Amber Portwood

Amber Portwood is a reality television personality and author best known for starring on MTV’s 16 and Pregnant, Teen Mom and Teen Mom OG. Portwood spent her childhood in Anderson, Indiana, where she was raised alongside her brother, Shawn. She attended Anderson High School but left school after becoming pregnant as a teenager. Following legal and personal struggles in her early adulthood, she later earned her GED.

Portwood rose to fame in 2009 when she was cast on season 1 of 16 and Pregnant, which documented her pregnancy with daughter Leah and her relationship with then-boyfriend Gary Shirley. She became one of the original stars of MTV’s Teen Mom, where viewers followed her experiences with young motherhood, family challenges and legal troubles.

Following her appearance on 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom, Portwood appeared on Teen Mom OG, Teen Mom: The Next Chapter and Marriage Boot Camp. She also released the memoir Never Too Late (2014), which detailed her experiences with fame, addiction and recovery.

Portwood welcomed daughter Leah in 2008 with Gary Shirley. The former couple were engaged before ending their relationship. She was later engaged to Matt Baier from 2014 to 2017. After meeting Andrew Glennon while filming Marriage Boot Camp, the pair dated and welcomed son James Glennon in 2018 before their split the following year. In 2024, Portwood became engaged to Gary Wayt, who briefly went missing later that year. The engagement ended shortly afterwards. In 2025, she revealed she entered a new relationship and has kept the identity of her boyfriend private.