Teen Mom Maci Bookout Shares Friendship With Ryan Edwards' Girlfriend

Maci Bookout McKinney welcomed her ex-boyfriend Ryan Edwards' girlfriend, Amanda Connerinto the family with open arms.

Maci, 32, opened up exclusively to Us every week about his strong friendship with Amanda while promoting the new season of Teen Mom: The Next Chapter.

“We are definitely friends. She's really easy to be around,” Maci said of Ryan's girlfriend, who he started dating around September 2023. “You know when you meet people and you can just feel the energy? She just has really good energy.

Maci and Ryan, 36, first appeared together on 16 and pregnant in 2008, when MTV documented the arrival of their son, Bentley.

The two have since separated but continue to share the ups and downs of their relationship on the MTV spin-off, Teen mom. While Ryan's relationship with Bentley, now 15, has been strained over the years because of his addiction issues, Maci said her ex has been sober for nearly a year and he was striving to become a better father.

“[Amanda’s] I’m very supportive of Bentley and Ryan’s relationship and my co-parenting relationship with Ryan,” she said. “It felt effortless. We had no goal of being friends or pushing it, but it happened naturally. We get along really well and like I said, she's really supportive of Bentley and Ryan and everything that's going on with him. It happened naturally. »

In March, Maci and her husband, Taylor McKinney, celebrated Easter weekend with Ryan, Amanda and Bentley. It's one of the positive memories that “The Expired Podcast” co-host hopes to share with viewers on the new season of Teen Mom: The Next Chapter.

“I feel like it's been a minute since the overall feeling of a full season for me has been positive, but it's been a lot of work,” she said with a laugh. “I just feel like everyone's done their part and I'm still trying to figure out if I'm going to wake up and it's all going to be bullshit.”

Although Ryan's past legal issues have posed some obstacles, Maci believes better days have come. “The last year and a half has been really difficult,” she added, “but I will say that all the work is paying off.”

As for Bentley, Maci previously said We may he remain a bright light to all who come in contact with him. When he's not balancing his studies, wrestling, baseball and learning to drive, the high school senior makes his mother proud.

“It’s just his ability to show up for others and be there for others,” she said in April, praising her son. “It’s the same old Bentley, just maybe a little bigger and maybe a little deeper voice.”

Teen Mom: The Next Chapter airs Thursdays on MTV at 8 p.m.