Her side of the story. Maci Bookout has spoken out publicly for the first time about her ex Ryan Edwards’ recent arrest.
“I’ll be honest, I have no idea what state he’s in because he’s not allowed to be around any of us. He can’t just be in the same location as me and the family,” the Teen Mom OG star, 26, said on the new episode of Kailyn Lowry’s “Coffee Convos” podcast, released on Thursday, August 9. “So I have no idea. He’s not allowed to contact us or anything like that. But I mean, he did get arrested, I don’t know … I mean, I do know why, but I don’t want to say.”
Edwards was booked in Red Tank, Tennessee, on July 23 for violating his probation regarding a previous heroin possession charge. The 30-year-old, who shares son Bentley, 9, with Bookout, was released one week later. (The Bulletproof author appears to have recorded her appearance on Coffee Convos before one of her ex’s charge for simple possession of heroin was dismissed and he was released. For the second charge, Edwards is required to complete six months of probation and five public work days by October 1.)
“I feel better that he is in jail because I know he’s safe there, if that makes sense,” Bookout told Lowry and cohost Lindsie Chrisley. “I know he’s not driving around. He’s not doing something that could potentially hurt him or an innocent person. So it sucks, crappy situation for everyone.”
Edwards’ July arrested marked his second stint in jail in 2018 for violating the terms of his probation. He was previously arrested on March 27. That same month, Bookout and her husband, Taylor McKinney, filed for an order of protection against Edwards. In May, the duo, along with their two children, Jayde, 3, and Maverick, 2, were granted two-year restraining orders against him. Despite the drama between the exes, Bookout told Lowry, 26, and Chrisley that she wishes him the best.
“It’s Bentley’s dad,” she explained. “Although Bentley’s about to be 10, I’m not sure how much time [Ryan] can make up now, but still, I mean, no one ever wants to tell their child that something terrible has happened to their parent. … [He] understands. He doesn’t ever ask questions. We fill him in on what’s going on and as sad as it is, the reason he doesn’t ask questions is because it’s kind of just always been.”
Bookout added that she still works with her ex’s parents, Jen and Larry Edwards, to help Bentley maintain a relationship with his dad’s side of the family.
“Any time anything has ever gone on that’s really bad, his main concern is being able to spend time with his Mimi and Papa,” she said. “So, Taylor and I, and Jen and Larry, always just make sure to … for us to always be … I mean we’re not always going to get along or agree with each other, but the four us do a really good job of making sure that everything is good for Bentley and that Bentley still gets to spend time with them and in that aspect everything is normal for Bentley because again, that is what he’s used to, is being able to see Jen and Larry.”
As for Edwards’ pregnant wife, Mackenzie Standifer, Bookout is “not really interested” in having a relationship with her.
“I mean, maybe when the baby comes?” she added. “Me and Taylor have talked about this — it’s gonna be tough when the baby is born because just like Jayde and Maverick, Hudson [Standifer’s son from a previous relationship] is his stepbrother, this baby is going to be his half-brother, and we don’t like to say ‘step’ or ‘half.’ It’s brother, sister, brother, sister, so it will be I think a struggle to try to find a way to make sure that no matter what’s going on with Ryan, that Bentley has a relationship with his brother — both brothers, Hudson and the new baby.”
Edwards, for his part, spoke out about his arrest for the first time on Wednesday, August 8, telling E! News that it was a “misunderstanding.”
“I got a speeding ticket and while I was pulled over, it came up that I was in violation of my probation because the community service had not been completed,” he told the outlet. “I went to jail for not doing all of my community service. It’s not that I wasn’t taking the community service seriously, it’s just that we have so much going on, I didn’t realize the deadline had passed. It was just a misunderstanding. I thought I had more time.”
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