Teen Mom 's Maci Gives Update on Co-Parenting With Ex Ryan
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Originally appeared on E! Online
Turns out there's something to that whole time-heals-all-wounds cliché. Because more than a year after Teen Mom stars Maci Bookout and Ryan Edwards committed themselves to truly co-parenting 15-year-old son Bentley, the exes are still hopping along, even getting together for a joint Easter celebration March 31.
"Who would have thought?" Maci marveled to E! News in an exclusive interview, revealing they have been able to maintain a healthy relationship. "It's definitely been hard. But I think we have been able to maintain this mutual respect."
Where in the past a miscommunication could easily lead to a massive fight, now, "If one of us has a question, we are not afraid to call each other and the other pick up the phone," she explained. "It's like, 'What do you want to do about that? How do you want to handle this?' The communication is just so much more respectful. And I would say it's just easier."
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And, dare she say, she, husband Taylor McKinney, Ryan and his new girlfriend Amanda Conner are one big, happy-ish family.
"Ryan and I got back to a place where we're actually just friends," Maci explained. Now they enjoy a mutual respect for one another and "just a bit more caring about how you talk to somebody or how you handle something. And I think that's been able to really drive the co-parenting because we enter those conversations in a more gentle way, in a more understanding way."
Though that's not to say they nail it every single time.
"Still got a long way to go—don't get me wrong," Maci allowed. "But I can't believe we're, like, a year and some months into it and things are still very good. We've still got a long way to go for where I think a normal co-parenting relationship could be, but I think naturally it's moving in a way that works for everybody, especially Bentley."
And that's in part because everyone on Team Bentley has committed to following one straightforward rule.
"We actually try and leave Bentley out of a lot of that," Maci explained of their parental chats. While she's been open with Bentley about everything from Ryan's 2023 overdose to his legal trouble and rehab stays, when it comes to his parents navigating their relationship, "Bentley really shared with me that he doesn't want to know certain things or be asked certain things."
So while she acknowledged it's a bit of a you-live-you-learn situation ("It's not that I think it was wrong," she said of involving Bentley more in the past, "it's just that I didn't know any better"), her new motto is that "he doesn't need to know anything he doesn't need to know," Maci noted. "We will definitely be like, 'Hey, do you want to do this?' Or, 'Do you want to go over here?' Because he's a teenager, you never know what mood he's in. But besides that, it's just really leaving him out of it, letting the adults have the adult conversations."
As for the adults in the room, Maci and Taylor, also parents to Jayde, 8, and Maverick, 7, appreciated the reset they were given while filming the current third season of Teen Mom: Family Reunion.
"Truth be told, walking into it, I was like, Oh, great, we get to be away from the kids, be with each other and hang out with our friends," said Maci of signing on for the experience. "Like, it's a vacation. I'm not sure we were expecting all of the work we were going to have to do when we got there."
But after committing to the homework, they aced their relationship class.
"Getting away from the kids for a little while, really helped us reset and realize, like, 'Hey, we are on the same team,'" said Taylor. "That just gave us the time to reset and reconnect."
And they weren't the only ones who had a winning experience while filming in Colombia. Check in with the rest of the Teen Mom cast and their favorite teammates.
Catelynn Lowell & Tyler Baltierra
Viewers watched Catelynn Lowell and now-husband Tyler Baltierra make the difficult choice to place their first daughter, Carly, for adoption, in 2009 on the inaugural season of 16 and Pregnant. After 13 years together, the fan-favorite couple wed in August 2015 and have since had three more daughters: Novalee, Vaeda and Rya.
While the absence of Carly—who lives with her adoptive parents, Brandon and Teresa Davis—still aches 14 years later, the couple live for their meetups. "The girls love her," Catelynn told E! News of her younger daughters' reaction to Carly. "It's pretty awesome to be able to witness it. And we're blessed that we do have an open adoption to be able to witness it. It's truly a blessing to be able to watch all of these things over the years."
Maci Bookout & Ryan Edwards
Together less than six months when she got pregnant, viewers saw Maci Bookout struggle with an irresponsible Ryan Edwards on 16 and Pregnant. Though they got engaged, the high school sweethearts split less than a year after their son Bentley was born in 2008.
These days they're focused on building a coparenting relationship. "We're in a good place," Maci revealed to E! News in 2023, adding that Ryan is showing up "more consistently now than maybe he ever has before."
Maci Bookout & Taylor McKinney
Maci found her forever teammate in Texan Taylor McKinney in 2012, the pair soon building up their squad. They welcomed daughter Jayde in May 2015 and son Maverick a year later, then wed in Florida that October.
Partners in parenting, life and their TTM Lifestyle fashion brand, "He's just my person," she told E! News in 2023. "Even when we've had a rough year together, I think at the end of the day, I still choose him. 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."
