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Teen Mom OG Reunion Part 1 Recap: Amber Portwood Storms Off Set When Dr. Drew Questions Her Fiance

Amber Portwood and Dr. Drew
Amber Portwood talks to Dr. Drew during the Teen Mom OG reunion special.

They’re baaack! It was a tumultuous season of Teen Mom OG, but for fans of the MTV reality series, the ride is only just beginning. On Monday, June 1, part 1 of the reunion special aired, putting all four ladies and their current and former significant others in the same room. 

Related: PHOTOS: Teen Mom stars, then and now

The hour-long episode, which was hosted by Dr. Drew, focused on Maci Bookout and Amber Portwood’s stories, but don’t fret, Farrah Abraham and Catelynn Lowell will be highlighted in next week’s episode installment. 

Here’s what happened this week:

Teen Mom Cast OG Reunion
The Teen Mom OG cast reunites for the reunion special with Dr. Drew.

Maci Bookout

With a new man, new pregnancy, and fresh feud, Maci had plenty to talk about when the cameras honed in on her. Naturally, the first topic was her decision to quit and then rejoin the show when she heard that Farrah was being brought back. 

Related: PHOTOS: Farrah Abraham's transformation

“The decision to quit the show, to me, had more to do with me and MTV, not me and Farrah,” Maci explained. “And that’s because whenever I had signed up to do this season, I had agreed to do this season if her story wasn’t going to be shown… I don’t think it’s appropriate for them to film Bentley playing baseball then come back from a commercial break and they might be at a strip club.”

Personally, Maci was ready to move on, and Dr. Drew was happy to oblige, bringing her live-in love Taylor McKinney on the stage to pressure him about putting a ring on it. 

Related: PHOTOS: Biggest celeb feuds ever

“I’ve been joking when MTV gives me my next check I’ll go ring shopping,” he teased as Maci laughed. The pair went on to explain why they chose to have unprotected sex after Maci has worked so hard to prevent teenage pregnancy through the show. 

Maci Bookout and Taylor McKinney
Taylor McKinney and Maci Bookout talk about her pregnancy on the Teen Mom OG reunion special.

The Tennessee native has a condition called PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome), which makes it very hard for her to conceive. When a doctor told her it would be hard to get pregnant naturally, she went off her birth control. 

Related: PHOTOS: Recent celeb babies

“This was something we both wanted together,” she explained. “We didn’t want to prevent it any more than it was already being prevented naturally.”

Since the reunion was taped, Maci and Taylor welcomed a healthy baby girl named Jayde Carter on May 29. 

But Dr. Drew didn’t solely focus on Maci’s current relationship. He also brought back her ex Ryan Edwards, the father of her son Bentley, who surprisingly agreed with Maci about her decision to keep Bentley off the show.

Maci Bookout and Ryan Edwards Teen Mom OG Reunion
Maci Bookout and her ex Ryan Edwards talk to Dr. Drew during the Teen Mom OG reunion special.

“I think if MTV is going to do a TV show on preventing having kids, why bring someone back that is gonna do a porn or sell their artificial body part on the Internet?” Ryan said, referencing Farrah’s erotic toy business. “She’s making a killing off it. Why do that?”

In fact, Ryan and Maci, the formerly at-odds exes, seemed more in sync than they’ve ever been. 

“He’s doing, in my opinion, much better than he ever has,” Maci said, giving her former fiancé props. “There’s not tension here like there used to be. I don’t hate his guts, like I used to. He doesn’t think I’m the devil, or at least I think he doesn’t.” Kudos, guys!

Amber Portwood and Matt Teen Mom OG Reunion
Matt Baier, Shawn Portwood, and Amber Portwood have an awkward exchange on the Teen Mom OG reunion.

Amber Portwood

Dr. Drew got to flex his Celebrity Rehab muscles when Amber and her addict fiancé Matt Baier took the stage. Amber admitted that she would advise someone else in her position not to jump into such a committed relationship so quickly, but she balked at Dr. Drew’s criticism of her drinking. 

“I haven’t felt triggered from drinking. And I think the reason for that is my father,” Amber said, later revealing, “My father just died from drinking. He died in December. It’s just hard losing a parent, and it’s even worse to lose him to alcohol complications. The last time I saw my father he wasn’t awake. He was in a coma. I want to believe that he knew I was there for him.”

As for her fiancé, the last time he drank was when they were in Las Vegas, and he punched a wall in anger. But Amber said she was not concerned by that behavior.  

“No, not at all because that’s the only time that’s every happened, and he hasn’t drank since because of it,” Amber explained to Dr. Drew. “I know it’s hard for people to understand mine and Matt’s relationship and I get it, but the thing that matters is we’re happy.”

Amber Portwood Teen Mom OG Reunion
Amber Portwood cries over her custody battle with ex Gary Shirley on the Teen Mom OG reunion special.

“It’s simple to us because we lived it. Trying to explain it is much more difficult,” Matt added after admitting that he moved out of his Boston home and into his new fiancee’s house 13 hours after visiting Amber for the first time. 

Matt was an open book when it came to talking about his own sobriety, but Amber was pissed off by Dr. Drew’s continued line of questioning. 

“I’m about to walk off this stage because this is getting annoying,” she declared. “It is what it is, we’re not addicts, we’re not fighting. I don’t like this. I don’t want to do this. I’ve worked too hard on myself. This is just stupid to me.”

And with that, she got up, leaving her brother Shawn Portwood sitting awkwardly on the couch next to Matt. Dr. Drew (and his intense orange tan) got up to reassure Amber, apologizing for “threatening” her.

gary and amber
Gary Shirley and Amber Portwood talk during the Teen Mom OG reunion.

“It’s not being threatened, I have to calm down, Dr. Drew, or I’m going to explode,” the recovering addict explained. “I just think he’s this amazing guy and he’s the best thing that ever happened to me.”

Eventually, everyone calmed down and went back onto the stage where they revealed that they haven’t planned a wedding yet and — much to Shawn’s pleasure — they would both be open to a prenup in the event of a marriage. 

Things weren’t as simple when Amber and her ex Gary Shirley took the stage. Amber admitted that she had moved past her negative feelings toward Gary’s girlfriend, Kristina, and he revealed that when he originally started dating Kristina, she was still fully married. She eventually split from her husband and had a baby girl named Emilee with Gary. 

But when it came time to discuss custody of their daughter, Leah, Amber and Gary didn’t see eye-to-eye. After Amber spent 17 months in jail, Gary felt he deserved sole custody of their daughter. 

“What happens if something happens again, what if you get caught up with Matt, what if you make a bad decision?” Gary explained. “You’re a good mother, you’ve made the right steps. I don’t know how I can make you feel like you’re a part of it more than I already have.”

But Amber wanted joint custody of their little girl, and Gary wasn’t willing to give it to her. So Amber will need to consult with a lawyer. 

Tell Us: What did you think of part 1 of the Teen Mom OG reunion special? 

Teen Mom OG Reunion Part 2 airs Monday, June 8 at 10 p.m. ET on MTV.  

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