor Leah. I’m not here to hurt Amber, but she shouldn’t be here to hurt Leah, either.”
“Somebody’s gonna get hurt,” Gary added. “And the person [who’s] hurting the most right now is Leah. I’m making sure my kid doesn’t suffer.”
While it was already known to viewers that Amber and Leah have been estranged, Gary told the attorney that Amber has only seen Leah “four days” in the “past year.”
When Saunders asked about child support, Gary said that it’s not “enforced through the court,” and claimed Amber is “behind” on payments.
And according to Saunders, in the court’s eyes, Amber’s absence in Leah’s life is considered “abandonment.”
“Because she’s not had any significant contact with her mother over the last six months, that’s deemed as abandonment,” the lawyer told Gary and Kristina.
“I think that adoption would be your best option, because in an adoption that severs that parent-child relationship that she has with her mother, and you would become her mother, and you also would be placed on the birth certificate as her mother,” Saunders said to Kristina.
“But if we can show that [Amber’s] abandoned her daughter, then we don’t need her mom’s consent,” she added.
While Gary admitted that he thinks Amber would “contest” the adoption, Saunders noted that she believes that if it went to court, they’d “be able to show” that Amber has “not been” in Leah’s life, “she’s not provided for her financially, [and] she’s not had significant contact with her in over six months.”
“I think you have a really good case for adoption,” she stated.
Although Gary admitted that this is “not something we wanted to do,” he’s concerned about Leah’s well-being if something were to happen to him.
“I don’t see Amber being what Leah needs,” he said. “I need to know that if something happens to me, Leah’s safe.”
The attorney said the “timeline” would be about “60 days” to start the adoption process.
Later in the episode, Gary and Kristina sat down with Leah, and relayed the information they received at the appointment.
Gary said if “everything was to go smoothly,” the adoption “could take three months.” However, he told Leah that if “Amber contests then it could take like a year, it could take longer.”
“I think the goal here is to make sure you’re healthy and happy and taken care of and you have what you want,” Gary said.
Leah — who turned 16 in November — voiced her concern that Amber could make the process “harder.”
“By then, it might take two years, and then at that point, there’s not really no point even going through all the trouble for it,” she said.
In a confessional, Leah shared her thoughts, admitting that she really wants Kristina to adopt her, but she’s “scared” of how Amber could react.
“I want to be adopted because Kristina’s been there my whole life,” the teen said of her stepmom, who married her dad in 2015. “I mean, I really want to do it, but I’m scared it would make Amber mad. I don’t like being mean to people.”
“But I don’t know, I just feel like it should be official, and it’s more than a piece of paper to me,” she added.
Leah noted her hesitation to her dad and stepmom, before noting that she’s going to “think about it” before she makes a decision.
Gary suggested that Leah speak to her therapist about the situation to see what will be “emotionally be best” for her and the “healthiest option.”
“I know that your mom loves you,” he said, “but for some reason, she doesn’t know how to show it.”
Gary opened up further in a confessional, telling the MTV cameras, “If it wasn’t for Kristina being in her life as much as she was, Leah wouldn’t have a mom. It would be nobody.”
Kristina, meanwhile, said that Leah is “going to weigh her options” and “decide what route she wants to go,” stressing that she “will do whatever she wants.”
“Nothing will change the way that I love that girl,” she said, later assuring Leah, “I’m not going anywhere. I love you, and I’m there for you, and we’ll get through it.”