Cheyenne Floyd & Cory Wharton
Despite moving on with new significant others, the MTV stars, who connected while filming The Challenge, continue to coparent their daughter Ryder together.
"Our biggest thing since day one of Cory coming into Ryder's life was what kind of dad he wanted to be and what kind of parent he wanted to be," Cheyenne explained to E! News in March 2020. "I wasn't going to allow him to be a Disneyland dad or an Instagram dad or just in the moment. He had to be 100 percent. I think from the beginning, he saw my mindset and appreciated it so that's why we coparent so well."
Cheyenne Floyd & Zach Davis
After their romance ended in 2018, the pair decided to give their relationship a second chance. While celebrating her 28th birthday, Cheyenne confirmed on Instagram that she was back with Zach. In May 2021, the couple welcomed their first child together, son Ace, and got married in September 2022.
"They are very in tune in such a natural way," Maci Bookout told E! News. "They just go together so smoothly and individually, they're awesome to be around but together, they are a blast. And they are always down for anything."
Cory Wharton & Taylor Selfridge
Connecting while filming Ex on the Beach may not sound like the start of a love story, but more than six years and two kids—daughters Mila and Maya—later, Cory and Are You the One? alum Taylor Selfridge are still making waves.
"We just bought a house," he shared with E! News in 2023, before bringing up that, yes, he's aware that people want to know when they're getting married. "It's definitely being talked about. We have everything but the ring and me just letting her know. Taylor deserves that and it's something that I want and she wants. Right now we're just taking steps to get there."
Ryan Edwards & Mackenzie Standifer
Testing the limits of for-better-or-for-worse, Ryan checked into rehab not long after he married girlfriend Mackenzie Standifer in May 2017, with her giving birth to their first son Jagger in 2018 while Ryan was still in treatment.
Though the pair would welcome daughter Stella in January 2020, Mackenzie filed for divorce three years later.
Amber Portwood & Gary Shirley
While their very contentious romance came to an end for good in 2013, the couple have since worked out a way to successfully coparent their now-teenage daughter Leah.
"We have fun together but at a distance," Amber told E! News in January 2022. "But our relationship is good. It's a family now so we treat it as a family more than anything else."
Amber Portwood & Matt Baier
After several years together, a proposal and one unsuccessful stint on Marriage Boot Camp, Amber and Boston transplant Matt Baier called off their engagement in 2017.
"Honestly, you just get to a point when you're done hearing things and you just start to not care in a relationship and I think that's what started happening to me and him," Amber revealed on Dr. Drew Pinsky's podcast later that year. "I started not to care anymore about the relationship like you should. I put a wall up so I wouldn't get hurt again pretty much."
Amber Portwood & Andrew Glennon
Amber did find love while filming Marriage Boot Camp—connecting with crew member Andrew Glennon while on set. The pair made their debut as a couple at the 2017 MTV Movie Awards and in May 2018, Amber gave birth to the couple's first child, James.
But the couple separated not long after Amber was arrested for domestic battery in July 2019. After a contentious court battle, California native Andrew was awarded sole legal and primary physical custody of their son in 2022.
"I've worked so hard to better myself and improve my relationships with my children," the Teen Mom star told E! News at the time. "While I've always been candid about my past substance abuse and struggles with mental illness, a person should have the chance to redeem themselves and not be tethered to their problems from the past."
Determined not to give up, she added, "If your road has not been perfect, but you've worked hard to become a better, more stable and caring person today, keep moving forward as I will. I'll never stop fighting for my children who I love more than anything."
Amber Portwood & Dimitri Garcia
After meeting Amber on the Internet, Dimitri Garcia made his Teen Mom OG debut in April 2020. "Dimitri is from Belgium. He's 39 so he's 10 years older than me. But he's a very handsome man," Amber shared on the show. "I started opening up to him and we decided we should meet since we like each other."
In April 2021, Amber revealed on the Teen Mom OG reunion special that she was still dating Dimitri. "We've known each other now for 18 months," she explained. "But I haven't seen him in a year though." Though the pair struggled with not being able to physically see each other during the pandemic, they are reportedly still talking.
Gary Shirley & Kristina Anderson
Months after Gary and now-wife Kristina Anderson welcomed daughter Emilee in April 2015, they wed in a sweet beach ceremony.
"You are one of the most beautiful souls I know," Gary wrote in a 2022 Instagram post. "I don’t know how I would do this without you."
Farrah Abraham & Derek Underwood
The father of Farrah Abraham's daughter Sophia died in an accident two months prior to her birth in December 2008.
Farrah Abraham & Simon Saran
Her first serious relationship since the death of her high school boyfriend, Farrah dated real estate agent Simon Saran on and off for over two years.
Though their 2017 split got ugly (as in cease-and-desist ugly), the two gave a stab at trying to remain friends. Sorta.
"I have no hard feelings against Farrah," Simon told E! News at the time. "We are just from two different worlds. She likes the fake life, I want what's real. I wish the best for her and much success in all of her future endeavors."
Jenelle Evans & Andrew Lewis
Jenelle Evans and Andrew Lewis, parents to now-teenage Jace, split not long after his 2009 birth, with the model having no involvement in his son's life.
“I do feel bad because that’s Jace's dad," Jenelle reflected on a 2019 episode of Teen Mom 2. "But I know how he is, and I don’t want him to disappoint my son. I don’t want [him] to pop back in and then pop back out."
Jenelle Evans & David Eason
After a one-year marriage to Courtland Rogers, and having her second child, Kaiser, with ex-boyfriend Nathan Griffin in 2014, Jenelle wed David Eason on their North Carolina property in September 2017, eight months after they welcomed their daughter Ensley.
After a particularly rocky stretch saw David charged with a child abuse misdemeanor involving Jace (at the time, Jenelle likened it to a "smear campaign"), Jenelle revealed they had separated. "I would've skipped straight to divorce but I couldn't because in the state of North Carolina, you have to be legally separated for a year," she explained on social media, "and you have to prove you have two separate addresses."
Chelsea Houska & Adam Lind
Remember the charmer who asked then-girlfriend Chelsea Houska when he could "sign the papers over for that mistake"?
Completely in the rearview.
Against all odds, the Teen Mom star-turned-HGTV personality has a somewhat copacetic relationship with her high school ex Adam Lind, mom to her eldest daughter Aubree. “There’s no bad vibes and it’s just a very open relationship," she told Us Weekly. "There’s no bad feelings. We see him sometimes and it’s totally fine."
Chelsea Houska & Cole DeBoer
What began as a meet-cute at a gas station in 2014 became forever when the pair wed in October 2016. After welcoming son Watson in 2017 and daughters Layne and Walker in 2018 and 2021, respectively, the pair launched a new joint project: Their HGTV series Down Home Fab.
"If we were going to come back to TV, I wanted it to be something lighthearted, feel good and be able to show our authentic selves," Chelsea explained to E! News, sharing why this move felt "so right." As she put it, "This was just such a cool opportunity to do that."
Leah Messer & Corey Simms
Though then-high schooler Leah Messer and Corey Simms fought to turn their friendship into a forever family, the parents to now-teenage twins Aleeah and Aliannah filed for divorce six months after their October 2010 wedding.
Corey has been married to Miranda Patterson since 2013.
Leah Messer & Jeremy Calvert
Leah went on to wed pipeliner Jeremy Calvert in 2012, the couple welcoming daughter Adalynn the next year.
Though they split in 2015, they have made an effort to coparent their daughter. "I'm looking at a complete, better version of myself," Leah told E! News of her girls. "And seeing everything that they love and enjoy doing, and being able to support them in their lives and be a part of it is magical. I love it. I love being a mom, especially a girl mama."
Leah Messer & Jaylan Mobley
By the time Leah went Instagram official with Jaylan Mobley in 2021, the United States Army officer had already charmed her and her daughters.
The couple announced their engagement in August 2022, but broke up that October.
"I needed that breakup," the Teen Mom star confessed to E! News a year later. "I've learned a lot from my last breakup and, moving forward, I do feel like my life is just beginning."
Kailyn Lowry & Jo Rivera
Kailyn Lowry was just 17 when she and high school boyfriend Jo Rivera welcomed their eldest son, Isaac, in 2010.
And though they split a year later, they've since settled into a comfortable coparenting arrangement, Kailyn even hosting her Baby Mamas No Drama podcast with Jo's wife Vee Torres. "We’ve come a long way since we were 18," Kailyn wrote on X after attending Jo and Vee's 2018 wedding. "I couldn’t ask for a better stepmom for isaac."
Kailyn Lowry & Javi Marroquin
Kailyn's second son Lincoln joined the squad in November 2013, roughly a year after the then-star of Teen Mom 2 wed his father Javi Marroquin.
Splitting in late 2016, their relationship has been rocky at times, with Javi and girlfriend Lauren Comeau—already parents to son Eli—announcing in December 2023 that they were expecting their second child together, a girl.
Kailyn Lowry & Chris Lopez
Though Kailyn welcomed sons Lux and Creed with boyfriend Chris Lopez during their on-and-off romance, they eventually called it quits for good.
"Right now, we don't communicate at all," she revealed to E! News in 2020. "I'm hoping that it will get better with time but I don't have a big vision. I don't have anything negative to say. I hope for our kids that everything works itself out in whatever direction that may be."
